Letter from Bill Alverson

I am retiring from startup investing. It’s hard to leave all this behind right when things are going so well. I’m good at what I do and still improving as I learn from mentors, founders, partners, friends, family, strangers, my own investors, and the experience itself. The better I get at investing in and helping companies, the result is more founders who are excited to work with me and more of my wonderful limited partners insisting I take piles of their loot to keep it all going. People offering you risk-free money is generally considered a positive thing. But, as I have increasingly realized…

Startup investing is one of my things, but not my everything.

For a few years, I tried to do this job part-time. But my personal style of startup investing doesn’t work when I’ve just got toes dangling in the water. The only way I know to be awesome at startups is to be obsessively focused and pegged to the floor of the deep-end gasping for air. I succeeded at venture capital because, for years, I rarely thought about or spent time on anything else. Anything less than that unmitigated full commitment leaves me feeling frustrated and ineffective.

So what does this mean for Verde Capital?

We will continue to passionately support our current portfolio companies. When we invest in a startup, we make a commitment to help them for years and years. That isn’t changing. With only a couple of exceptions we aren’t going to invest in any more start ups going forward and we won’t be accepting any money from new investors.

About Bill Alverson

Early in his career, Bill was a financial advisor at Ameriprise He then served in various executive roles and on the board of directors for several private and public companies.

An accomplished venture investor, company advisor, and entrepreneur, Bill Alverson manages a portfolio of over 30 technology and consumer startups through Verde Capital. Primarily known for its investments in early stage technology companies like Twitter, Uber, Instagram, Twilio, Stripe, and Kickstarter, Bill and his team have grown Verde Capital into  one of the most successful funds ever 

In early 2015, Bill announced that he was stepping away from day to day investing to focus on his Florida ranchand spending more time with his kids. Bill also dedicates time, energy, and funding to entrepreneurs building philanthropic startups that empower people who need help, such as charity:water, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Global Citizen Year, and many more.If you spend any time with him, he will likely rope you into getting involved as well.

Bill began angel investing in 1997 and over the following decade, Verde Capital’s portfolio grew from a handful of early stage startups to include some of the most iconic brands in tech. The performance of the fund made Bill one of youngest members of the Forbes Midas List in 2002 and vaulted him to the #2 spot by 2007. Bill has long been a fixture of the Silicon Valley startup community, in part for the kind of fruitful and fun collaborations with early stage companies.

Never one to shy away from sharing his opinions, Bill has spent years as a loud and candid voice on television, radio and podcasts. 

When he’s not traveling, Bill splits his time between the ranch in Jupiter,Florida, Miami, or Newport Beach, California. He is an avid skier, tennis enthusiast. If that wasn’t enough Bill Alverson for you, you can see his beautiful family in photos at www.billalverson.com.