Sean O’Sullivan is the founder of SOSV, a $1 billion global
venture capital firm that seeds 150 companies a year through
start-up development programs that support entrepreneurs across
hardware, bioengineering, China, mobile apps, and the
blockchain.
Sean has pretty much done it all. He grew up on welfare, found
his way to technology in the 1970s, and started his first company
in his early 20s. That company, called MapInfo, was the original
street map technology well before the days of the internet. Sean
formed more companies and began angel investing with the proceeds.
Along the way, he created twenty patents for ride sharing, coined
the term cloud computing, appeared in Ireland’s version of Shark
Tank, and formed a series of start-up development programs to
support early-stage entrepreneurs.
Our conversation covers Sean’s path to entrepreneurship and
investing, accelerator strategy, sourcing ideas, working with
entrepreneurs, preparing businesses to exit SOSV’s programs,
investing in follow-on rounds, drivers of success, and positioning
in the venture ecosystem.
Through conversations with leaders in the money game, we explore how these holders of the keys to the kingdom allocate their time and their capital.
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