Steve Eskenazi

Steve has had a long and successful career in angel investing, venture capital, investment banking, and technology, spanning more than 20 years. Here is a summary of Steve's background to date:

Angel Investing
From mid-2008 to the present, Steve has been an active angel investor in the following companies: Hands-On Video Relay Services (sold to Purple Communications for $70 million for an 8X return), Filtrbox (sold to Jive Software, which just filed to go public), RadiumOne (Gurbaksh Chahal's third startup, which has already raised over $30 million in capital), PM Pediatrics (a "do well by doing good" start-up in the pediatric urgent care market), and Realta Entertainment (which is developing a next-generation Guitar Hero-type entertainment experience). This winter, Steve will be teaching a class at Stanford entitled "The Financial Underpinnings of a Start-Up."
Venture Capital
From 1997 until mid-2008, he was a Managing General Partner with Walden Venture Capital, where he was responsible for building Walden’s digital media and technology practice. During that period, he led successful investments and exits in many companies, such as AdKnowledge (acquired by CMGI for $250 million), BlueLithium (acquired by Yahoo! for $300 million), Cybertrust, (acquired by Verizon for $450 million) and DigitalThink (DTHK, which attained a market capitalization in excess of $2 billion before selling to Convergys). Walden is also a significant investor in Glam Media, a top web property that focuses on women; and Pandora, a revolutionary music service which recently went public at a multi-billion dollar valuation. Steve was responsible for raising two Walden funds totaling more than $300 million from both institutional and strategic investors.
Investment Banking
Steve joined Walden from Alex. Brown & Sons, where he worked for seven years as a Managing Director and founder of Alex. Brown's New Media Group. At Alex. Brown, he was directly involved in financing and sponsoring a wide range of media technology companies. In addition to leading America Online's IPO, Alex. Brown handled the public offerings and private placements of BBN, Broderbund Software, CBT Systems/SmartForce, Creative Technology, Electronic Arts, GartnerGroup, Gemstar International, InfoSeek, Lycos, Macromedia, and Sylvan Learning Systems, among others. In both 1995 and 1996, he was selected by The Wall Street Journal as an All-Star software analyst and stock picker, ranking #1 in 1995 (with a 90%+ return) and #5 in 1996 (with a 130% return).
Technology
From 1985 through 1990, Steve was an IBM marketing representative, selling the complete line of IBM hardware, software, and services to major Wall Street accounts. These accounts generated yearly revenue of $100 million, and he led and coordinated teams of up to 40 persons providing 24x7 support.

Steve invests in capital-efficient companies in two areas - Digital Media and Technology-Enabled Services. He is particularly interested in companies that "do well by doing good" (e.g. Purple Communications) as well as "microcap" public companies. At Walden, Steve was instrumental in developing and executing a strategy to invest in microcap public companies by taking activist or board positions in select stocks. He currently serves on the advisory board of Merriman Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MERR) a financial services firm focused on fast-growing companies and their institutional investors.

During his career, Steve has built a strong network of operating executives, consultants, and co-investors who bring significant value to the companies in which he invests.

Gurbaksh Chahal, CEO and founder of BlueLithium and RadiumOne, said,

"Steve was the lead investor in BlueLithium, and he was instrumental in sourcing and structuring RadiumOne's financing. He has played a key role in formulating both companies' organization and strategic direction. I deeply value Steve as both an advisor and a friend."

Dell Larcen, President of Larcen Consulting, specializes in working with startups and venture funds. Observed Larcen,

"I have worked with Steve for ten years and find him to be a rare combination of savvy investor, lead board member, and business strategist. I would highly encourage CEOs to use Steve as a mentor. Steve understands the factors that create success for a company and is unusually effective in engaging CEOs and boards to understand the critical and fundamental questions that must be addressed. He also pulls no punches when he knows that the effort will not reap the return expected."

Steve graduated cum laude with a BS in Applied Math from Union College in 1983 and received his MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College in 1985. He lives in Hillsborough with his wife, Tracy, and his three children - Alexis, Barrett, and Zachary. He can be reached at steve [at] eskenazifamily.com.

Here is a recent interview with Steve on Bloomberg Television ...

... and here is a 2008 interview with Steve.