Monster Venture Partners Announces Former Real Networks, Yahoo! Executive To Join As Partner
SEATTLE, Washington. February 29, 2008 – Monster Venture Partners (MVP), a venture capital firm focused on early stage investments, today announced that Jeff Schrock has joined the firm as Venture Partner.
Schrock, a former executive at RealNetworks and Yahoo! as well as a successful Seattle-based entrepreneur, will take an active role investing in and guiding portfolio companies through their growth and corporate development. He will identify promising companies focused on digital media, consumer Internet, mobile, as well as enterprise software. Schrock will be able to offer MVP portfolio companies the benefits of his considerable experience guiding companies through the startup lifecycle.
“I’ve been an entrepreneur, an investor, a corporate executive and a dealmaker.” said Mr. Schrock “This role leverages all of these experiences at an exciting time. I’m thrilled to be joining Rob, as a Venture partner, in his quest to expand the capital markets addressing the seed and early stage. There are many worthy companies in the Pacific Northwest, and around the world, which have been financially and strategically underserved. Without question, there is a large and growing gap between founding capital and traditional venture capital. MVP is filling that void using a combination of capital, process innovation and personal leadership.”
“Jeff brings deep industry knowledge and an active, hands-on approach to working with founders and management teams,” stated Rob Monster, Managing Director of MVP. “His experience, reputation and relationships will bring tremendous value to our portfolio companies throughout their development. Jeff, as a past entrepreneur himself, shares MVP’s founder-friendly approach to growing world class companies.”
Schrock will continue to periodically invest in seed stage and early stage opportunities alongside MVP’s own fund. Schrock currently serves on the boards of Transpera, funded by Intel Capital, IDG and FirstRound Capital, as well as LearnLive Technologies, based in Seattle. He will play an active board and advisory role in many MVP Portfolio companies as well as spearhead initiatives aimed to support the development of a vibrant startup community in Greater Seattle.
More About Jeff Schrock
Prior to joining Monster Venture Partners, Mr. Schrock was the Vice President of Corporate Development for RealNetworks. During his tenure, Real’s corporate development team executed multiple transactions including the $600 million joint venture between MTV Networks (Viacom) and Rhapsody as well as the $350 million acquisition of WiderThan. Mr. Schrock also led content licensing and distribution negotiations for RealNetwork’s consumer business.
Prior to joining Real, Schrock worked in corporate development for Yahoo! and also served as Vice President and General Manager of Yahoo! Broadcast following it’s acquisition of Broadcast.com.
Before joining Yahoo!, Mr. Schrock was an entrepreneur. He co-founded and served as CEO of Activate, from 1996 to 2001. Under his leadership, Activate was the second fastest growing private company in Washington state from 1998-2000. The company was financed by leading venture capitalists, including Madrona Venture Group, until it was sold to CMGI in 1999 for $100 Million.
About Monster Venture Partners
Monster Venture Partners is a new breed of early-stage venture capital firm based in Seattle. Our investment philosophy is to engage in a genuine hands-on partnership with founders to jointly create value for all stakeholders. For larger opportunities, we co-invest with leading investors from around the world, selecting from a universe of like-minded investors who are able to add strategic value. We are focused on three primary verticals: (1) marketing technology, (2) consumer healthcare, and (3) global consumer internet.