I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dean for five years now. I actually met Dean through one of my friends, Danielle, who happens to be Dean’s daughter. As a venture capitalist, Dean has been through many successful investments through his life; he’s also been fortunate enough to learn from some unsuccessful ones.
So how does one even become a VC? This is something I asked Dean when we sat down together and he was kind enough to enlighten me with the knowledge he has attained through the years. “My initiation into the VC world stemmed from my belief that I could do it better.” Dean was originally asked to invest with a family friend, who he wishes to leave unnamed, that offered Dean a chance to get involved with the development of a golf course. As you can imagine, Dean is not the silent investor type. He fought for as much control as he could, but found out later it would not be enough. Dean originally took the opportunity because he believed the idea had potential and it would be successful with his help. Unfortunately, he had barely any say in the more important matters and had little impact on the development of the project. Fortunately, Dean lost next to nothing in the investment, but, until this day, all he can think about is the opportunity cost.
