Bucky Moore

I began my career in technology at Cisco, on a team responsible for acquisition and investment activity. Meeting and helping founders was a central part of the role, as was forming opinions of new technologies, and the markets that could form around them. I fell in love with the interactions with brilliant founders, operators, and academics that fueled this process. The continuous learning process this entails requires intense curiosity, humility, and being comfortable as the “dumbest” person in the room. Today, I strive to maintain this curiosity and humility in every interaction I have with founders. Going even further back, I interned in the music industry at an artist management firm. My passion for music and the creatives behind it made this a memorable experience. I now see the obvious parallels between the role of a manager and that of a VC. Both are intensely service-oriented professions, whose job is to help uniquely creative people reach their full potential. I keep this in mind every day as I work with founders, who in the early days, are often playing the role of “artist” more than “scientist.”

As our working and personal lives continue to move online and into software, the enabling infrastructure that underpins these experiences continues to present extraordinary opportunity for startups. Tidal waves like cloud, AI, and cybersecurity are driving rapid change in the world, and continue to expose the need for new infrastructure primitives. At the same time, the population and purchasing power of the technical end-users who consume infrastructure is growing faster than ever. I am focused on partnering with founders who are pursuing new ideas in these areas, often fueled by unique technical or market insights gleaned from prior work or academic experience. I am excited to partner as early as possible, often at formation-stage. The pre product-market-fit phase is when so many of the interesting questions get answered, and when the strongest relationship between a founder and investor is formed. The opportunity to cultivate relationships with founders I admire from the beginning of their company-building journey is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.

A fierce desire to win, without compromise for integrity. The willingness to constantly seek truth and learn. Unique insight and clarity of thought about their chosen problem space. The emotional resolve and ability to maintain poise in the midst of the chaos that is the startup journey. Vulnerability. The ability to rally and motivate people around them.

Helping creative people in other fields live up to their potential. Music and art are my other passions, so it would be almost impossible to resist spending time in either of these worlds.