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# Blue Note Ventures

Follow Your Passion.  Lead From Your Heart.  Build Something Great.

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://bluenotevc.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [A Merger of Values](https://bluenotevc.com/a-merger-of-values/) - A little over 5 years ago, I started Blue Note Ventures with a very clear vision of what I wanted to create – a venture firm that backed leaders who aspired to be authentic, self-aware, transparent, humble, passionate and courageous. Even more importantly, I wanted to model those traits in my relationships with the entrepreneurs
- [The Series A Balancing Act](https://bluenotevc.com/the-series-a-balancing-act/) - By Chris Marks I recently spoke to a cohort of CEOs at GAN's Scale School about the process of raising a Series A Financing. Everyone in the group had raised seed financing in the past and was focused on follow-on capital. My task was to shed some light on the mentality of a series A
- [This is What Disruption Looks Like](https://bluenotevc.com/this-is-what-disruption-looks-like/) - By Chris Marks Over the last 25 years, technology has up-ended numerous industries that were long thought to be untouchable. From publishing to retail, from taxis to hospitality, things are starkly different than they were just a few years ago. During this time, technology has proven to be the great equalizer, wringing out inefficiencies, creating transparency, and
- [10 Years of Techstars](https://bluenotevc.com/10-years-of-techstars/) - By Chris Marks I still remember the first time I talked to David Cohen about getting involved in the Techstars program. It was back in 2007. I made the 4 block trek to see him in his small basement office, sat down across from him, and gallantly offered my services. He looked back, and said
- [The Evolution of a Leader](https://bluenotevc.com/the-evolution-of-a-leader/) - By Chris Marks Founding a start-up and running a large high growth company are two roles that come with completely different job descriptions. They require different skill sets, different temperaments, and tend to attract different types of people. As a result, it is no surprise that so few early stage entrepreneurs transition to successful large
- [This Stuff is Hard (w/ Joshua Hunt)](https://bluenotevc.com/this-stuff-is-hard-w-joshua-hunt/) - by Chris Marks When I partner with entrepreneurs who are raising venture capital for the first time, I know that I am going to have to help them adjust to a new, and often difficult, environment. Every entrepreneur is optimistic -- it comes with the territory -- but the fundraising process can be long and disheartening for
- [Fighting for Leadership](https://bluenotevc.com/fighting-for-leadership/) - Over the course of the past winter, I found myself dealing with an issue in my prior fund's portfolio that tested me as an investor, and as a person. As with most things in the start up world, once the problem arose, there was no easy fix. The one thing that was apparent, was that it was
- [Turnpikers](https://bluenotevc.com/turnpikers/) - By Chris Marks If the Colorado start-up world can occasionally feel a bit small, the Boulder world can feel downright tiny. Having worked with Colorado start-ups and officed on Pearl Street for over 15 years, I am intimately familiar with the phenomenon of the "Boulder Bubble." Which is one of the reasons that Turnpikers is such a
- [The Power of a Reboot](https://bluenotevc.com/the-power-of-a-reboot/) - By Chris Marks Everyone struggles with being authentic. It comes with the territory -- not only when you are part of a start-up, but when you are part of the human race. The world of venture capital is no exception. Recently, I had the honor of discussing this topic with my good friend Jerry Colonna of
- [Defining Authenticity](https://bluenotevc.com/defining-authenticity/) - By Chris Marks Since launching Blue Note Ventures, the most common question has been, "how will you know an authentic leader when you see one?" While I'm happy to provide some thoughts on the topic, a couple of clarifications are in order: First, I am not in the business of identifying who is an authentic
- [Our Investment in Trelora](https://bluenotevc.com/our-investment-in-trelora/) - We recently made an investment in Trelora, a Denver-based company attempting to change the way that residential real estate is bought and sold in the United States. So how is Trelora going to change an industry that has been more resistant to change than the Catholic Church? Through a business model combining fixed transaction fees, non-commissioned agents,
- [On Authentic Leadership](https://bluenotevc.com/on-authentic-leadership/) - No one cares what you say until they know who you are. In Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink, he describes a process called the 'thin slice'. This is a reference to something we all do, sometimes without even knowing we do it. We take a 'thin slice', a quick check, of something presented to us and
- [Surviving Game 7](https://bluenotevc.com/surviving-game-7/) - I’ve been watching the recently completed Washington Capitals - NY Rangers NHL playoff series (I’m from Washington and a Caps fan). The Rangers won (cheers Mark Solon) in seven games, winning the final game in overtime. Analysts pointed out that it was the only playoff series in NHL history that went to overtime in game 7,
- [Three Reasons Why Bruce is the Best Boss](https://bluenotevc.com/three-reasons-why-bruce-is-the-best-boss/) - By Stew Friedman Bruce Springsteen — great leader? You might be skeptical, but bear with me as I describe a few practical ideas we can pull from Springsteen’s repertoire of the critical “soft skills” that set the memorably high-impact leaders apart from the rest of the pack. Bruce’s epic music is a source of inspiration
- [Three Stages of Start-up Leadership](https://bluenotevc.com/three-stages-of-start-up-leadership/) - My business card and my email signature list my title at Kapost as “Co-founder and CEO.” It’s the title I’ve held since we started the company five years ago. Our company has changed a lot in those five years; we’re over seventy people now. During that time, I’ve come to realize that the title really
- [Deconstructing a CEO](https://bluenotevc.com/deconstructing-a-ceo/) - On July 14th I found myself in my Jeep set to make the 10 hour trip to Boulder, CO. My company, Bawte, had been accepted into the 2014 Techstars program. Other than leaving my home and my family, I really had few concerns. I had been a CEO for over 10 years…been starting tech companies
- [Building A Business - It's Personal](https://bluenotevc.com/building-a-business-its-personal/) - "It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business" - Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) We have heard these words (or a variant thereof) countless times since they were first uttered on screen in Francis Ford Coppola's Academy Award winning classic The Godfather. It gets repeated so often in American culture that it feels like it's
- [An Authentic Discussion About Leadership](https://bluenotevc.com/an-authentic-discussion-about-leadership/) - Welcome to Blue Note Ventures, and thanks for checking out the new blog. In my opinion (and probably yours too), this world has plenty of blogs written by very smart VCs, covering just about every angle of the industry. My sincere hope is that this blog will be different. This is not a blog about
- [Competitive Threats](https://bluenotevc.com/competitive-threats/) - When building a start-up, competition is always on a founder's mind. Generally speaking, they set out to tackle big opportunities -- and to do it with limited resources. First-mover advantage is important, and positioning within a market can make the difference between success or failure. As a result, entrepreneurs tend to spend a fair amount
- [Know What You Don't Know](https://bluenotevc.com/know-what-you-dont-know/) - Entrepreneurs tend to be confident by nature. They believe in what they're doing, and, despite often overwhelming odds, are fairly certain of their success. There is really no other attitude that would justify a start-up endeavor. What I have found over the years, however, is that there are two kinds of confidence. The first is
- [Thinking Litigation, Think Again](https://bluenotevc.com/thinking-litigation-think-again/) - In this day and age, if you are in the business of building companies, buying and selling companies, or simply navigating large transactions, then a brush with litigation is almost inevitable. It comes with the territory. The most amazing litigation I ever encountered was a class action lawsuit involving one of my colleagues as a
- [The Sputnik Generation](https://bluenotevc.com/the-sputnik-generation/) - Last week, I was at the Defrag Conference and Phil Weiser, the Dean of the University of Colorado Law School, was one of the speakers. During his talk on legislation and technology, Phil said something that has really stuck with me. He said, "Our generation's Sputnik moment has gone unnoticed." His comment was referring to
- [When Change Is Good](https://bluenotevc.com/when-change-is-good/) - For entrepreneurs, the individuals they bring on to their board of directors is one of the most important decisions they will make over the life of their company. A board can either become a group that they lean on for support and feedback, or it can become a source of distraction and frustration. It can
- [What Do You Do When You Are Not Working](https://bluenotevc.com/what-do-you-do-when-you-are-not-working/) - Not too long ago, a CEO (of a company we are not invested in) said to me, "I knew Jim was the perfect guy to be my CFO when he told me he had absolutely no hobbies outside of work." I stewed on that comment for a while, before coming to two separate conclusions. The
- [The Bigger Picture](https://bluenotevc.com/the-bigger-picture/) - I've written many times about the pace of start-ups and the challenges entrepreneurs face in building high-growth companies with limited resources. It is an environment of rapidly changing circumstances. Every day brings new hurdles, and every potential customer can be the lifeline that allows you to fight another day. In this environment, it can be
- [Failing Well](https://bluenotevc.com/failing-well/) - If you're a serial entrepreneur, or a venture capitalist, then you've probably experienced failure. In many ways, it's the price of poker in the world of high risk start-ups. If you have experienced failure, then you already know -- it sucks. As a result, people generally don't like to talk about it (myself included). One
- [The First Mover Disadvantage](https://bluenotevc.com/the-first-mover-disadvantage/) - Day after day, I see pitches by companies highlighting their "first-mover advantage." And for good reason. As investors, we are constantly searching for ideas that are innovative and new. We are always looking for companies creating new markets or disrupting existing ones. The idea of a company establishing itself as a market leader in an
- [The Growth of an Ecosystem](https://bluenotevc.com/the-growth-of-an-ecosystem/) - I vividly remember the day I first got excited about working with entrepreneurs. I was a second year law student trying to make it through my Mergers and Acquisitions class, when my professor announced a guest speaker. The visitor was Jim Linfield, the managing partner of Cooley Godward, a law firm based in the Bay
- [Embracing Your "Oh Shit" Moment](https://bluenotevc.com/embracing-your-oh-shit-moment/) - It can be triggered by any number of things -- something as benign as a re-forecasting exercise with your CFO, or something as direct as a conversation with a key customer. It can hit you suddenly, or it can evolve over time, from a lingering suspicion to a brutal certainty. Whatever the circumstances, almost every
- [The Financing Conversation](https://bluenotevc.com/the-financing-conversation/) - I was at a meeting of venture fund managers last week where a panel of venture backed CEOs discussed the topic of "bad vc behavior." It was a fascinating discussion, and, because of the quality of the entrepreneurs, a very frank one. One scenario that was discussed at length, was when investors and founders do

## Pages

- [Home](https://bluenotevc.com/)
- [Team](https://bluenotevc.com/about-us/team/)
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- [Message Sent](https://bluenotevc.com/contact/thank-you/) - We've received your message and will get back to you very soon Return to Home
- [Jobs](https://bluenotevc.com/about-us/jobs/) - The following partners and portfolio companies are hiring. Please click each logo for more details on available positions.
- [Contact](https://bluenotevc.com/contact/) - If you would like to submit a business plan or contact us directly, please feel free to shoot us an email. Online Contact Form
- [The Fund](https://bluenotevc.com/about-us/the-fund/) - Blue Note Ventures is an early stage venture capital fund investing in great technology companies and serving entrepreneurs committed to authentic leadership. Great Technology Companies We invest in early stage technology companies that are using disruptive technology to address an unmet need or create a significant efficiency in a large market. In other words, we
- [About Us](https://bluenotevc.com/about-us/) - Blue Note Ventures is an early stage venture capital fund investing in great technology companies and serving entrepreneurs committed to authentic leadership. Great Technology Companies We invest in early stage technology companies that are using disruptive technology to address an unmet need or create a significant efficiency in a large market. In other words, we
- [Blog](https://bluenotevc.com/blog/)

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