Vilna Shul - Vilna Speakers Annual VC Panel

Last night we attended the Vila Speakers Annual VC Panel at the Vilna Shul, located in Boston's historic Beacon Hill.  It was a great event, in a great location.



Regardless of whether or not you're Jewish, the Vilna Shul is worth having a look at.  Originally built in the 1910's, the building is currently raising funds for a complete restoration.  They've already done lots of work, including uncovering parts of the original paint job.  It's really amazing to see this building located smack in the middle of Beacon Hill.  Take the time to visit this landmark, you will not be disappointed.



The event last night featured a panel of prominent VCs from Boston, moderated by Howard Anderson, Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurship, MIT Sloan School of Business.  The VCs in attendance were:

• Elliot Katzman of Commonwealth Capital Ventures



• Jeff Fagnan of Atlas Ventures



• Jonathan Seelig of Globespan Partners



• Eric Paley of Founder Collective

This was a really dynamic and interesting group, and Howard did a wonderful job of moderating.



The dominant conversation was discussing East vs. West.  It seemed every topic somehow got back to the East Coast VC vs. West Coast VC.  Not sure this was intended, but that's the way it went. There is definitely some passion involved with this topic, and it was clear the panel all had strong views on the topic.



The other topic discussed several times was how important it is to become part of the VC network.  As Jon Seelig said, it's all about working with people you know and trust.  Network, network, network.  We've only been to a few of these events, but already we are seeing the same faces, and hopefully we're getting recognized too.



The best line of the night was this:

Venture Capital is like sex.  When it's good, it's REALLY good.  And when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

So what's our goal with going to these events?  Really it's just to meet people in the Boston community.  We want to meet other entrepreneurs, and meet people who are funding these projects.  We're not actively looking for any funding, and don't really think we're a VC backed style business.  But the great thing about being an entrepreneur is you never know when that might change.