Brad Corona

I’m intellectually curious and extroverted, so being a venture capitalist feels like a dream job.  I’m perpetually learning, meeting people, and building deep relationships with a small number of incredible individuals: those with the guts and conviction to take the insane plunge that is being an entrepreneur.  The uncertainty, possibility, and excitement that exist at the earliest stages of company building never get old.  I always try to remember that any successful investment we make is because of the entrepreneurs we back – not us – and there is always some degree of luck involved.

Unlike my two partners, who have engineering and science backgrounds, my career has Wall Street roots.  After meeting Dave and Paul in the very early days of the firm, I saw an opportunity to add another circle of skills to the Venn diagram. I joined in early 2016, and from the beginning, had a gut feeling that we would be successful, which I initially attributed to our diverse skills and the strategy of going all-in on verticals.  Over the course of my first year at VVP, I realized the key was the interpersonal dynamic between the three of us.  Big VC firms are like machines.  We are more like a band.  Our firm works because, from the beginning, every investment is a collaboration. We don’t have deal attribution, and there is collective ownership of success and failure.  

I grew up in Michigan and have lived in many places, including Florida, Rhode Island, Copenhagen, New York, LA, Palo Alto, and now Sonoma, where I currently live with my wife and our two boys.  New York is the only place I miss.  My wife jokes that I “collect” hobbies, and at one point or another, I have been down the rabbit hole on skateboarding, squash, photography, travel, boxing, running, cycling, food, and wine.  I still enjoy most of them, and golf is next.  So far, travel, food, and wine seem like the best.

If you are interested in the companies I work with or where I went to college, my LinkedIn profile is here.