Moot is plugged into the hacker culture in New York City, which Lerer Ventures wants to tap into. He will advise the fund and bring it deals, as well as participate in the upside of the fund. So he’s more like an advisor with privileges. “Like everyone else at Lerer,” says Poole, “I’m primarily focussed on building my company, but I view my participation in the fund as a way to stay current as the world changes and invest in my peers who are doing amazing things.”
So what kind of startups will he be looking for? “I think I’d be drawn to a founder whose story somewhat parallels my own—working on cool stuff from a young age and more motivated by an interest in solving hard problems than the prospect of striking it
rich.”
Lerer Ventures, which is run on a day-to-day basis by partner Jordan Cooper, has been on a tear lately. Overthe past twelve months, it has invested in nearly 30 startups, including BankSimple, betaworks, chartbeat, FluidInfo, gdgt, Greplin, GroupMe, Venmo, and Poole’s Canvas Networks. Sounds like they are just getting started.

Authors: Erick Schonfeld