Alan Patricof, Primetime Ventures: Founding Greycroft Ventures and Investing in the Future of Aging

Fintech Family Hour

Is this the “We’re Back” department?

I’d like to file a claim.

We’re kicking off 2024 with one of the wisest guests in the history of the show: Alan Patricof. Alan is responsible for raising one of THE FIRST Venture Capital funds all the way back in the late 60’s. He’s currently the Chairman Emeritus of Greycroft, which has over $2 billion in capital invested across a variety of companies, including Venmo, Acorns, Axios and more!

We discuss Alan’s career, his problem with ageism, how to wake up happy, and some great stories about meeting some of the world’s greatest people like Warren Buffet.

Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Links:

No Red Lights: Reflections on Life, 50 Years in Venture Capital, and Never Driving Alone by Alan Patricof

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:06) - How to wake up happy and act decisively

(00:04:42) - Alan’s nontraditional investing portfolio & career

(00:10:26) - Separating the individual from the career

(00:15:06) - Raising one of the very first VC funds

(00:20:44) - Alan’s reaction to seeing the growth of VC

(00:21:50) - Do the muscles you used in early VC still work today?

(00:25:26) - The thesis behind Primetime

(00:31:50) - The problem with ageism

(00:33:32) - The swinging pendulum of the human race

(00:38:01) - Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met?

(00:41:15) - Meeting Warren Buffet

(00:43:15) - Sitting on the board of SIPC