Entrepreneur turned investor. Co-founder AbeBooks (sold to Amazon), early-stage investor through @versiononevc (60+ investments, including Abstract, Ada Support, Coinbase, Outreach, Shippo, Top Hat). Husband and dad of 4.
I am a product guy at heart. I like thinking through product strategy and how to create the most amount of value for a customer.
I co-founded a marketplace business (JustBooks / ABeBooks - sold to Amazon in 2008) and have invested in half a dozen B2B and B2C marketplaces since (e.g. Indiegogo, tindie, GroupTalent, Clarity). Happy to share my experiences as entrepreneurs and investor in this space.
I have successfully raised money as a startup founder and I see hundreds of startups fundraising every year as a VC. Happy to share best practices.
One of my investment areas is Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and I have made half a dozen of investments in that space (Abstract, Ada Support, Clio, Jobber, Unbounce, Zenput). Happy to share sales & marketing strategies and discuss business models.
Besides SaaS and marketplaces / platforms I focus on e-commerce as an investment area. I have made investments in different areas from vertically integrated commerce (Indochino, Frank & Oak, Julep) to MLM models (Chloe & Isabel) to commerce marketplaces (tindie).
I like to help entrepreneurs think through their business strategy - how to scale a company, hire the right people to take it to the next level or what kind of investors to get on board.
You usually only recognize the commissions as revenues and use the term "Gross Merchandise Value" (GMV) to describe the size of the marketplace (value of all transactions going through the site)
Build a great product and get some early traction. Assemble a top-notch term of co-founders. Understand your space like nobody else. Be good at telling a great story and communicating your vision.
Heard good things about GoodsCloud (www.goodscloud.com)
Great advice, super clear, thank you.
Very informative discussion. Very insightful and validated all my thoughts and assumptions. Definitely recommend him.
Boris was super helpful, i now have a better direction on what to focus, and how i can potentially reach our goal.
Boris' deep insights on Amazon have been very helpful to us. Would highly recommend.
Great insight, loved our chat.
Good to get more clarification from Boris regarding our current business model and where to focus on things!
Had a short call with Boris to clarify a lot of my doubts and concerns. We came to a conclusion that matched with my hunch to where to take our startup as well. Very productive!
2nd call with Boris. Very trustworthy individual!
Boris listened attentively & provided valuable strategies to help move the process forward! Great call!
Phenomenal call. Outsized ROI for my time and money. Boris is an extremely smart and down to earth guy. Highly recommend!
It was really helpful to talk to Boris. He listened to the questions and gave really simple feedback on what to be thinking about and doing.
Highly recommend!
