Allen Morgan Email & Phone Number

Boise, Id, Us

Oxford, Gb

In 2020, I was awarded a Visiting Fellowship to Keble College, University of Oxford. Current plan is to be in residence in Michaelmas term (Sept - Dec), 2023. Focus is on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Will spend the Fellowship on some writing, lecturing, and mentoring of Keble students who want to be entrepreneurs.

Our $30M early-stage VC fund, Idealabx1, is busily deploying capital. Our fund is the only VC fund globally that has the right to invest in all of Bill Gross's ideas that come out of Idealab Studio, and/or that we incubate at Idealab NY. We are focused on companies that relate to our areas of interest at Idealab Studio and at Idealab NY, and loosely fall into the areas of: manufacturing, media, food, and education - and we especially love companies in those areas that have a social innovation aspect to their business. We invest across the U.S., wherever great entrepreneurs are starting companies.

Idealab NY is partnering with Idealab and Idealab Studio to extend the creation and incubation of new ideas. The companies we start, like those of Idealab and Idealab Studio, mostly have a social innovation component, while, in our case, targeting the areas of food, manufacturing, media, and technology. Very excited to be further partnering with Bill Gross and Idealab, where I've been a Board Member for over a dozen years.

Oxford, Oxfordshire, Gb

Each year, I teach two full-credit, full-term courses in Entrepreneurial Finance (i.e., the Venture Capital process) to MBA & Executive MBA students at the Said Business School (the University of Oxford's Graduate Business School). My co-teacher is Tim Jenkinson, Chair of the Finance Department at Said. We teach the course (both cohorts), which are normally taught over an entire academic term, in one week, so a high-velocity learning experience. I'm co-author of the Guidebook case used by the Oxford students. I'm also co-author of the Fab.com case also to be used by the Oxford students (forthcoming).

In my "Sherpa"​ practice, I work very closely with a limited number of early-stage companies. I help with fundraising, business development and strategic relationships with big media/advertising companies and with general, everyday advice based on 40+ years of working with start-ups. My investment interest revolves around eCommerce, consumer internet services (both consumer-facing and infrastructure), interactive entertainment, online advertising and new media.Sample "Sherpa"​ companies include: -- Klout* (www.klout.com) -- Acquired by Lithium -- Founders Card (www.founderscard.com) -- Indiegogo (www.indiegogo.com) -- SkyCatch (www.skycatch.com) -- Plex (https://plex.tv) -- Little Passports (www.littlepassports.com) -- Quid (www.quid.com) -- GateGuru (acquired by Trip Advisor) -- ViralHeat (acquire by Cisive)

Pasadena, Ca, Us

At Idealab, I work on a number of things, ranging from various projects as a member of the Board of Directors, to managing the New Ventures Group, which is an "incubator within an incubator" that we started in October 2010. Historically, most Idealab-incubated companies have been the "brainchildren" of Bill Gross, the founder and CEO of Idealab. While we'll continue to found companies that way, we have also started to invest in early-stage startups that are founded by other entrepreneurs, many of which will be housed at Idealab until they're ready to move into their own space.

Us

I joined Mayfield Fund as a General Partner in 1998, focusing on eCommerce, consumer internet, digital media, interactive entertainment, advertising infrastructure companies. In 2009, I moved to Venture Partner status to be able to begin my "Sherpa" investing activities and in order to become the Managing Director, New Ventures Group, at Idealab. A couple of years later, I moved to Venture Advisor status.Examples of investments I made at Mayfield include:-- Pluck (acquired by Demand Media)-- Black Arrow (acquired by CMW, Inc.)-- JotSpot (acquired by Google)-- Serious Magic (acquired by Adobe)-- Slide (acquired by Google)-- Varsity Books (Nasdaq: VSTY; acquired by Follett)-- PlanetOut (Nasdaq: LBGT; acquired by Here Media)-- Zenprise (acquired by Citrix)

New York, Us

I joined Latham & Watkins in April, 1997 to help the firm open its Silicon Valley office. In addition to new clients I developed while at Latham, I brought my clients and my practice with me from WSGR, so New Media, Interactive Entertainment and Consumer Internet companies continued to be my practice focus.

Palo Alto, Ca, Us

At WSGR, I started the New Media Group and focused my practice on representing startups in the areas of New Media, Interactive Entertainment and Consumer Internet. Over the course of my legal career, I worked on more than 1,000 transactions involving startups, from venture financings, to IPO's to mergers & acquisitions.

A.B., Government

B.A & M.A., Politics, Philosophy & Economics

J.D., Law