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The Boys of Benchmark Talk About S.F.'s Tenderloin, Diversity and Artisanal Venture Capitalism (Part One) - Vox

vox.com · 2,408 words · saved by 1 readers

Recently, I made my way down to the relatively new offices of Benchmark in the still-sketchy Tenderloin area of San Francisco for a visit with the foursome that now runs the famous venture firm. That would be Peter Fenton, Matt Cohler, Mitch Lasky and Bill Gurley, who feel a little like a band on a run. Indeed so. With investments in such hits as Instagram, Uber, Snapchat, Twitter and New Relic, the group is trying to style itself as an artisanal VC rather than a corporate one. Bokay, I’ll bite into the over-priced cheese! Here’s the first part of our conversation — which was recorded and only slightly edited for clarity in a few places — which came just as the firm closed its eighth fund of $425 million. (I will publish the second part tomorrow): Re/code: So why did you move here? Fenton: I think it was behavioral more than strategic. We were spending so much time in San Francisco, it begged the question that we are a field-based business — our customers, the people we serve, are the

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