Divergent Investments

Today I calculated that including some reserves and vc fund commitments I am at $20m invested across mission driven ventures in healthtech, edtech and agtech through my family office- Divergent Investments. Divergent Investments . 100 percent from my own money- no managing others money or charging fees or crap like that. I know nothing but to be legit and I’ll put my money where my mouth is. We introduced autism and neurodiversity investing to the world with the goal of making it mainstream- we are almost there with so many great and bigger funds now in the sector. I am thankful for all my coworkers and supporters and the portfolio companies who made all this work. I don’t know if I will make a nickel on this or not and I don’t care. And I will keep investing to spur the risk capital to worthwhile missions and make the biggest impact with my luck and good fortune. Keep me in mind as a potential partner. I will go to work for you... I promise I will add value! #entrepreneur

I never understood this accepted concept of investors going on “holiday” for ALL of July and August while the rest of us work. When I was a VC Kleiner Perkins and certainly now with Divergent Investments , I am always available even if I’m occasionally on holiday. Why? Because I am an entrepreneur. When I invest I am simply an entrepreneur investing in other entrepreneurs. If I was sipping champagne cocktails in France what message would that send and what kind of partner would I be? As an entrepreneur you need to set the expectation that this is a different kind of work. You have to treat people like adults. They shouldn’t join a startup if they don’t want to rally sometimes work nights or weekends or just do what it takes to be successful. That is the very intangible that allows startups to beat the larger competition. You cannot afford entitlements or laziness in your startup full stop! #entrepreneur #venture #vacation #workethic

For those entrepreneurs out there that I have funded or partner with and also those I haven't (yet). Some thoughts on how Entrepreneurship and VC have changed. https://lnkd.in/gaVB8keZ

Great job by Christina LaMontagne on a topic in ADHD that continues to big for parents. I have known christina a long time, all the way back from our days in greentech, and she is a very capable and mission driven entrepreneur. Very happy to be an investor as is Divergent Investments! #entrepreneur #adhd #venturecapital https://lnkd.in/gqSijTaZ

The latest agtech investment Divergent Investments! A REAL hardtech, artificial intelligence play with superstar entrepreneur Nadav Bocher who I have known for some time. A super capable team with a mission orientation. Very happy to be an investor and partner and obviously know this trend and industry well. The future of agriculture will involve spraying and crop protection- for productivity reasons. But the volume you apply can be vastly different. This is better ROI for farmers and also highly favorable for consumers and supply chains focused on sustainability. Greeneye Technology can reduce contact herbicide application by up to 90% and maintain the same level of impact. This impact is the answer to those who want to see less spraying, benefit farmers with ROI and not compromise on feeding the world! Building quite the portfolio with Compass Regulatory, Seso Inc. , Aanika Biosciences, Inc. and two other "stealth" companies coming soon... Ben Harms Matt Meisner Eric Carnell Vishaal Bhuyan Kaushik Chakravarti Jordan Taylor Michael Guirguis.... #entrepreneur #venturecapital #sustainability https://lnkd.in/gwNxEcDE

Took the kids to Vegas for a few days this week... we hit up a pop up restaurant called "retro" which has an 80's and 90's theme. Food as well. One of the things about neurodiverse kids is they can be both funny and opinionated. We had a blast in Vegas. My son with autism was like "no way" as he saw VHS tapes and retro stuff as we were walking in. He told me these obsolete technologies were offensive to him and his more modern taste. Not a joke, its what he told me (and the hostess). People ask me about early intervention. He couldn't talk when he was 2 so I will take a sarcastic pre-teen any day. He was in full on panic like where cells phones even allowed in this place? So we agreed he could do whatever he wanted during dinner, but no technology from after 1990. So he and little bro hunted through the artifacts at the restaurant and found handheld Pacman and Galaga and played the whole time. Touche I guess. #kids #retro #autism #entrepreneur

I don't use an executive assistant. Much like flying coach, I want to keep it real and I decided upon this as an entrepreneur, at least for as long as humanly possible. Those who worked with me even to large scale know its true. No assistant to schedule my day, week, travel or meetings generally- occasionally for certain things I get help with travel scheduling. I think executive assistants are potentially the best business partners one can have and I have worked with the most talented. I haven't since I left the VC world or for that matter before. I found when I had an assistant I would have every time slot booked constantly (it was efficient) but counterintuitively I wasn't more productive. I had lots of meetings, but not more productivity. Today, my calendar is surprisingly open, despite running a startup and investing from my own family office. Sitting on a couple boards. Why? I don't overburden myself with things I don't want to do. That said, when I respond, to my team, to my investors, to entrepreneurs I have invested in, to new contacts, friends or anyone, they get me. In the flesh. I used to look at my calendar and see all these open slots and wonder if there is something wrong with me. But to be honest, I want to use the time on a day to day basis how I feel is most valuable. So, I have to adjust a bit. I get up super early to write emails and respond to certain items (and to write linkedin posts) but I also get 3-4 hours ahead of the day. My routine helps me do it and I love it. That is what you see below today started pretty early.... Everyone has their own style and truthfully in my last role I almost got to the point where I needed assistant help, but I will hold out as long as I can. As always, you know where to reach me if you want to talk healthtech, autism, agtech anything and I will respond myself :). #personalassistant #entrepreneur

My 12 year old son is motivated beyond where I was at that age. He is a great student, funny and socially motivated, and committed to being in shape (his own initiative). Its hard to imagine a better kid. I woke up this week to him already working out before I even got up. When my son was 2 years old he couldn't talk and didn't respond to his name. He was soon diagnosed with autism. When he was 2/3 he got into early intervention. Growth from there has been amazing. He was always "catching up" and now getting fully caught up and even passing some of his other peers. I don't think this is a fluke - with proper intervention. Yet most families sit on waitlists or in denial. One is more self fulfilling than the other but neither is acceptable. As a parent, whatever the challenge, you can deal with it, even with an entrepreneurial job. Nobody will do it for you- you must surround yourself with the right people both on the medical side but also the work side. I have made that mistake and won't do that again. Pick your partners wisely. If you have awful people around you will get an awful result. It doesn't matter how much money raise or throw at the problem. I started Divergent other new initiatives (more to come later this year) to bring attention to early childhood conditions and help parents by offering profound innovations to relieve the burden. I have plenty of access and resources. No need to have sympathy for me. Imagine if you are on medicaid? What if you work 60 hours to make ends meet? How do you get a good outcome for your kid? Here are some key tips: 1) Use technology. There is more info than you think that can be at your fingertips. 2) Consider a true care coordinator and "overspend" on whatever you can at an early age- the more you do then, I have noticed, the better the outcome. 3) Call other parents- many, like me, are more than willing to be public about this and available. In fact, reach out to me anytime. 4) Don’t be afraid to try out of pocket if you can afford it. Waitlists are just awful everywhere and there is not enough access to care. But solutions are coming soon... 5) Don't fall for "rebranding" of common therapies. Look for truly innovative and responsive approaches. I believe we are not far from "precision therapy" with the help of AI, diagnostics and new innovations like the exposome which I wrote about yesterday. Stay tuned for more. I intend to invest both my time and money in solving this issue. What is coming will be amazing. I am focused on bringing technology that will offer a new level of precision and solve the most fundamental issues. Please stay tuned and reach out if you want any previews or to just bat around some ideas..... #entrepreneur #autism