IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine - Fall 2017 - 67

through the 1970s, basic integrated
devices and processes along with
simple analog ICs were inventions
crucial to kicking off the solid-state
revolution. Over the following two
decades, further process scaling and
circuit ingenuity fueled sophisticated
analog-to-digital converters and processors, making the personal computer as ubiquitous as telephones and
supporting high-fidelity music played
on compact discs. From the mid-1990s
to 2015, high levels of integration including radio frequency (RF), analog,
processors, and sensors advanced
the convergence of communications,
computation, and the Internet of
Things (IoT).
These innovations have provided
the catalyst for a plethora of startups and served as the foundation
for large, established companies to
generate in excess of trillions of dollars annually. Friedman observes
that, around 2007, we hit a point of
"dislocation," which he defines as a
time "when the whole environment is
being altered so quickly that everyone starts to feel they can't keep up."
By hitting this acceleration point,
with change occurring so quickly,
will start-up companies and IC innovations continue to play a vital role
in creating and advancing the next
big thing?
To help understand the changes in
start-ups, venture funding, and what it
takes to create a successful enterprise
in an environment characterized by
dislocation, Terri Fiez posed a series
of questions to Mar Hershenson of Pear Venture
Capital (VC) and to Lucy
Sanders and Catherine Ashcraft of the National Center
for Women and Information
Technology. Their responses
provide some important
insight into this changing
landscape, as well as keys
for success.
33
Q: Mar, you have been a
serial entrepreneur and
have now become a venture capitalist. Why did you

make this change and what impact
do you hope to make?
Mar: I became a venture capitalist
almost by accident. Pejman Nozad, an
angel investor in my second company,
Sabio Labs, approached me about
building a firm together. Initially,
I was reluctant. But, after al most
four years of courtship and some
angel investing, I decided to take the
plunge. I wanted to build a firm that
would provide the help to founders
that I would have liked to have access
to when I was starting my own company. For me, that meant building a
support layer for founders that was
available and effective when they
most needed it.
To build this support layer, we
have invested in two key initiatives. First, we have built a strong
and vibrant community of founders,
advisors, executives, and investors.
We believe that we are more powerful
when our community is effectively
connected. For example, a founder
who has questions on hiring will benefit greatly from connecting to other
founders who have just hired rather
than just listening to us on best
hiring practices. To foster community, we have very specific activities
such as small chief executive officer (CEO) dinners, educational workshops, social events, a distinguished
speaker series, an online community,
and a strong mentorship program.
Second, we have developed special programs targeted at first-time
founders, especially those coming out

of universities. During the academic year, we run a program, Garage,
where we work closely with a group
of 20 engineering students as they
are thinking of starting a company.
We connect them with mentors in our
community, have regular check-ins,
offer them resources and personal
guidance. During the summer, we
run a second program, Pear Summer, where we invest in 15 companies started by recent graduates,
practically all of whom graduated
that same year. My background as a
founder right after completing graduate school makes me very attuned
to their needs. I am convinced that
we can teach a recent Ph.D. degree
graduate the principles of becoming
a great founder. Many of them are
mystified by the process of selling or
marketing, when it is something they
can learn if they put enough effort
behind it.
My personal goal is to help as
many founders as possible in building impactful companies. In the end,
it is founders that make companies
succeed, not any of us: we are here to
support and enable.

Q: How is Pear VC approaching
investing, and why are you taking
this approach?
Mar: Venture investment has
changed a lot in the last 15 years.
Back in 2000, one could raise an initial round of financing of US$3-5 million from the larger series A funds on
Sand Hill Road with a PowerPoint presentation. Today, two things
have happened. One is that,
to raise series A, a company
Number of Active Seed Funds
needs to show significant
traction. Two is that one
236
does not need US$5 million
to get things started. Many
150
companies get started with
112
small cash infusions of
US$2 million or less. As a
65
42
result, there is a new type
of venture firms, called seed
funds or micro VCs. In the
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
last ten years, the number of
seed funds has grown from
FIGURE 1: The number of active seed funds per year. (Source: CB
Insights.)
zero to almost 300 (Figure 1).

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