Brian Wilcove studied American History at Miami University and is now a Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist. How did this happen? After graduation, he did exactly what his mother wanted and went to work at a legal advisory firm in New York City, while contemplating law school. Imagine the life of a legal analyst in 1995, spending hours pouring over microfiche, stacks of old newspapers, and a dose of the Dewey Decimal System, all to find one piece of information. Now add in an hour and 45-minute subway commute, a curious and voracious reader, and an emerging technology hitting the mainstream. “An Introduction to HTML” and “Internet Protocols & Networking” quickly became Brian’s commuting companions. The legal firm was replaced by a bleeding-edge technology company, AOL, and that, as they say, is history.

Brian has more than 20 years of experience investing with a focus on technology companies that push the boundaries. He has had many failures and an equal number of successes. Given that 9 out of 10 startups fail, this is a pretty good track record.