I graduated from Yale University in 2005 with a BA in History, a defining time in my development wherein I was able to indulge an eagerness to learn and build. These aspirations form the tenets of my professional life, and although I didn't realize it then I was already exhibiting the entrepreneurial spirit having starting a fraternity on campus my Sophomore year.
I began my career after graduation at a 501(c)(3) on an Army research base, facilitating tech transfer and collaboration with startups; it took less than a year to become enthralled with the idea of commercializing defense technology for profit, joining a coalescing partnership of venture investors that created a fund and promptly raised $80 million.
At Chart Venture Partners, despite being low man on the totem pole, I was part of every transaction and helped deploy the fund across 16 companies over 12 years - learning the VC business through trial by fire, from executing deals to portfolio composition theory to investor relations. I even co-founded a company in 2009 called Flyby Media, a mobile AR developer - the timing was early, but provided invaluable operational experience across the four years I was GM. We sold the company to Apple in early 2016, at which point I had transitioned back to the Fund, winding down the last seven assets over two years and managing to generate 59% of all proceeds.
I went on to manage 3 positions that I sold to a secondary fund, retaining my board roles and actively pursuing the optimal strategy for preserving value and, when opportunistic, increasing exposure to generate outsized returns. Our last company, CoolIT Systems, was acquired in 2023 by KKR and generate a total return on invested capital in excess of 11x.
Over the last few years I was able to apply my ample enthusiasm for innovation across multiple new projects. I started a business in Hawaii distributing organic sandalwood products to support a reforestation effort, co-founded Yale alumni groups for entrepreneurs, started a fund structuring working capital solutions for non-traditional industries, built investment syndicates focused on startups at Yale and beyond, and seeded multiple funds executing alternative investment strategies.
I have a particular affinity for process and sustainability, especially in manufacturing, but am always interested in learning about new, exciting and impactful concepts. I generally enjoy the outdoors, indulging my love for nature and health through sports, hunting and exercise.
Supporting Heroes
I recognize and appreciate the fortune in my life, and believe in contributing to causes with a purpose. My time in the defense world introduced me to many heroes in uniform, some that sacrificed life and limb, and I honor their service by supporting the Move United & Wounded Warfighters organization.
Passionate protection
A good portion of my formative years were spent in the Bahamas, an island nation that instilled in me a love and respect for the sea and its denizens. I channel that energy into marine conservancy and spearfishing, a marriage of complimentary ideals committed to protecting the ocean.
LifeCamp
A summer camp in Pottersville, NJ providing an enjoyable learning environment for inner city children. Public and charter school partners from Newark, NJ help bring an enriching summer program of experiential and contextual learning to 300 children in a unique country setting. Opened in 1923 on 90 acres of farmland by my great-grandfather, James Cox Brady, it is the last LifeCamp inspired by the Life Magazine campus model.
A right of passage in my family for each generation, working at the LifeCamp was a formative experience for this young teenager; I give thanks for the years spent internalizing the core principles of volunteer work - giving back selflessly and helping those in need.
