Ed Zimmerman

Geography: NYC/NJ, Palo Alto & Paris A Taste: While accompanied by armed police, carried a brown paper bag w/thousands in cash through a parking lot near Newark. Played Beethoven on a Steinway on Japanese TV. Charged by the NYPD at 16 (found guilty). Missed free throws on CBS News at 11 (mocked by anchor for it). Missed a ball tossed into my glove by Reggie Jackson. Given a free sandwich in Ardmore, PA b/c they thought I was Mathew Broderick (felt guilty, but took it anyway - didn't want to disappoint them/was broke). Business Stuff: Founder & Chair or Co-Chair of Venture Capital/Tech Related Stuff (better at starting stuff than joining it) --Founder/Chair of the Tech Group @ Lowenstein Sandler -- lawyer representing VC/PE funds and angels & the start-ups & growth companies they back: www.lowenstein.com (@ LS since Summer 1991). Have closed hundreds of VC/PE/Angel Deals --Adjunct Professor of VC/Angel at Columbia Business School --Co-Founded & Co-Lead www.GrapeArborVC.com -- for my own angel investing (>24 portfolio companies) & to share deals with a handful of friends --Founder/Chair of www.FirstGrowthVN.com -- in concert with a dozen venture funds to provide formal mentoring for high potential first and second time tech entrepreneurs in & around NYC --Founder/Co-Chair www.AngelVineVC.com -- 40+ VCs and dozens of angels looking at hot companies & start-ups together in NYC --Founder/Chair of the HAPI Foundation -- www.hoopapaluza.org -- a charity focused on helping children by (1) doing charitable work alongside our own kids to lead by example and raise empathetic children and (2) raising funds (raised around $2.5M inception to date) for children suffering due to socioeconomic &/or health factors --NVCA Model Legal Docs -- committee chair and involved participant --Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company -- advisory board member, former board member and pro bono outside counsel for 17 years --Radio Uncorked - creator/host: had a talk radio program about wine produced by Infinity Radio, podcast and broadcast at 1550AM in SF Bay area --Profiled in In Search of Bacchus, wine book by wine writer, George Taber Special Sauce Venture Capital, Angel Investing, starting things (and usually finishing them too), advising and helping tech companies (without necessarily understanding tech), understanding people, being a total obsessive compulsive wine geek, travel, working with young entrepreneurs who want to create massive value and guiding them through numerous enterprises, being there when the shit hits the fan and rolling up my sleeves to wipe the shit off the walls, obscure music (and music I should be ashamed to admit that I really like -- you should see my Hall & Oates collection!), food, Paris, living a geographically distributed life; talking about books I've almost read; streaming pretentious movies; compelling my kids to read, watch & listen to the classics (holy cow Casblanca is still amazing), wimping out of ski runs with moguls; storytelling, bringing smart & talented people together, usually (but not always) around food and wine; running events and blending friendships with professional life (usually across geography)

venture capital, wine, Paris, my family/kids, travel, entrepreneurship, learning, music; start-ups; helping kids; French culture/history, connecting people; backstory (in music, wine, books, history)

With American economic (& other) dominance shrinking, the next generation will have to be international and multilingual. How do we prepare our own children to enjoy and thrive in that context? What changes to our existing assumptions about education, play, vacation, friendships, and professional aspirations must we make? Does charity still begin at home? How do we lead by example and what political (immigration policy), religious, educational and cultural changes do we need to enhance innovation, idea sharing, and our preparedness to face with gusto this shifted world? Focus on travel, cross cultural experience, openness, teaching not just tolerance but understanding/acceptance, the importance of context rather than universalism, teach children to nurture and develop long-distance friendships, optimize for diversity rather than reinforcing sameness.

Connect people, Eating Berthillon, Entrepreneurial Business, Food (farmer's mkts/restaurants in NY&Paris), France, Music, Tech and Business Disruption, Travel, Venture Capital, Wine

Did a favor for a friend (nobody was killed) and he repaid it this way. Now I owe him. Damn!

Foraging (for food, companies, young/untested entreps&investors, wine, music, friends, and sometimes, experiences). Played Beethoven in a documentary on Steinway; Made&missed freethrows on CBS News