Kent Madsen Managing Director Wasatch Venture Fund
November 8, 2007 Finance, Investing, Venture Capital 1 Comment
Mr. Madsen is a Managing Director with the Wasatch Venture Fund and Zions SBIC. He was also President, CEO and Director of MACC Private Equities, a later stage publicly traded private equity firm with interests in multiple industries.
Previously, Kent worked for Ford Motor Company in the Advanced Technology Group. At Ford, Kent developed mathematical and computational models analyzing vehicle aerodynamics and thermodynamic properties. He then transferred to China Operations where he helped write, present and negotiate joint venture proposals.
Kent is responsible for the oversight of the following Wasatch portfolio companies: Pivot Solutions, Q Therapeutics, LeftHand Networks, S5 Wireless, Akimbo, Everdream and Linux Network.
Mr. Madsen has taught courses in Engineering Thermodynamics and co-authored the Solutions Manual for Fundamentals of Classic Thermodynamics. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, a M.S.E. from the University of Michigan, a M.A. in International Studies, and a M.B.A. from Wharton.
Recap: Kent gave a very informative presentation about venture capital and venture capitalists. He said that although venture capital investments create jobs, boost the economy, maintain competitiveness, and improve the quality of life venture capitalists are all about making money and they like entrepreneurs who aren’t necessarily motivated by money alone but by changing the world (stay away from entrepreneurs who drive a German car). He also said that he looks for revolutionary change in the company’s business model and to avoid analysis paralysis meaning it’s easy to get stuck in the analysis stage for too long and sometimes you just need to “move” and trust your gut.
