Ep. 199: Sean O'Sullivan, Managing Director & Founder of SOSV

Today's guest is Sean O'Sullivan, Managing Partner & Founder of SOSV. SOSV is a venture capital firm with more than $1.2B in assets under management. SOSV pioneers & runs world-leading startup development programs. Sean O'Sullivan is Managing Partner & Founder of SOSV, a venture capital firm with over $1 Billion in assets under management. SOSV specializes in programs for very early stage, deep-tech startups and is one of the most active venture investors in the world, with more than 1,000 companies in its portfolio. O'Sullivan's first company, MapInfo, popularized street mapping on computers. Credited with co-creating the term "cloud computing," Sean's first internet company, NetCentric, developed many concepts in internet computing. In addition, he founded JumpStart International, a leading humanitarian organization in conflict zones. Sean received his Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Masters of Fine Arts in Film Production from University of Southern California. He is on the board of Khan Academy, Sun Genomics, the Tyndall Institute, the Autism Impact Fund, the Brain Foundation, and several private companies. I was looking forward to this discussion with Sean and taking a deeper dive into SOSV. Sean explains the company's founding story, his transition from cloud and internet technology to deep tech, bio, and hardware, and what makes a meaningful climate investment to SOSV. We also discuss the commonalities across the development programs, why SOSV doesn't have a specific climate pillar, and advice Sean has for investors interested in focusing on climate. Sean is a seasoned investor and a fantastic guest. Enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests. Episode recorded February 15th, 2022