An embarassing admission: Venrock partner Ray Rothrock was one of the first venture capitalists I ever interviewed, back when I was 23 years-old and living in a NYC apartment reminiscent of Matthew Broderick’s final digs in Election.
My draft copy included a reference to Ray as the (then) 30-year-old firm’s founder. When my editor caught the error, I explained that my supposition was based on both the man and his firm sharing the second syllable “rock.” Seems “Rockefeller” never crossed my mind…
Anyway, that’s a meandering way of leading into this: Ray Rothrock has joined the VC blogging revolution. His debut post is a response to the recent New York Times special section on energy, which he chided for displaying an overly-sunny disposition.
I’m sure many of his future posts also will involve energy — he’s a former nuclear engineer — but his investment track record has been more focused on tech (DoubleClick, Check Point Software, Vontu, etc.). So expect a mix.
Also worth noting that this blog appears to be an intellectual/academic exercise for Rothrock, more than brand-building (i.e., “hey entrepreneurs, look at me!”). When Venrock closed its latest fund this past summer, Rothrock announced that he would work on existing portfolio companies, but did not plan to make new investments.