“I think being a CEO of a software business was the most challenging thing that I have ever done. Thus, when I work with portfolio CEOs or meet with CEOs looking for capital, I never forget what it felt like to be walking in their shoes. Empathy, good advice, and some different ways of looking at a problem are some of the best things a CEO can get from an investor or board member – but empathy is probably the most important.”
Nate joined Osage Venture Partners in 2008 and as Managing Partner oversees investment and portfolio management activities. He serves on the Board of Directors of BookKeeping Express, Curavit, DeepSurface, DrayNow, Malbek, Mona, Noodle, RackWare, RiskLens, Semantic AI, Strategikon Pharma, and Quartile. In addition, Nate is on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technology (PACT), where he previously served as Chairman of the Board; and he serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, a state-supported early stage seed fund. Nate is a frequent speaker and panelist at venture events and is actively involved with numerous venture focused organizations including PACT, NJTC, and MAVA.
Prior to joining Osage, Nate was President and CEO of Verticalnet, a publicly traded SaaS solutions provider, which was sold in January 2008 to Italy-based BravoSolution. He served as Verticalnet’s CEO for over five years and was attributed with leading the transformation of Verticalnet from an online operator of web portals to a proven software solution provider, while navigating the company through a financial turnaround. Prior to Verticalnet, Nate was a Partner at Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman) and led both the San Francisco and the Hong Kong offices. During his time at Mercer, he worked closely with multinational companies and high growth emerging businesses both in the U.S. and in over fifteen countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Nate began his career at Chemical Bank in New York providing lending and structured finance services to mid-size companies. He is a graduate of Brown University and of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he graduated with honors.
Nate resides in Philadelphia with his wife, Suzanne, and their two sons and daughter.
MORE ABOUT NATE
Favorite or Biggest Life Event: Playing pool in the Marina in San Francisco on a Monday night in the mid-1990s trying to decide to go through with quitting my job and joining Disney. Won the game, met the girl, turned down the job, got married 11 months later, moved to Hong Kong and so on. Good thing I won the pool game.
Go-to Karaoke Song: Turn the Page – Bob Seger
Favorite Place to Visit: Stern of my canoe, dog in the bow, out of sight of any houses, paddling quietly on my favorite lake in the Adirondacks.
A Bucket List Item: I’d like to learn how to fly (and land) a float plane in preparation for my next career as a bush pilot.
Most Memorable Childhood Jobs: Stockboy at S.S.Kresge’s in downtown Birmingham, Michigan