Clint Chao
Clint Chao is a founding general partner at Formative Ventures. His investments and board leadership include Silicon Clocks, Smalltown, Marketocracy and Zyray Wireless (acquired by Broadcom in 2004).
Prior to co-founding Formative Ventures, Clint served as vice president of marketing, sales, and business development at SkyStream Networks (acquired by Tandberg TV).
Prior to joining SkyStream, Clint served as senior director of marketing at C-Cube Microsystems where he was responsible for marketing for the PC Division. Before joining C-Cube in 1990, Clint held numerous sales and sales management positions at Motorola Semiconductor.
Recent Posts
Is it best to be first?
Lots of entrepreneurs approach us addressing big market problems. Some are convinced they can redefine a category all together. But, is it best to be the first to market? Naturally the first has the first-mover advantage • the opportunity to understand and define market needs and early product implementations as well as manage the pace of an evolving market.
Sometimes a company that shows up with an offering too early can face customers that find… Continue Reading
The VC’s litmus test: Does he want to be your VP of Sales?
(Editor’s note: Venture capitalist Clint Chao gives himself a litmus test each time an entrepreneur pitches him. Clint asks himself if he wants to be the entrepreneur’s VP of Sales. His most recent local investment, he says, made him almost jump for the position. We’ll have more on this investment later.)
Entrepreneurs get a lot of advice on how to pitch to VCs, but do you ever wonder what VCs are really thinking as you go… Continue Reading