My Philosophy

Having co-founded two companies and operated them to successful outcomes over 2 decades, I love the entire process from formation through to scale. There is no standard playbook and every business and every stage is different in the life of a company. What a founder needs to be changes too. I try to be close enough to the situation to know how to be the most helpful as the priorities and needs of the business evolve. My objective is always to do the work and understand what founders and their teams need at any moment in time.

Experience

Before joining Costanoa, I was an operator, co-founding and serving as President of two companies, BabyCenter and Merced Systems. BabyCenter was a pioneer in the consumer Internet, grew to become a leader in the online parenting market, and was sold to Johnson and Johnson in 2001. Merced became the dominant provider of Performance Management software for large Customer Service functions and was sold to NICE Systems in 2012.

Education

-B.A. in English from Brown University

-MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business

Outside of Work

I am a longtime volunteer with the March of Dimes, having served as a National Trustee and was Chair of the California Chapter. I currently serve on the Board of the San Francisco Friends School. I am a drummer in two bands - a Talking Heads Tribute band and an original band - and am learning jazz guitar. I live on Potrero Hill in San Francisco, and am married with three children.

Perspectives from Mark Selcow.