Building a Robust Business with Eugene (Oregon) Angels Investors: Jake Weatherly, CEO of SheerId (Part 7)

Sramana: Are your investors all Eugene based?

Jake Weatherly: Most of them are; however, we do have an investor from the Los Angeles area, and one in far eastern Oregon.

Sramana: What is the entrepreneurship community like in Eugene?

Jake Weatherly: It is an area that is near and dear to my heart. This is where Nike was founded. We have great schools. We have a handful of interesting companies. There is an interesting tech scene here. There is actually a movement to brand the technology and startup scene here. The brand is the Silicon Shire.

Sramana: What’s in the future? Are you going to go the venture capital route?

Jake Weatherly: That remains to be seen. We are happy with our close circle of investors. We have a pipeline of new verification services that we will be launching this year. For the time being, we are thrilled with the growth and with the capital position. We are not profitable yet, but we are flirting with it. We have a good cash position which lets us keep dipping below. We used to look at our capital position as a runway; now we look at it as a war chest.

Sramana: The interesting thing here is that when you have investors who are not institutional investors, they are managing their own money. They are not under the timeline pressures that VCs are under. They can be long-term partners in building a company.

Jake Weatherly: Exactly. They are not pushing, they are supporting. It allows us to be endlessly transparent and super honest. If we do raise money later we will have a proven model and financials that back up the value.

Sramana: At that point, even the Silicon Valley capital will not mind funding. Early-stage deals outside of the Valley can be difficult. If you have a thriving company, then you already have the proof. That works fine.

Jake Weatherly: Exactly.

Sramana: When I get people asking me if they should come to Silicon Valley, I tell them no. The war for talent is intense and everything is expensive. It is easier to bootstrap outside of the Valley.

Jake Weatherly: If you go to the Valley, you are just a small fish in a huge pond. Everybody is doing the exact same thing.

Sramana: You are also a transplant trying to build relationships.

Jake Weatherly: I can’t even imagine accomplishing what we have done in an entirely new community. The world is flat in social media. You can be connected anywhere, anytime. However, being part of a geographic community is a very important aspect. It allows me to have a room in my office dedicated to kids who come to work with their parents for that day. We establish a healthy environment that allows people to authentically enjoy what they do. We are not the environment where the last person in the office is the winner each day.

Sramana: I don’t think there is anything wrong with a culture like that. This has been a very good story. Thank you for sharing it with us, and best of luck as you press forward.

This segment is part 7 in the series : Building a Robust Business with Eugene (Oregon) Angels Investors: Jake Weatherly, CEO of SheerId
1 2 3 4 5 6 7