Started in 2014, Include is TechCrunch’s diversity program, facilitating opportunities for underrepresented groups in tech to take their startups to the next stage.
Apply now for TechCrunch Include office hours with Bain Capital Ventures in NY February 16th. Partners Matt Harris, Scott Friend, and Steve Anastos of Bain will give guidance and feedback to startups.
Every month, TechCrunch partners with a VC to provide advice to early stage companies via Office Hours. To be considered for a meeting with Bain Capital in NY, fill out the application here.
Underrepresented groups in tech include, but are not limited to, female founders, Black, Latino, Native American, and LGBTQ. Preference will be given to teams that can meet in person. Startups should at least have a functional prototype.
Here’s some info about our co-hosts.
Matt Harris
Matt started his investing career at Bain Capital private equity in 1995, having worked previously at Bain & Company, and attended Williams College, where he majored in rugby. In 2000, Matt founded Village Ventures, which he ran for 12 years and where he focused on early-stage fintech investing. In 2012 he rejoined Bain Capital Ventures.
Outside of work, Matt enjoys spending any free moments with his wife, Jessica, and their four children. Matt serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Williamstown Theatre Festival, a regional theater associated with Williams College. He is a Senior Advisor to Endeavor, an organization leading the global movement to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. He is obsessed with military history, and some day will write a book connecting the strategy and tactics of insurgency with what he has learned about entrepreneurship.
Scott Friend
Scott joined Bain Capital Ventures in 2006 after selling the company he co-founded, ProfitLogic (a Bain Capital portfolio company), to Oracle. ProfitLogic was the leader in the world of retail analytics and price optimization solutions. Through the experience of building ProfitLogic from its initial three founders to a 300 person global software and solutions business serving the retail industry, Scott had the opportunity to get to know many of the most influential executives in the retail and apparel brand world. Not surprisingly, Scott’s area of investment interest since joining Bain Capital Ventures has revolved around retail and retail-related technology, both online and offline, as well as the convergence of the two. Scott splits time between Boston and New York City.
Prior to Bain Capital Ventures, Scott was Chairman of the Executive Advisory Board and VP of Marketing and Science for Oracle Retail. Prior to its acquisition by Oracle in 2005, Scott was the President and co-founder of ProfitLogic. In 2005, Scott was named a winner of the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” in New England. Scott was also honored in 2004 as one of Chain Store Age’s “40 Under 40” most influential executives in the retail industry, and in 2006 received the Extended Retail Industry “Lifetime Achievement Award.” Prior to ProfitLogic, Scott held positions at Cognitive Arts, an early pioneer in the e-learning space, The Parthenon Group, a management consulting firm, and IBM, where Scott’s customers were major retailers.
Scott received an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard Business School and a BA, magna cum laude, in Electrical Engineering and Economics from Brown University. At Brown, Scott was captain of the Men’s Varsity Tennis Team and he continues, despite the futility of his efforts, to be a big supporter of Brown Athletics. Scott is from Chicago and is a lifelong Cubs fan, so you know he roots for the underdog and never gives up hope!
Steve Anastos
Steve joined Bain Capital Ventures in 2014, and is focused primarily on B2B and B2C commerce technology. His role spans the investment lifecycle, from finding and evaluating new investments to working closely with portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Bain Capital Ventures, Steve supported seed-stage entrepreneurs at Blueprint Health, a NYC-based accelerator. Before that, Steve was a strategy consultant at Altman Vilandrie & Company, where he worked on engagements across telecom and digital media and advised on M&A transactions in the internet infrastructure space.
Outside of work, Steve serves on the Associate Board of the NYC chapter of BUILD.org, a non-profit focused on developing youth in under-resourced communities through entrepreneurship. Steve is a graduate of Harvard College, where he studied History and Economics, and is originally from Boston.
If you’re interested in attending Office Hours with Bain Capital, apply here by Monday, February 13th at 9pm PST. VCs interested in participating should e-mail neesha@beta.techcrunch.com