Essentials of Funding a Startup

Jim Cohen '86

Co-Founder and Managing Director

Fitz Gate

linkedin.com/in/jameshcohen

Jim is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Fitz Gate Ventures. Jim also leads a learning cohort on venture capital at Princeton University's Graduate School and is an Adjunct Professor/Lecturer at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business where he teaches a class on venture capital investing. Jim volunteers as a member of the Keller Center’s eLab Advisory Committee and as a mentor to the Princeton Entrepreneurship Council. Jim has previously served two terms on the Executive Committee of the Alumni Council of Princeton University and one term as Vice Chair of the Princeton Schools Committee and ten years as Chair of the Princeton Alumni Schools Committee of Houston, Texas.

Fitz Gate Ventures invests a majority of its capital in early-stage companies from the Princeton ecosystem. Typical initial check size is $500K with additional capital reserved for follow-on rounds. Fitz Gate is investing out of its second fund and currently has $25 million under management. Fitz Gate’s portfolio companies have been profiled in the New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Forbes, Bloomberg, Vogue and other media outlets. Fitz Gate invests alongside other world-class VC firms but is also willing to lead and/or invest alone. Fitz Gate’s strategy is to leverage its Friends of Fitz network of alumni and faculty to help its portfolio companies succeed.

 Prior to co-founding Fitz Gate, Jim was the head of M&A for an NYSE listed company which he grew through acquisition until it was sold to the leading public company in its sector. Before that he was a founding partner in the private equity fund Main Street Capital (NYSE: MAIN), and before that he was a private equity and mergers and acquisitions lawyer with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in NYC and London and with Baker Botts in Houston. Jim began his career as a financial analyst with Morgan Stanley in NYC.

Mark Poag '93

Co-Founder and Managing Director

Fitz Gate

linkedin.com/in/markpoag

Mark is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Fitz Gate Ventures. Fitz Gate Ventures invests a majority of its capital in early stage companies from the Princeton ecosystem, and a portion of its capital is available to be invested more broadly. Fitz Gate’s portfolio companies have been profiled in the New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times and other media outlets. Fitz Gate invests alongside other world class VC firms but is also willing to lead and/or invest alone. Fitz Gate currently manages two funds and has approximately $25mm under management.

Mark brings to Fitz Gate Ventures 20+ years of experience as an experienced entrepreneur and executive with a proven track record of successfully growing companies from the ground up to mature industry leadership. Prior to Fitz Gate Mark was the head of Product, Marketing, Legal and Alliances and Board Secretary at Datacert, Inc., an enterprise software company (sold 2014) and Founder and CEO of Digicontract, Inc., a SaaS company (sold 2001).

Mark received an A.B. from Princeton University in 1993 and a JD and MBA with honors from Tulane University in 1997. Mark teaches a class on venture capital at Rice University to undergrads and MBA students and also leads a seminar series on venture capital at Princeton University's Graduate School.  He is currently President of the Princeton Alumni Association of Houston and Co-Chair of the Alumni Schools Committee of Houston and volunteers as a member of the Keller Center’s eLab Advisory Committee and as a mentor to the Princeton Entrepreneurship Council.  Mark previously served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Council of Princeton University.