I learned on 12th that Gerry Lemberg, 68 passed away on the 6th of January 2007. According to his colleague, Avi Ram, it was quick and painless end without any suffering. I came to know Gerry through ecadamey in Feb 06. At Gerry’s request, ebdex presented its business plan to London Business School in March 06 as part of the VCIC competition. I am glad to report that as a result, Manchester Business School will be sending a team to 2007 VCIC competition. Avi has asked me to inform anyone who has known Gerry. A simple funeral service will take place at Guildford Crematorium on Thursday the 18th January at 13:00 hrs.
Gerry and I did not see eye-to-eye on number of key issues, nevertheless his experience and guidance played a vital role in the development of ebdex. Bit about Gerry, from many stories he told:
Gerry and couple of colleagues were working for a semiconductor manufacturer when one of them decided to start a company. Gerry and others joined in and Fairchild Instruments were born. They required Venture Capital (VC) and Gerry was quite good at bridging the gap between VC community and the technically biased entrepreneurs (they were mostly scientists). Neither party fully understood each others’ business. This led to Gerry playing a pivotal role in the early stages of Intel, Apple, Oracle, Electronics Art, and number of other companies who are global players today. Gerry was known by Larry Ellison and Steve Balmer to name a few. And he is claimed to have flown Larry Ellison’s fighter jet. Gerry also flew fighter aircrafts for the US Navy. So Gerry has led a full life. As per his colleague, Marcus Cauchi, Gerry has earned and lost more money than most of us can dream of.
Having lived the last 18 years in UK (was still an American citizen), most recently Gerry set-up Silver Fox Ventures to help start-up businesses such as ebdex. Gerry had a no nonsense approach to VC funding. He was also heavily linked with London Business School’s entrepreneurship activities. This relationship helped him find exceptional team members as well as start-ups with growth potential. He was interested in helping companies that could attract a value of over £100m in 5 to 7 years. And he was well respected in all circles he interacted in, especially the investment community.
In Gerry’s eyes, a startup company is ready for investment when following parameters are met:
- Their solution will relieve validated customer pain better than the competition and the company has attracted at least three significant customers and have their backing to develop the technology/product. Without such validation and backing, one should not enter into the development cycle.
- The team must have all required skills and connectivity up and down the value chain, both in the industry in which they are competing and the markets that they will be serving
- The CEO must have knowledge and experience of running a business and willingness to learn from mistakes
Gerry also holds a PhD from MIT, a Masters degree from Brandeis University and a JD from the University of California. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts. Gerry’s life should be celebrated, as his contribution to establishment and growth of many companies has been immense. It is a shame that I could not find a single web site that captures his achievements fully. I did not know him personally other than through interactions due to ebdex. Perhaps somebody will fill the gaps in highlighting his other achievements.
We certainly lost a rare individual. Gerry you will surely be missed by all those who have come to know you over the years. May you rest in peace.
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Tags: Gerry Lemberg, Silver Fox Ventures, ebdex, London Business School, VCIC, Apple, Intel, Oracle, Fairchild Instruments, Venture Capital, tribute, life
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