"It's very common to see company founders after they're raised they're money to feel like that's the big win. They raised their money, so now they're a company. As you close that first round and the money gets wired to your account, it's really just beginning for you as a company. And it's really important and imperative for you to be leveraging all the resources that you have, including that investor that has given you money. They want to see you succeed as much as you want to succeed. " -- Rob Hayes
Funding 101
Rob joined First Round Capital in 2006 from Omidyar Network where he was their first venture investor. He led most of Omidyar Network's initial venture capital deals and later built and ran the technology investing group.
Prior to joining Omidyar Network in 2004, Rob was at Palm where he started up their corporate venture fund. While in that role he also managed the strategy effort around Palm OS that led to the spinout of PalmSource. Rob started at Palm as product manager for the initial device-independent releases of Palm OS. During this time, Rob was responsible for the versions of Palm OS on dozens of devices including the initial Treo products.
Rob previously spearheaded complex, system-level product development efforts at companies such as Geoworks and Go Corp where he focused on building products for the Japanese market. He began his career with the Japan External Trade Organization, studying international trade issues and building relationships between US and Japanese businesses, at a time when trade friction between the two countries was at its peak.
Rob has an MBA from Columbia University and a B.A. in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley.
