Nick Candito, alumnus of Finance from the class of 2010, has been named on Business Insider’s list “The Seed 100: The Best Early-Stage Investors” published in May.
He was praised for his ability to recognize emerging founders, innovative products, and new ideas that will become the “next biggest thing.”
The list is compiled using data analysis, which considers over 20 investor portfolio attributes. These include reaching Series B+ funding rounds and performing well at initial public offerings that are most commonly listed on Nasdaq.
The three-times exited startup operator says that outliers have an obsessive genetic trait. He attributes his success to his single-mindedness, which he says is the reason he has been able to transition from a scrappy startup operator to a respected venture capitalist. Nick is more interested in people than products, which will inevitably change over time.
“I’m hoping that many of these founders will build two to three more companies that I can make investments in over the next few decades,” says the 36 year old, who lives in Austin with his wife Trish and three daughters Charlotte, Camila and Campbell. “I like people who have a chip in their shoulder and a little extra motivation. They have a burning passion. They don’t understand how to fail.”
Candito began his career in Boston, building two startups. He then moved west to Silicon Valley. He joined RelateIQ in Silicon Valley, an intelligent CRM startup which was sold to Salesforce for more than $390m in 2014. Next, he founded and led the cloud-based operation solution startup Progressly. Box acquired it in 2018. He has been involved in more than 200 private investment since 2014.
Candito is the co-founder and managing director of San Franciso’s Angel Collective Opportunity Fund, also known as ACOF. ACOF is a platform that allows first-time venture-capital fund managers to make direct investments into portfolio companies. He is also an advisor for the early-stage businesses he believes in. His advice ranges from recruiting and fundraising to strategy.
His goal is to help other entrepreneurs succeed. He says that “if we get a few thing right, there is sometimes an opportunity to build generational companies” – as his mentor David M. Beirne, ’85, was able do with eBay and other companies as part of Benchmark Capital.
“When I speak to founders, I tell them that I was a good founder and CEO. “If I do my job, you’ll be much better than I was,” he says. “My approach is free of ego. I’m trying my best to help us win. “I hope that by having seen the future, I can help them avoid a few of the rough days they will face as founders.”
Candito’s success has shown that even small investments can yield huge returns.
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