I'm not entirely sure what "barefoot waterskiing" has to do with venture capital investments, but it's one of Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer's hobbies - and if nothing else, asking what the heck that is might be a good icebreaker at the first meeting. Mr. Fouladgar-Mercer's a senior associate at Sierra Ventures, which means he's still working his way up the ladder - but he's highly qualified, with an undergraduate degree in computer science and an MBA, both from Ivy League schools. He also worked for JP Morgan for a while, before being lured away to Sierra. Sierra Ventures has a slightly mixed reputation among startup entrepreneurs, but there's nothing bad floating around about Mr. Fouladgar-Mercer particularly; since he's a young venture capitalist with, presumably, a little more time than some of his colleagues, he might be a good contact for a startup tech company with a lower profile than some; he also has an interest in energy companies, which is a little unusual.
I'm not entirely sure what "barefoot waterskiing" has to do with venture capital investments, but it's one of Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer's hobbies - and if nothing else, asking what the heck that is might be a good icebreaker at the first meeting. Mr. Fouladgar-Mercer's a senior associate at Sierra Ventures, which means he's still working his way up the ladder - but he's highly qualified, with an undergraduate degree in computer science and an MBA, both from Ivy League schools. He also worked for JP Morgan for a while, before being lured away to Sierra. Sierra Ventures has a slightly mixed reputation among startup entrepreneurs, but there's nothing bad floating around about Mr. Fouladgar-Mercer particularly; since he's a young venture capitalist with, presumably, a little more time than some of his colleagues, he might be a good contact for a startup tech company with a lower profile than some; he also has an interest in energy companies, which is a little unusual.