I love it when science supports my previously held prejudices. So is the case with a plethora of studies that show that swearing is good for us. All I can say to these findings is….damn straight! In one study at Keane University in New Jersey, students had their hands dipped…

It looks like we are in for a long hot summer in pretty much every aspect of the phrase. Macroeconomics. The macroeconomic signals are the worst in decades. Inflation is soaring, and that seems locked in for some time. Certainly, the disruptions in food and fertilizer that derive from the…

Americans love grit. The can-do character. The never-die spirit. The plucky underdog. We applaud Rocky when, having been battered and humiliated, he gets back up again….and again….and again. In past blog posts, I’ve written about how we see grit as a core element of startup success. Often, startups win by…

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report a few weeks ago announcing that we are past the point of preventing climate change and are now officially in the era of working to minimize the damage it causes. This is sobering but not unexpected news. People looking at the…

As we head into 2022, it seems a natural time to look anew at the fundamentals of our funds. Our company culture centers on the concept that everything we do must help our teams accomplish our shared goals. We don’t just take action, we serve a purpose. …

I’ve been getting some questions lately about the purpose of Ataraxia.vc and its interplay with our fund families. I’ll address those here. Ataraxia Partners is a venture capital fund management company at the innovative edge of early-stage investment. …

Our funds have experienced dramatic growth over the past year. So, I wanted to provide an overview of where things stand. Ataraxia. In mid-2020, we set up our first formal fund management company, Ataraxia Partners. This isn’t a fund. Rather, it is a fund management company. Ataraxia will handle payroll…

Our funds have been active for 10 years, so it is a natural time for reflection, change, and growth. Happily, the funds that started it all, Social Starts, are doing quite well. In 2021, we have had four major exits from those early funds. Triplelift and Greenhouse were acquired at…

We have a new member in our family of early-stage venture funds. The Science of Health and Happiness Fund (SH²) now stands alongside Joyance Partners to invest in young companies focused on individual health. The funds have two primary differences. Joyance, a single-LP set of funds, focuses on the concept…