Joining Matrix

The day before our daughter Bentley’s due date last summer, I sat down at the dining table, tidied the stack of cookbooks I’d been using to raise my laptop, cracked open the screen, and met Antonio Rodriguez for the first time. Antonio is a partner at Matrix Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm with offices in Cambridge and San Francisco. I was excited to meet him, but not too nervous. After all, there was no way I was really going to end up in VC.

Well: I ended up in VC. I’m excited to share the news that I’ve joined Matrix as a partner on their investing team. I can’t wait to help write the next chapter in Matrix’s 40-year history, and I feel lucky that this opportunity found me.

What changed my mind about VC? Matrix did. I had an inkling that I might want to try VC one day—I like to learn, I like to help, and nothing gets me more excited than the twists and turns of that early quest for product-market fit. I just figured that “one day” would be far, far in the future, after a lot more time as an operator. When I realized that “one day” could be now, it threw me for a loop and ultimately drew me in. One by one, Matrix’s whole investing team took the time to meet me, get to know my life story, and tug on that thread of someday-maybe and pull it into the present. What started out seeming impossible eventually felt inevitable. I decided to take the leap.

What will I invest in? You tell me! (But seriously: I need leads.) A few of the topics I’m preoccupied with at the moment are emoji productivity, remote fitness, and applied AI. I’m looking forward to letting my experience as a product leader at Salesforce, Quip, and SoundCloud shape my perspective while still welcoming every surprise. The best thing about investing is that you never know what’s going to happen next.

Wondering if VC could be for you? I’d love to share more about my process and learn more about your interest. We’re still looking to grow Matrix’s investing team, especially in Boston. I’m reserving Thursday & Friday this week for virtual office hours—just drop me a line at diana@matrixpartners.com. And if we know each other and haven’t talked in a while, I’d love to catch up! Reach out anytime.

See the announcement on Matrix’s blog here.