VC Firm Upfront Ventures Names Rapper Chamillionaire Entrepreneur In Residence
Turning the head of entrepreneur turned venture capitalist Mark Suster, five and a half years ago, Chamillionaire, the award winning rap artist, has traded the stage for a seat in the office of Upfront Ventures, as their Entrepreneur In Residence.
In 2009 Suster recognized Chamillionaire's knack for understanding customer trends and audience engagement when he was speaking at a tech conference in LA about using social media to reach his fans in ways that hadn't yet been explored by the masses. A post-conference follow up conversation initiated by Suster led to continued conversation about the tech world and what it has to offer.
Cham shared his desire to immerse himself in the tech world with Suster who gladly made introductions between Cham and aspiring startup founders. In a cycle that continues to perpetuate, Cham ended up being sought after for much more than promotional value added, offering advice about marketing, product development, customer engagement etc.
After several years of collaborative exploration in the tech industry, some of which included Cham making some small co-investments alongside Suster, Cham will serve as the company's first EIR since Sam Rosen, who's program was incredibly successful.
Suster welcomed Cham and his business associate and producer Nsilo Reddick to Upfront Ventures in a blog post earlier this week disclosing the details behind their newest EIR saying, "Cham & Nsilo. Welcome to the family. We’ve already enjoyed having you around. And I can’t wait to see you guys further develop your tech insights."
The ventures of Chamillionaire, a rap artist turning tech entrepreneur, and Mark Suster, a venture capitalist moonlighting as an industry mentor, further prove a little networking goes (and can take you) a long way.
