Moment Ventures Promotes Matt Divack to Principal
Clint Chao and I are delighted to announce the promotion of Matt Divack to Principal at Moment Ventures. When we first met Matt over three years ago at a Haas School of Business recruiting event on the campus at U.C. Berkeley, his passion for technology-led innovation was clear. This combined with an understated, no-drama style and broader work experience than most of his peers made him a clear front-runner.
From a value creation point of view, Matt saw business opportunities similarly to us and shared an interest in exploring how technology could drive change across industries and society overall. However, hiring our first colleague was an important step for us and we wanted to make sure that the cultural fit was strong. At Haas, Matt had been a founding student advisor for the Center of Equity, Gender and Leadership and it was clear that these issues were as important to him as they were for us. After joining the team, Matt arranged a conversation with Professor Kellie McElhaney to help evaluate a potential investment. The insights we gathered from the conversation between them demonstrated Matt’s understanding of the nuances of the issues as well as the strength of his relationship with her.
There may be another reason for how effectively Matt has integrated and extended the culture of Moment Ventures. Clint, Matt and I share one interesting demographic trait — we are all fathers of daughters (two for each of us, in fact). Research from HBS originally published in 2017 (and discussed towards the end of this podcast) shows a meaningful impact on the hiring practices and investment results of firms where the senior partners were parents of daughters. As we grow the firm, we plan to continue adding positive correlation to that data on both the hiring and results side!
As well as supporting our overall efforts at Moment over the last two years, Matt has been delving into the world of Web3 and its intersection with our focus on The Future of Work. His write-up from earlier this year explains why Web3 is interesting to us and sheds light on the kinds of investments that fit our strategy. He has sourced and sponsored some terrific opportunities in this space, and we are looking forward to seeing how they play out in the years ahead.
I would be remiss if I did not conclude this announcement with a mention of one of Matt’s secret weapons — the Divack Cousin Network (DCN). This has come to our aid many times — chicken farming, mental health, dental health, clothing, video gaming are just some of the areas of expertise among his extended network of cousins and relatives, and I know I am missing a few. You should make sure and ask him how the DCN could potentially help you build a great business.
Please join us in celebrating Matt’s promotion!
