David Warnock has been in funding since middle school, and Friday, December 16th, we sat down to have a conversation with him about it.
When Davis Warnock was in 9th grade, his father decided they needed a new approach to life lessons. Greg sat them down and told them his life story, imparting things he'd learned along the way. Eventually this grew into a regular occurrence. "Dad's Class" was a weekly lesson Davis and his brother participated in–taught by dad, a.k.a. Greg Warnock.
Greg brought in big players in the industry to have dinner and talk with his sons. It ended up being a big year in Davis's life, and started him on a trajectory that shaped his career. He and his brother started a small LLC and made micro investments in what would become successful companies like SkullCandy, and in the process Davis became extremely interested in the inner-workings of funding. The process "lit a fire" in him.
Learning through the years has been a never-ending process. Davis started with the co-founding of Auxano, then UA2, then moved to Lumen Ground, and he's currently the Managing Director of Prelude Venture Fund, Mercato’s early-stage practice. For Davis the last twelve months have been rewarding and tricky. With 40% of the fund in cybersecurity, he's busy looking at what he feels is a "white-hot" industry.
Through everything, Davis remains true to his core values of kindness and community. There's no secret weapon or golden sure-fire way to invest in the right companies, it's just talking to people, making friends, and building a community.
