# Eric Paley

> Eric Paley is a serial entrepreneur turned seed-stage venture capitalist who co-founded Founder Collective in 2008, building it into one of the world's highest-performing seed funds with investments in Uber, The Trade Desk, Airtable, and 20+ unicorns. Before VC, he co-founded Brontes Technologies — a 3D dental imaging startup spun out of MIT — and sold it to 3M for $95 million in 2006. A perennial Forbes Midas List honoree (ranked as high as #9 globally and the world's top-ranked seed investor), he became known for his unusually candid critiques of venture capital excess. In June 2025, he left Founder Collective to serve as Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Development under Governor Maura Healey, overseeing a 700-person agency focused on housing affordability, business competitiveness, and the AI innovation economy.

- **Role:** Secretary of Economic Development, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- **Organizations:** Commonwealth of Massachusetts - Executive Office of Economic Development, Founder Collective (Partner Emeritus), MassDevelopment (Chair), MassTech (Chair), The Trade Desk (former Board Director)
- **From:** Long Island, New York, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Political Science (Government), Dartmouth College, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Forbes Midas List five times; ranked as high as #9 globally and world's top seed investor (2018, 2019), Co-founded Brontes Technologies and sold to 3M for $95 million in 2006, Co-founded Founder Collective, seeding Uber, The Trade Desk (market cap $40B+), Airtable, WHOOP, Formlabs, and 20+ unicorns

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Graduated Dartmouth magna cum laude; joined Monitor Group as strategy consultant
- **1999** — Co-founded Abstract Edge Web Solutions (web development) with family members
- **2001** — Enrolled at Harvard Business School
- **2003** — Graduated HBS as Baker Scholar; co-founded Brontes Technologies with HBS classmates and MIT inventors
- **2003-2006** — CEO of Brontes Technologies, commercializing 3D dental imaging technology from MIT research
- **2006** — Brontes Technologies acquired by 3M for $95 million
- **2006-2008** — Continued leading Brontes as part of 3M post-acquisition
- **2008** — Co-founded Founder Collective with David Frankel, Micah Rosenbloom, and others
- **2009** — Made early seed investment in Uber
- **2011** — Named Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Business School
- **2015** — Began writing for TechCrunch, publishing influential essays on capital efficiency and venture capital
- **2016** — The Trade Desk IPO; Paley continues as Board Director
- **2018** — Ranked world's #1 seed investor on Forbes Midas List
- **2019** — Ranked #9 overall on Forbes Midas List (highest-ranked seed investor again)
- **2023** — Stepped down from The Trade Desk board; Founder Collective raised Fund V
- **2025-06** — Appointed Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Development by Governor Maura Healey
- **2025-09** — Began term as Secretary; listed as Partner Emeritus at Founder Collective
- **2026** — Leading Massachusetts AI strategy and affordability initiatives as Secretary

## Achievements

- Forbes Midas List five times; ranked as high as #9 globally and world's top seed investor (2018, 2019)
- Co-founded Brontes Technologies and sold to 3M for $95 million in 2006
- Co-founded Founder Collective, seeding Uber, The Trade Desk (market cap $40B+), Airtable, WHOOP, Formlabs, and 20+ unicorns
- Holds 6 patents for 3D dental imaging technology
- Named Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Development (2025) under Governor Maura Healey
- Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School (top academic distinction)
- Graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College
- Board Director of The Trade Desk from founding through 2023
- Oversaw 84+ investments as Managing Partner of Founder Collective
- Boston Globe Tech Power Players 50 (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
- Named one of Boston's 150 Most Influential by Boston Magazine

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — WBUR profile on efforts to make Massachusetts competitive and affordable; met with Kingdom of Denmark delegation
- **2026-02** — Economic development tour of Franklin County, meeting with businesses, nonprofits, and educators
- **2025-10** — Boston Globe interview on helping Massachusetts universities contribute to state economic development
- **2025-09** — Formally began term as Secretary of Economic Development; listed as Partner Emeritus at Founder Collective
- **2025-06** — Appointed Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Development by Governor Maura Healey

## Links

- Website: https://founderscollective.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epaley/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/epaley

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/eric-paley
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-04