Wes Barton

Origin Story: In a couple sentences, how would you describe your path to becoming an investor?

We started our careers as M&A lawyers, private equity and hedge fund professionals and digital marketing entrepreneurs. In 2010, we began investing together out of a shared interest in helping early-stage companies and their founders succeed. That interest became a passion, and in 2016 we launched Third Prime. We strive to combine the rigor of institutional investing with the personal touch of our angel investor days.
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Investment Approach: What are the key factors you consider when evaluating a founding team?

When evaluating a founding team, we first look for subject matter expertise in the relevant areas and a sense that the founders have deep-rooted commitment and passion for solving problems in those areas. Next, we like to get a sense of how founders approach problems and execute on solutions. We get really excited when we meet founder teams who marry those traits with the hard work and good ole fashioned hustle necessary to succeed, but ultimately, integrity is paramount. We are committed to open communication and transparency, and we expect the same from our founders. Finally, we invest with the intention of building long-term relationships with our founders, so it’s important to us that there’s a strong personality fit felt on both sides.
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What's your style and approach when it comes to working with founders post-investment? What are the characteristics of founders you've worked well with?

Our approach varies according to the needs of our founder teams, but in all cases our goal is to help our founders identify and meet their next set of milestones, whether operational or financing-based, so they can continue building their businesses and executing on their vision.  For those founders who prefer more autonomy, we make sure to be present whenever they may need us; alternatively, many early-stage founders desire more strategic engagement. As generalists with prior professional experience investing and structuring transactions across a broad group of industries and asset classes, we are able to provide insight and guidance and make valuable introductions for the duration of a company's lifecycle – from first institutional investment through exit.  Where desired, we help our founders build investor syndicates, identify key milestones, and structure and negotiate debt and equity financings, key partnerships and M&A transactions, often bridging the gap between outside counsel and management regarding nuanced business considerations.
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If I'm coming to pitch to you or your firm, what's the one piece of advice you'd give me?

Expect to have a broader conversation than what you’ve included in your pitch notes. As early-stage investors, we are investing in you as much as we are investing in the company, and we'll dive into your origin story and non-monetary goals.
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How would you describe your own personal mission and values, and how do they impact the way you invest?

We strive to invest in companies that are improving the lives of regular people who may not be living in tech hubs or urban centers. This means investing in companies that are improving access to services and access to capital that preserve these people’s health and wellbeing. It also means investing in entrepreneurs that may be based in emerging geographies outside of New York or Silicon Valley. Additionally, we are looking to invest in companies that are driving positive outcomes for all the stakeholders they serve through deep and ongoing alignment among all parties. We have found that when everyone’s incentives and outcomes are improved as an externality of the business model, the business is most likely to keep finding traction and growth.
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What do you like best about investing in NYC, and what’s your outlook on the future of NYC tech?

NYC is our hometown, so investing here gives us the opportunity to build relationships and friendships with founders in our backyard. There’s nothing like being able to take our entrepreneurs out for a meal or have them over for a round of drinks.That said, we choose not to be limited to investing a single geography, and we have always cast a wide net with our investments, deploying roughly half our capital in New York and the rest in emerging geographies throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West and Southeast. New York City’s startup scene has proven that startups can grow and blossom into large, viable businesses outside of Silicon Valley. Following COVID-19, we have become even more optimistic that the next great technology opportunities can come from anywhere.