John Burke
John’s passion for building and growing companies began 22 years ago during his days as an engineer for a startup in Oakland, California. As the fourth employee, it was as clear to him then as it is now that it is all about the team. The guiding principle of team has stayed with him throughout his career – first on the programming team in California, then as an engineer for Bechtel Power in San Francisco, and ultimately as a venture investor. However, nowhere was the team principle more important to him than when he started his software company.
John lived through the balancing act of building his own company at BMI Software. There, the constant challenges of deciding who to hire and when to hire them, who to partner with and (of equal importance) who not to partner with fostered essential values that he carries with him today. The overarching importance of working with the right team has been seared into John’s professional life and investing philosophy. For a startup, there are no more important decisions than partnering – whether in business development, selecting the right venture investor, or hiring and firing employees. Having lived through those decisions and having made the mistakes that can be so painful, John is able to guide his portfolio companies through the difficult times with a deftness that only those years of operating experience bring.
Equally important as partners and employees of a startup are the partners in a venture firm. Phil Black and John Burke have been partners since 1999, when they both joined ABS Ventures. Having worked together that long, there is an implicit trust that only years together can build. Phil Black and Jon Callaghan have either worked together or invested together for almost 17 years. These bonds that hold the True partnership together have taken years to forge, and the results of which are evident in the partner interaction and woven into the fabric of the firm.
Degrees
BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley
BA degree in Economics from U.C. Santa Cruz
MBA degree from Harvard Business School
True Story
A pivotal moment in John’s years of direct investing came at an offsite for one of his portfolio companies. The board, investors, and senior management came together at a critical inflection point in the company’s evolution. The company had been working on what, in hindsight, was a science project, and the final product wasn’t winning the science fair. It simply did not work as well as we thought, and it appeared no one wanted to buy a product that didn’t work.
Working as a cohesive team, the investors, board members, and senior management spent many hours, then days, then weeks and finally months of reshaping the product that ultimately determined the future of the company. The team refocused the product, entered an entirely new market and is currently the leader in the space. While the outcome is still not a sure thing, the company would not be around if it had not been for the world-class board, investors, and management working as a team. It is that sort of hands on, working with the company management in the trenches approach that defines the working style that John Burke and True Ventures embody.