Rob Glaser Discusses Move To Accel Partners
Rob Glaser, founder and former CEO of RealNetworks, today announced that he has become a venture partner with Accel Partners. This is no new relationship, as Accel first backed RealNetworks more than a dozen years ago and Accel's Jim Breyer remained on the board for years after it went public. But it is Glaser's first official dip into VC waters, so we've got some questions for him: The term “venture partner” means different things to different people and firms, particularly in terms of time commitment and longevity. How do you view this position with Accel? The time commitment is half-time. I’m not a lawyer who organizes his life into 15-minute increments, but I’m going to have other things. I’m still chairman of Real, am helping some entrepreneurs start a couple of companies and still have a bunch of charity work like my family foundation. So it will be significant, but not fulltime. I do, though hope it’s a long-term relationship. We’re both entering this chapter with our eyes open. In terms of what I’ll actually be doing, my sector focus will be on social media and the social intersection of mobile with physical location and other characteristics. The second element of my focus is that I’m Seattle-based, so I hope to introduce Accel to lots of great local entrepreneurs. There are four major mobile companies here – T-Mobile is headquartered here and AT&T is about half here – and we have a great traditional of mobile entrepreneurship like McCaw and others. Plus Microsoft – of which I’m an alum – Real and Amazon.
