Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Downey.
Sarah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a VC at a firm called Accomplice, where I focus on things like augmented and virtual reality and gaming. My path in brief: I had relevant hobbies throughout my life (video gaming, podcasting, and blogging), then studied psychology and English in undergrad at Hamilton College. Then I went to law school at UConn. It was the only school I applied to, and I didn’t have any backup plan if I didn’t get in. Luckily I did.
After working at a commercial litigation firm and realizing that the lifestyle wasn’t for me, I decided to take a risk and apply via Craigslist to startups in Boston. I said I’d take a super low hourly wage to start, then ended working at multiple venture-backed startups doing marketing and some product. One of the investors in that first startup ended up hiring me several years later for a non-investment job at the firm. One and a half years into that role, they moved me over to investment.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been smooth. I can tell a narrative to make it appear smooth if I need to, but it just kind of… happened. Looking back I can reverse engineer all the pieces that come together to make me good at what I currently do, but I never intended to end up in this job that I love. The struggles were (and are) immense. Insane hours, giving my life to my career, feeling woefully underprepared for all kinds of situations, obnoxious coworkers, multiple divorces, imposter syndrome, ridiculous student debt… the list is long.
Accomplice – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Accomplice a seed-led venture capital firm that embraces risk. We have been part of the origination story of companies that matter, including AngelList, Carbon Black, DraftKings, Hopper, PillPack, Veracode, and Zoopla.
Accomplice has pioneered a community approach through platforms like Spearhead, Boston Syndicate, Rev Boston, and TUGG.
I specialize in frontier tech, which is basically sci-fi ideas becoming reality. Picture next-gen gaming, virtual and augmented reality, identity and privacy, and enabling hardware. I don’t get excited by minor improvements of day-to-day things; I like massive, risky leaps forward.
I’m most proud of the people at Accomplice. Venture capital has a reputation for being a boy’s club of white men in blue blazers. That’s not us. Most of us are former startup operators or founders, so we get what it’s like to be in the shoes of the founders we work with. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We are a “hoodies and Converse” kind of place.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is being able to be your authentic, uncompromising self and love what you do the majority of the time.
Contact Info:
- Address: 25 1st Street, Suite 303
- Website: www.accomplice.com
- Phone: 6175882600
- Email: sarah@accomplice.co
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sarahadowney
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/sarahadowney
- Other: https://medium.com/@sarahadowney
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