Fred Lawrence
Venture Partner @ Shepherd Ventures
Fred Lawrence is a startup investor at Shepherd Ventures. Fred Lawrence is thought of as a skilled executive who has been building teams and guiding companies to significant successes in the telecommunications and technology markets for the past 39 years. Fred started his career as an engineer with Michigan Bell and departed AT&T as a Division Manager in New York twelve years later when he joinedSprint Corporation as President of United Telephone of Florida a $1.2 billion telco. Fred was tasked by the Sprint Board of Directors as the senior executive to lead the planning, engineering, construction and maintenance of Sprint's state-of-the-art $3.5 billion global fiber optic network. The first ever fiber optic network in the world.After a successful tenure at Sprint, Fred joined ADC Telecommunications as President of the Transmission Group a $400 million business unit and was responsible for product lines ranging from optical transmission systems and wireless transmission systems to voice/video/data networking systems and was responsible for consistent year over year growth of 25%.
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About Shepherd Ventures
Shepherd Ventures was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in San Diego, part of Southern California's Tech Coast, with easy access to other technology centers throughout the region. The four original Managing Directors of Shepherd Ventures were George Kenney, Peter Fisher, Tom Siegel and Richard Kuntz. The region has vibrant high technologyand life sciences industries, is underserved by the venture capital community, and offers compelling investment opportunities.Shepherd Ventures focus is on information technology and life sciences companies characterized by passionate and experienced management teams, compelling value propositions and extraordinary upside potential. They concentrate on companies located in Southern California and the Southwest, particularly San Diego, where they believe there is a significant shortage of venture capital. Their objective is to generate significant capital appreciation through a balanced portfolio of first and later stage equity investments in carefully selected, wisely shepherded growth companies.First stage companies are those with products that incorporate a disruptive technology, that are (or are about to be) commercially released, and that are capable of creating a valuable new paradigm in their category. In particular, Shepherd Ventures look for companies with completed products, where sales channels have been defined, and when possible, validated by a purchase order or letter of intent from a bona fide customer. Companies should exhibit a sustainable competitive advantage that will drive them to market or sector dominance and a credible path to profitability. Investments in these companies may be part of the first or second round of institutional capital. Seed stage opportunities will generally not be considered.Later stage companies are those that either have received prior rounds of venture capital, or have achieved growth and operational maturity without venture funding. These companies would be established technology companies with existing revenue and proven management teams. They likely will have profitable products, brand identity, market traction, and satisfied customers.The Shepherd Ventures Managing Directors, Venture Partners and Advisors are industry leaders who have extensive experience operating, guiding and investing in first and later stage information technology and life sciences companies.Shepherd Ventures takes pride in its people. They have a dynamic team of experienced professionals who hold diverse, yet extremely relevant backgrounds. The Shepherd team is disciplined, committed, capable, and always eager to assist Shepherd Ventures companies in any area they need to succeed. While Shepherd Ventures structure and lead most of the investments they make, they recognize the value of partnering to help entrepreneurs execute and build world class businesses.
Shepherd Ventures Contacts
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Fred Lawrence
Venture Partner
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George C. Kenney
Managing Director
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Olga Kitsakos
Operations Partner
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Richard P. Kuntz
Managing Director
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1 more contact available
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