IronGiving

IronGiving: Fortify Your Startup

As I thought about what to name this blog, I looked for a source of inspiration.  From companies to kids to blogs, choosing a name is often a personal exercise that draws upon some source of authentic motivation.  For me, that source is my dad.   No, really!  I know, I know, this may sound a bit hokey to some people but for those who come to know me well, they understand that I have deep respect and admiration for my father and that he’s strongly shaped my interests and actions in life.   Here’s a little snapshot of his background to help explain…

My dad, a polish immigrant who my brothers and I even nicknamed “Zelazo” (polish for “Iron”) when we were growing up, embodied the spirit of “Iron” in his own life.  Like many people born during the Depression and WWII era, he had to.  By surviving work camps in Siberia and refugee camps in Tanzania as a young boy during WWII, by bootstrapping his family via 47 years of sailing around the world as a chief engineer on super tankers, and by successfully fighting two bouts of cancer during his retirement, he has overcome incredible odds.  Nonetheless, he remains the most up beat, unflappable, positive person I know.  To me, the word “Iron” is a metaphor for his qualities that I have learned from and embraced the most.  Those qualities are to pursue work and relationships with relentless resolve, unwavering commitment and toughness tempered with kindness. 

In my current job as a venture capital investor (and former entrepreneur), this spirit of Iron also reminds me of many of the startup founders, coworkers and employees I’ve had the privilege of working with over the past 12 years, which leads me to the mission for this blog.  As I researched domain names that included the word Iron (unfortunately, iron.com was taken already, no surprise there), the term “IronGiving” jumped out to me.  It stood out as it sometimes is used to describe specific iron rich foods that can help fortify your diet (after all, it is a dietary necessity for most living creatures).  Likewise, just as my dad helped provide the necessities for his family to send us off on positive trajectories, I wanted to create a forum and outlet where I can help pass along that same spirit of Iron in order to help fortify your startup.  I hope to achieve this by covering the worlds of software and internet broadly defined (the areas I’ve worked in as an operator and invest in as a VC) to provide practical and helpful commentary about trends, people and entrepreneurship.   It is designed to help the ecosystem of first time and repeat entrepreneurs, existing and aspiring start up execs and innovative and dynamic employees driving startup initiatives within larger companies. 

While there are many other great blogs that cover aspects of tech, entrepreneurship and VC, I hope IronGiving adds to the conversation and helps you overcome your next challenge or capture your next opportunity by passing along some IronGiving tidbits.  Thanks for stopping by!

More about me on my Trinity Ventures bio page and my LinkedIn profile.  You can also follow me on Twitter at @jimtybur.

Disclaimer: The views posted on this blog are of my own and not that of my employer.