New Enterprise Associates general partner Harry Weller played a pivotal role in D.C. for a long time before his untimely passing Saturday evening.
One of the most active investors and advisors in the D.C. area, Weller joined NEA in 2002, and headed up NEA’s East Coast practice. He was responsible for a long list of important investments with significant and lucrative exit. He led the company to make a series of major investments, with the firm playing at least a small part in almost every investment of note in a D.C. area tech startup. He was also the only D.C. venture capitalist to make Forbes Magazine's 2016 Midas List. We picked up some of the comments from the DC Tech community below:
"I think I speak for many of us in the Tech community that we're simply all in a state of shock .... heartbroken over hearing such tragic news about a truly great person who touched a lot of lives in such a positive way in our community," former Sourcefire CFO Todd Headley told DC Inno in an email. "Harry was an amazingly smart person who could synthesize a lot of technical information and visual the idea or concept for the business. He genuinely cared about people and had an innate ability to understand what person or collection of people could best drive that idea or concept to market. "For the companies in which he was involved, he offered equal parts enthusiasm, encouragement and caution but left it up to the management team to 'figure things out'. I will forever be grateful to Harry that he thought enough about me to introduce me to Sourcefire back in 2003. That opportunity defined my career.
"He was a really good guy and a really good influence on the area," Cooley LLP partner Andy Lustig told DC Inno in an interview. "He would be very hard to replace. Besides being a really good guy, he's the one who led NEA in leading to the charge to so many successful investments. And not just one-hit wonders, it's hard to point to a longer sustained success story. That was his own commodity. He leaves some really big shoes to fill."
"Harry led with his heart," TrackMaven CEO Allen Gannet wrote in a Facebook post about Weller. "Whether it was a negotiation, an investment, or recruiting. Harry was always the best salesperson you could ask for. He’s the guy you wanted closing a star executive or negotiating your sale. But the reason he was effective was not some hard nosed negotiating tactic. No, Harry was just Harry. He was his authentic self. He told you how the situation made him feel. What emotions it stirred. He taught me that both in my personal life and my professional life, it was important to just be myself. To learn to be comfortable in my own skin. "
RIP @harryweller. @Forbes Midas List VC @NEA, champion of #DCTech, and most importantly, a wonderful person. https://t.co/bqIu4og0pA pic.twitter.com/ICUETHg63m
— Mark A. Hanson, PhD (@Mark_Hanson) November 21, 2016
Very sad to hear that @NEA's @harryweller has passed away. My prayers go out to Harry's family & friends. He left a mark on #DCtech
— Ximena Hartsock (@ximenahartsock) November 21, 2016
Harry Weller shaped #DCTech with his leadership, guidance, and encouragement for tech entrepreneurs and fellow investors. Rest in peace. https://t.co/UGUi3IXkh1
— Alexander Pessala (@pessala) November 20, 2016
