Entrepreneur In Residence

An Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR) is an entrepreneur who partners with a venture fund.

EIR

A role as an entrepreneur in residence (EIR) with a venture fund is a very coveted role for many entrepreneurs. The role of an EIR varies from fund to fund (and entrepreneur to entrepreneur), but typically it involves an individual that wants to start a company. The entrepreneur may enter the position with an idea at various stages of development. Sometimes an entrepreneur has already spent a great deal of time on the idea and is leveraging the EIR position for office space and mindshare with VCs.

Another EIR role is to act as a “partner” and help VCs evaluate potential deals where the entrepreneur has a particular expertise. An EIR might also spend some time with an existing portfolio company to provide his or her functional expertise. In this scenario, the EIR will sometimes enter the company as a full time executive (typically CEO or some “C” level role) if the company and the executive feel there is a good fit.

It is rare that a venture fund will place a job listing for an EIR position. Typically, these positions are filled based on existing personal relationships that develop over long periods of time. An EIR may be an entrepreneur from a past portfolio company of the fund or a well known CEO that has delivered solid returns for the investment community. Sometimes EIRs are chosen from large public companies such as eBay, Yahoo, Google, AOL, etc. Most often the individuals chosen are at the Vice President level and up, but it is not unheard of for someone at the Director level to be chosen (although it is rare). As a rule, the EIR positions are so coveted that they are only available for “brand name” entrepreneurs, highly visible public company executives or the very well connected.

Notable EIRs

*Jason Calacanis
*Vanessa Fox