A note about Ron Conway
I was crushed when I heard the news about Ron’s cancer diagnosis.I apprenticed under Ron for nearly a decade, working closely with the Conway family and my partners to help build SV Angel from 2009 to 2018. Ron has had an enormous impact on my life, and I feel compelled to reflect on a few lessons I learned from him.I was a proud member of what insiders jokingly called the “Rontaurage” — a small swarm of SV Angel partners supporting Ron from meeting to meeting, taking notes, following up, and jumping in with context whenever Ron glanced our way. I had a front-row seat to watch how Ron operated. I paid close attention to what mattered most.Ron represents something deeply important and increasingly rare in Silicon Valley. In an era where venture capital is louder, more transactional, and more zero-sum, Ron has always embodied a different philosophy: life and work can be positive-sum. Acts of service done in good faith strengthen the ecosystem. Trust and reputation are built through many small actions, especially when nobody is watching.Ron is tough, principled, tireless, and has very high standards. But all of it has been in service of something larger: founders, innovation, and the ecosystem itself.The line on the SV Angel website has long been “advocates for founders,” and no phrase could be more accurate. Their support and advocacy are second to none. Paul Graham, Bill Campbell, and Arthur Rock would probably complete that Mt. Rushmore of investors as advocates for founders. But Ron’s impact goes well beyond the proverbial “founder-friendly.” The best investors model responsiveness, generosity, loyalty, and the habit of showing up when people need them. Ron has been one of the great builders of that culture in Silicon Valley.On the day I first met Ron at his San Francisco home for my final interview for a full-time role with the team, he brushed my resume aside and said: “What we do is a service business. Everything is in service to the founder. We exist because of entrepreneurs. If you understand this, you will do well.” I know, because I wrote it down in my notes. In hindsight, the note-taking was part of the interview and what got me the nod of approval from Ron.Ron cares deeply about the little things, the “simple, but not easy” things. The founder you call back immediately. The hard conversation you handle honestly. The favor you do quietly.As Ben Horowitz has said, “culture isn’t a set of beliefs, it’s a set of actions.” Those values were not just taught by Ron, they were absorbed, lived, and are still carried forward by the people around him. I was lucky to work shoulder-to-shoulder with Topher Conway, Ronny Conway, Danny Conway, Brian Pokorny, Robert Pollak, and the broader SV Angel team, and I know these values still run through the family and the firm today.Ron constantly reminded us that reputation is everything. He didn’t mean status, headlines, followers, or mentions. He meant the sum of your actions over time, and the way people feel after dealing with you for years. That kind of trust compounds.Skill matters, but being admirable is more durable.My wife and I are about to have our first baby. Times like this have a way of bringing clarity to what matters most. I’m competitive by nature, and I believe success, ambition, and achievement matter. But what matters most is how you do it, what values you reinforce, and whether the people around you are stronger because you were there.Ron has made a lot of people stronger.His diagnosis is a reminder to revisit some of Ron’s greatest lessons: be helpful, build trust slowly and guard it carefully, play the long game, and pay it forward.I have no doubt Ron is going to handle this the same way he’s handled everything else — with strength, clarity, and resilience.We are all behind you, Ron, and deeply grateful for everything you’ve built that no cap table could ever measure.
