My Life As A Recovering VC, Zigging Where Others Zag

By Martin Lehr

In 2015, my VC career at Osage University Partners had come to a crossroad. I had spent the last six years working 80-hour weeks in the pursuit of becoming a general partner (GP) at the firm. One of the key steps toward becoming a GP is to take active advisory roles with portfolio companies. This means serving on boards and providing sound counsel to management teams. My first several board meetings were incredibly exciting and educational, but that initial wave of euphoria quickly turned into guilt.

While joining a board is supposed to be a badge of honor for most young Vcs, I felt like a fraud. Who was I to opine about drug development and strategy to a CEO with 25+ years’ experience?