Paul Jones Photo

Paul Jones

Of Counsel
Madison
One South Pinckney Street, Suite 700
Madison, WI 53703

Overview

Paul is a past chair of Venture Best as well as a serial venture capital-backed entrepreneur and institutional venture capital investor. In his legal practice, he leverages his experiences on both sides of the entrepreneur/investor table to help clients across the country turn good ideas into great scalable businesses. Paul is particularly adept at assisting less-experienced entrepreneurs translate their visions and ideas into fundable business plans – and seeing that funding is accomplished on terms that reflect the entrepreneurs’ full value within the realities of the marketplace. He is also well-regarded for his insights in the areas of building and managing start-up teams, and managing complex relationships with investors, partners, and customers

Paul began his legal career in Silicon Valley in 1985, where he represented dozens of start-ups from initial formation through venture capital financings, public offerings, and other exit transactions. He has twice quit practicing law to join founding teams of venture-backed start-ups in North and South Carolina, where he was recognized as an “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, and was involved as a director and senior vice president in a $60 million IPO just 10 months after a $250,000 seed round. Paul quit law a third time to co-manage a $26 million early-stage venture capital fund. Since returning to Wisconsin, he has been both a “lone wolf” and “pack” angel investor. He was the first “Entrepreneur in Residence” at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s College of Business, and is a blogger and frequent speaker on entrepreneurship and risk capital investing. Paul authored the book “Breaking Out of Silicon Valley.”

Did you know...

Paul is an avid golfer and sailor, and lived on several sail- and powerboats during his time in Silicon Valley. He and his wife Laura have six children -- three biological and three adopted – and all as wonderful as they are challenging.

Education

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