TomVander Schaaff

Partner

Office Location:
Lawrenceville, NJ
Email:
tom@edisonventures.com
Phone:
609-873-9216
“I believe in the business leaders in our portfolio—they are certainly the movers and shakers of the future.”

With previous work as an investment banker, Tom knows what it takes to not only raise capital, but to impart guidance for continued prosperity.

Hailing from a university that strives for the highest levels of excellence, Tom raises the bar when evaluating the performance and strategies of portfolio companies, a task he does time and again with unmatched precision.

Analytics is Tom’s main focus, however he’s also a member of the financial services team—a perfect mixture given his experience and complete approach to his clients.

Tom Vander Schaaff guides Edison's evaluation of investment opportunities as the leader of the analysis team. His responsibilities include conducting financial analyses, assessing technologies and development efforts, interviewing references, and researching markets for companies under evaluation. Tom also structures and analyzes many of Edison's investments. He conducts analysis of portfolio company performance and strategies. Additionally, Tom is a member of the firm's financial services team, with a focus on originating investments in companies serving the insurance industry.

At Edison, Tom has been involved in over 50 financings, including more than two-dozen initial investments. Tom serves on the boards of Blue Cod Technologies and SmartAnalyst, and formerly was an observer on the board of Telarix.

Prior Experience

Tom has 10 years of venture capital experience, in addition to several years of technology investment banking experience.

Prior to joining Edison, Tom was a Senior Associate with MMC Capital's C&I Fund, a communications and technology-focused private equity fund created by Marsh & McLennan Companies. At MMC Capital, Tom sourced and evaluated potential investment opportunities, and worked with portfolio companies by serving as a board observer and performing special projects.

Tom began his career in private equity as an Associate with CIBC Capital Partners—the private equity principal group of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce—where he worked on a broad range of investments. At CIBC, his activities included analysis and execution of investments and working with portfolio companies.

Previously, Tom worked as an investment banker, meeting the capital raising and advisory needs of technology and growth company clients. Initially, he was a Financial Analyst with CIBC Oppenheimer's technology investment banking group, and later an Associate with the private placement group of E*OFFERING, a San Francisco-based online investment bank which he helped found and launch.

Other Investment Experience

Billtrust; CheckpointHR; Edgetrade; In-Person Payments; M5 Networks; NeatReceipts; Operative; PlumChoice; Scivantage; Trader Tools; True Commerce

Education

BSE, Engineering and Management Systems, Princeton University, magna cum laude

I have heard the quote, “Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage,” attributed to a variety of people, from Machiavelli to Victor Kiam. While I am not sure who actually deserves credit for the saying, I think that the spirit of the quote captures perfectly a core entrepreneurial requirement. I look forward to exploring your company’s obstacles and opportunities with you, and, more so, how to turn them to our joint advantage in our partnership with you. To riff further on another Victor Kiam quote (and this time I think that we can all agree that he said it), I hope to be able to tell you that “I liked it so much, I invested in the company.”