Angel Investor Matthew Le Merle on How to “Build Your Fortune in the Fifth Era”
Socrates / Podcasts
Posted on: May 1, 2017 / Last Modified: March 21, 2022
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Matthew Le Merle is co-founder of Fifth Era and managing partner of Keiretsu Capital, which is the world’s largest angel network and most active US venture investor. Most recently, Le Merle is the author of a new book titled Build Your Fortune in the Fifth Era: How to Prosper in an Age of Unprecedented Innovation.
During our 90 min discussion with Matthew we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: who Matthew Le Merle is and the origins of his family name; how he got involved in disruptive innovation first and angel investing later; the difference between angel and venture investors and what entrepreneurs can learn from that; Le Merle’s take on the singularity and the coming together of the digital and biotech revolutions; his book Build Your Fortune in the Fifth Era and why the vast majority of people sit on the sidelines; why the world is transformed by asking questions; the importance of science fiction; generation C and their fundamentally different model; the transformation of capitalism and the Chinese model; zero marginal cost society and renewable energy; 9 ways to invest in the future and build a fortune…
My favorite quote that I will take away from this conversation with Matthew Le Merle is:
Big ideas are born bad.
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Who is Matthew Le Merle?
Matthew Le Merle is co-founder of Fifth Era and managing partner of Keiretsu Capital, the world’s largest angel network and most active US venture investor.
Matthew is a sought-after speaker and innovation consultant. He is an expert on digitization and technology transformations having advised leading companies including Bank of America, eBay, EDS, Gap, Genentech, Google, HP, Microsoft, PayPal and Tata/JLR and many other companies on innovation-related issues.
Matthew has advised sovereign and regional economic entities on issues of innovation, entrepreneurialism and cluster growth. Clients have covered the globe from China, the EU, and the UK to the US including in his home state of California and the Bay Area/Silicon Valley.
Matthew’s career has spanned being a global strategy advisor, professional services firm leader, corporate operating executive, private equity and venture capital investor, and board director for high growth public and private digital economy companies.
Earlier in his career, Matthew spent 21 years as a strategy consultant and advisor to Fortune 500 CEOs, boards and executive teams with McKinsey & Company, and as a practice leader with EDS/A.T. Kearney and Monitor Group where he led both firms’ West Coast practices and at Booz & Company. He was also a corporate executive at Gap Inc. where he was SVP strategy and corporate development and SVP global marketing.
Matthew received a B.A. (Double First) and Master’s from Christ Church, Oxford, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He was born in London, UK, and is now a dual US/UK citizen and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Alison Davis, and their five children.
