Today on The Mentor Files we have Phil Schwarz, a Principal at Corazon Capital, a Chicago-based fund that focuses on investing in early stage technology companies. From 2014-2016, Phil served as Chief Marketing Officer of Tinder, overseeing the company’s brand, growth and retention marketing efforts worldwide. Phil’s prior roles include Vice President of Growth Initiatives at Match Group, a division of IAC, as well as Executive Director at Kaplan and Kaplan Ventures (then part of the Washington Post Company), where Phil co-founded the Kaplan/Techstars EdTech Accelerator, invested in early stage EdTech companies, served on Boards of Directors for investment portfolio companies, and executed a series of corporate acquisitions. Phil also previously served as an Associate Director at UBS Investment Bank, and prior to that led numerous technology product development efforts for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Vitria Technology and BP Amoco, and served as Management Consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Phil's previous work at different companies has given him a profound insight into what makes a good company great and which CEOs have what it takes. Listen in to learn what he believes makes a great CEO, the most common mistakes that are made in a pitch, and the importance of having an incredible team.

You can subscribe and listen to The Mentor Files on Apple Podcasts.

(And please be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!)

'The global economy never stops; you could work 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and still not be done.' - Phil Schwarz

Links Mentioned:

• Tinder
• Connect with Phil Schwarz at Corazon Capital

'The reality of a startup is that things go wrong all of the time.' - Phil Schwarz