Sam Diener

Principal at private

Principal
2023 - Current
Contract role to run all functions of a private office (MT). No further investments. Operations are concluding.

Cofounder and Managing Partner
2019
Built an early-stage venture capital firm to invest in SaaS startups across the region. The initial fund has invested in 22 companies and continues to advise and mentor founders on fundraising, M&A strategy, sales, marketing, and hiring strategy. Our syndicate vehicle has invested in an additional 14 companies and is now Riptide.vc. Early Light is currently deploying its second fund, to which I serve as an advisor. Due to my current professional endeavors, it is important for me to disclose that I currently oversee our legacy investments/portfolio and no longer participate or intend to have any role in our future capital raise or fund formation activities for Early Light.

Sr. Director, Strategic Partnerships and Technology
2014 - 2019
Starting as Senior Sales Engineer, was promoted three times to Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships & Technology within three years. Experience in sales engineering leadership, go-to-market strategy, and strategic engagements with large enterprises and software vendors. Partial customer list includes Goldman Sachs, Comcast, GlaxoSmithKline, Nielsen, and the CIA. Partial partnerships list includes IBM, SAP, and Cloudera. I led technical due diligence and the deal cycle for Goldman Sachs and Comcast, leading to combined investments of $12M+ into the company through the Series C investment round.

Senior Sales Engineer
2012 - 2014
Owned end-to-end pre-sales process for the emerging market segment of the company, which became the top revenue driver during my tenure. Guided the organization through a streamlining process to elevate efficiency, which allowed resource leverage at 4x traditional sales engineering capacity. Mentored and developed multiple new team members from other company functions into sales engineering roles.

GTM Strategy & Execution
2009 - 2012
Athlete in a bootstrapped advertising tech startup wearing multiple hats including direct sales, consulting, and product management. Built and oversaw a team to support booked customer engagements. Recruited by Adstrategist Founder after building a content marketing site on personal branding and internet marketing that had a 60K/month unique user reach.

Management Training Program
2006 - 2008
“I”m so scared right now. I’m just gonna to do what’s sensible, I’m gonna file for unemployment. Then I’m gonna try to get a job at Enterprise Rent-A-Car because they got an excellent corporate structure and they… they give you the tools to be your own boss.”