The Proust Questionnaire shines its light on David Skok today. David is a successful entrepreneur who founded Silverstream which went public and Watermark which was acquired by IBM. For the last five years, he has been a partner at Matrix where he has had a remarkable track record investing in great companies like JBoss (acq by RedHat), AppIQ (acq by HP), Tabblo (acq by HP), Diligent Technologies (acq by IBM), HubSpot , and others.
Device you would never give up?
Blackberry. I also love my TiVo, AppleTV, iPhone, and my Canon DSLR. But the Blackberry is the one that I can’t live without.
Your Favorite Software Application?
Adobe Lightroom for processing my RAW images from Canon DSLR. Closely followed by Final Cut Studio for video editing.
Blog you read most frequently?
TechCrunch . Great for tracking interesting new Internet businesses.
Social Media Tool you actually use?
LinkedIn . It has finally hit the stage where it has critical mass, and has now become a great tool for recruiting.
Favorite Business Book(s)?
Crossing the Chasm. I am still amazed by how relevant this is today.
Favorite Newspaper(s)?
New York Times
Person that inspires you?
Nelson Mandela. Amazing to me how he was able to come out of jail after 27 years, and still be able to embrace his vision for a multi-racial society. A wonderful human being, and a great leader.Who Was Your Best Manager? Why?
Unfortunately, since I started my first company right after leaving college, I have never really had a boss.
Your first "real" job?
Worked in my father’s machine tool company for about six months after leaving college, and then used that experience to found my own startup.
Where Do You Do Your Best Thinking?
In a comfortable seat on an airplane, as there are no interruptions and I can’t make any more phone calls.
What Do You Most Value In Employees/Colleagues?
The right cultural fit: smart, low-ego, collaborative, high-integrity - (sorry I used this as a way to describe several attributes as only one would not have sufficed).
What I'd like To Be The World's Best At?
Venture investing.
Originally published Aug 29, 2008 9:15:00 AM, updated March 21 2013