GSV || ABOUT US

Our Backstory

Ground Squirrel Ventures came into being through the solo investment journey of our founder Eric Klose.
Pre-Ground Squirrel, Eric worked at the US eCommerce company Wayfair. He started as a customer service rep in a fresh startup, working his way up to SVP Global Sales & Marketing on Wayfair’s journey to a revenue run-rate of over a billion dollars and their IPO. After this, Eric took his experiences into the realm of impact investing. His goal was simple: use targeted capital in a business framework to help make the world a better and fairer place. These aims both stem from a desire to promote justice through investment. Currently, too much talent doesn’t have a chance to flourish just by happenstance of birthplace, and too much of the burden of climate change is falling on those who didn’t cause it.
Crucially, Wayfair was not a VC-backed company. It grew out of disciplined execution and was funded by its own profits. Eric’s experience with this approach to funding plays a crucial role in Ground Squirrel Venture’s DNA, where we hold a deep appreciation for businesses built on a stable footing rather than accepting the VC-fueled rocket ship approach.
4 years, 150+ investments,and LOTS of learning later, we’ve made investments on five continents. In this time, we’ve experienced acquisitions, insolvencies, loans repaid and loans defaulted on. Most importantly, we’ve seen a great deal of exciting enterprises and investors collectively making a difference.

Our Team

Brian

Operations Manager

At Ground Squirrel Ventures Brian helps develop and manage operations. His formal training is in corporate/operational finance with a BS in Finance from Bentley University, but he loves helping other entrepreneurs through their journey to success as an analytical advisor and operational executor. He brings entrepreneurial grit to Ground Squirrel from former experience launching, positioning, and successfully exiting his own SME’s, and has consulted with numerous businesses, applying his expertise to help drive their success.

In his free time, Brian volunteers for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary – leading a number of local programs to advance recreational boating safety, increase public awareness, and maintain currencies in operational missions to support his community. He nerds out on financial analysis, KPI management, & tech implementation, and his hobbies include snow sports, hiking, boating, building RV’s, and traveling.

Eric

Founder and Managing Partner

Eric is the founder of Ground Squirrel Ventures. He got his start at Wayfair as a customer service rep when the company was below 10 employees, and grew with the company through its IPO. In his time there, he oversaw functions in sales, marketing, customer acquisition and retention, UX, UI, international expansion and pricing algorithms and more, acting as SVP of Global Sales & Marketing and leading Wayfair’s international expansion. After Wayfair’s IPO, he left to get back to the smaller, earlier stages of business building that inspired him with a focus on climate mitigation and making the world a more just and equitable place for all people.

Eric is a firm believer that effective execution is the most reliable path towards business success and has a bias towards iterative learning and improvisation over top-down business plans. Outside of Ground Squirrel Ventures, he’s an avid runner, traveler, and backpacker. He and his wife Holly divide their time between Boston, Massachusetts and Berlin, Germany.

Interested to Collaborate?

Ground Squirrel is constantly learning and interested to partner with a variety of funds, co-investors, incubators, and other ecosystem developers. Interested to connect? Reach out at contact@groundsquirrelventures.com

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