© Spark Capital 2024
As an investor on Spark’s growth team, Clay supports founders building across a range of technology sectors, including enterprise software, infrastructure, and internet. Clay embraces his appreciation for the technical details by digging into the nuts and bolts of a product so he can connect with an entrepreneur’s thinking.
Before working in venture, Clay studied economics at the University of Chicago and spent time at McKinsey & Company. He later joined Allen & Company as a strategic advisor to enterprise software, consumer technology, and media businesses during mergers and acquisitions, capital raises, and principal investments. While there, he advised both startups and companies like Adobe, Slack, Facebook, Pinterest, Sony, and PagerDuty, which developed his passion for guiding teams during the high-stakes moments that come with making company-defining decisions.
In all his investments, Clay looks to market structure, not market size, to inform his decision making and to help founders connect product and go-to-market strategy with broader competitive forces. “I love helping founders hone in on a product or business model that will enable their company to go up against the larger players and win,” he says.
Outside of Spark, Clay enjoys music and discovering great fiction.
“The nuts and bolts of infrastructure is something that really excites me. These are companies enabling entirely new ways of doing things—the outcomes and innovation are often a lot higher.”
“Founders for the most part are engineers or product people. Deeply understanding what they're building is a big part of connecting with them.”
“Selling or buying a company tends to be one of the most important and emotional decisions a CEO will make. Working with founders through these pivotal moments, helped me develop deep relationships where I earned their trust.”
Clay is a major fan of rock and roll. “I always listen to the live version..
“I’ve always loved fiction. By immersing yourself in a world foreign to your own, you have no choice but to listen completely.”