joined Safeguard
July, 2006
experience
WWC Capital Group, LLC – Partner
Aurora Funds, Inc. – Principal
RISCManagement, Inc. – Business Development Manager
Hummingbird Communications, Inc. – Business Development Manager
Beame & Whiteside Software, Inc. – Product Line Manager
board member
Beyond.com, Inc.
MediaMath, Inc.
Spongecell, Inc.
ThingWorx, Inc
MAVA – Steering Committee
education
B.A., Economics – Lake Forest College
M.B.A. – Carroll Graduate School of Management, Boston College
Erik B. Rasmussen
Managing Director, Technology
Instrumental in investing, sourcing and conducting due diligence throughout his career, Erik works closely with Safeguard's technology partner companies to provide support, analysis and insight.
Erik has 15+ years of experience including venture investing and operations. During his career, Erik has held various positions at software, investment banking, private equity and venture capital firms, and has been instrumental in investing, sourcing and conducting due diligence.
At Safeguard, Erik works closely with Safeguard’s technology partner companies to provide operational and strategic support as well as market analysis and industry insight. He focuses on Internet/New Media, Software and Technology-enabled Services companies, and currently sits on the board of directors for Safeguard’s partner companies Beyond.com, MediaMath, Spongecell and ThingWorx.
Before joining Safeguard in 2006, Erik was a partner at WWC Capital Group, LLC, an investment banking and venture capital firm. Erik joined WWC Capital in 2001 and managed WWC Capital’s venture capital investments. He targeted investments in a broad range of areas, including Internet/New Media, software and technology-enabled services. He led the Firm’s investments in DoublePositive, Lightningcast (acquired by AOL), Lighthammer (acquired by SAP), Sentori (acquired by MIND CTI), and ServiceBench, Inc. (acquired by NEW), and was involved with other WWC Capital investments including WeatherBug and First Equity Card.
Erik came to WWC from The Aurora Funds, a venture capital fund based in Durham, NC. He managed Aurora’s Washington, DC office, focusing on Internet, software, and wireless investments. Erik had primary responsibility for several of Aurora’s most successful investments including Blackboard (NASDAQ:BBBB), DataFlux (acquired by SAS) and Accipiter (acquired by Engage). In addition, he served as a director or board observer for Mobile-Mind, InterAdNet, Vetcentric, Engenia and Alerts.com.
Earlier, Erik was a Business Development manager for RISCManagement, a network and systems integrator whose customers included Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining RISCManagement, Erik was a Product Manager for a line of TCP/IP products at Beame & Whiteside Software, Inc., a private networking software company that was acquired by Hummingbird Communications, Ltd.
Erik currently serves on the Steering Committee for the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association (MAVA) and was a Co-Chair for MAVA’s Capital Connection Venture Conference in 2009, one of the largest venture conferences on the East Coast. Erik earned a BA degree in Economics from Lake Forest College and an MBA from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management.
