Marc H. Morgenstern, Founder of Blue Mesa Partners, Dealmakers Hall of Fame Inductee, Co-Founder of Within3, and Author of The Soul of the Deal
Marc’s a veteran mentor capitalist and dealmaker, prolific author and speaker, and wrote the influential, Forbes-recommended book, The Soul of the Deal about the human side of M&A and venture capital. His eclectic career spans every side of innovative startups and deals–CEO, Managing Partner, Founder, investor, counsel, director, and strategic advisor–from founding through exits. Widely-varied investment sectors include AI, technology, venture capital, retail, real estate and law.
He also founded and co-founded companies and venture capital funds. Marc serves as The Mentor-at-Large for pre-seed and early stage investor (The House Fund) at UC Berkeley (AI, robotics, and emerging tech) and created and taught the “Street Smart Startups” course there.
Notable startup investments: Divergent 3D, LoungeBuddy (sold to American Express), Within3 (sold to Insight Partners), CardinalCommerce (sold to VISA), and OfficeMax
Besides being the first outside investor in LA-based Divergent 3D (Founder Kevin Czinger), Marc also served as D3D’s initial EVP for three years, and later as initial Senior Strategic Advisor. He was a founding stockholder and Senior Strategic Advisor for San Francisco’s LoungeBuddy (travel app founded by Tyler Dikman; sold to American Express). Read Select Deals
Recognized legal expert and seasoned corporate Director
For 30 years he was a nationally prominent corporate and securities deal attorney who served as CEO and Managing Partner of an entrepreneurial Midwest law firm before joining a national law firm as a West Coast Equity Partner.
He has been a Director of 20+ public companies including Unite Genomics (leading AI-powered health insights platform).
From 1980 through 1986 Marc served as a Director, Corporate Secretary, Outside General Counsel, and the Lead Transaction lawyer for Mr. Gasket Co. (MRGC:NASDAQ)— through the company’s buyback from W.R. Grace, to its capital market re-entry IPO, 21 acquisitions, and growth into one of Northeast Ohio’s most profitable middle-market public companies. Read Select Deals
Writing and Speaking
Marc is a recognized thought leader, creator of inventive vocabulary words like DealCircle© and Dealjammer©, and authored the acclaimed book The Soul of the Deal. The EQ of M&A. The deal world as heard through a musician’s ears and viewed through a startup lens. He also published 30+ pioneering articles about startups, M&A, venture capital, and negotiating, and frequently speaks about those topics. Read Publications, Read Presentations
His observations have appeared in The New York Times, Bloomberg Deal, and Wall Street Journal. Read Media
His 50 Morgenstern Maxims appearing in The Soul of the Deal distill complex M&A and negotiating concepts into practical, memorable lessons. Marc’s maverick approach reflects the unusual breadth of his experience from having sat in the Founder and CEO’s chair, boardroom, and all sides of the deal negotiating table. Read Maxims
Personal and Community
He’s a passionate blues/rock keyboard player, and a lifelong Deadhead who brings an improvisational approach to business and deals. Marc’s a long-time board member of San Francico’s Rex Foundation, which was founded by the Grateful Dead and carries on their legacy.
He’s also a long-time board member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (since 1994), served on the Editorial Board of the Real Estate Securities Journal, Executive Committee of the SEC’s Small Business Capital Formation Forum, as well as the boards of the Cleveland Food Bank and Dean’s Technology Council of Case Medical School.
His B.A. from Yale is in American Studies (Social History), and J.D. from Boston University.
