Dan Birmingham leveraged his mechanical engineering background to become a key investor at Liquid 2 Ventures, the Joe Montana-founded fund that's invested in 800+ tech companies worth over $100B combined.

From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
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From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco

Miles: Hey there! Ever wonder how someone goes from studying mechanical engineering to becoming a venture capital investor? That's exactly the story of Dan Birmingham from Liquid 2 Ventures, and it's pretty fascinating.
Blythe: Absolutely, Miles. Dan's career path is really interesting. He started at Northwestern studying mechanical engineering and economics, but quickly pivoted to the business world, working at places like Bain & Company before landing at Liquid 2.
Miles: What's cool about Liquid 2 Ventures is that it was founded by NFL legend Joe Montana, right? They've built quite an impressive portfolio.
Blythe: That's right! Since its founding in 2015, Liquid 2 has invested in over 800 technology companies, including some major unicorns like GitLab, Rippling, and Retool. They've helped build companies with a combined enterprise value of over $100 billion.
Miles: Wow, that's impressive. And Dan joined this team after having some entrepreneurial experience himself. He co-founded HUSTL while still in college.
Blythe: Exactly. I think that entrepreneurial background, combined with his technical skills and business consulting experience, gives him a unique perspective as an investor. Liquid 2 positions itself as "the premier institutional angel" investing between $250K to $1M in pre-seed and seed stage technology startups.
Miles: You know what's interesting? Despite being a relatively small team—only about 12 employees—they've managed to build this massive ecosystem of founders supporting founders.
Blythe: That's what makes their approach so effective. Let's explore how Dan Birmingham fits into this ecosystem and what his role at Liquid 2 Ventures actually involves.