Name: Sean O’Brien
Current Title: Managing Partner, Overline VC
Location: Atlanta, GA
This month’s mentor spotlight goes to Sean O’Brien. Sean is a Co-founder and Managing Partner at Overline, an Atlanta-based, founder-operator-led VC firm focused on investing in seed-stage startups in Atlanta and the Southeast region.
He’s been an Endeavor mentor since the early days of our Atlanta office in 2017. We would like to appreciate all the mentorship and dedication he’s put into our Entrepreneurs. Sean has donated over 25 hours of mentorship to our local and regional entrepreneurs by conducting second opinion reviews (SORs) and Local Selection Panels (LSP). Additionally, he’s served on two Endeavor Atlanta Entrepreneur Advisory Boards.
Most of our entrepreneurs come to Sean for advice on their fundraising, M&A, corporate strategy, and business development challenges. As an operator by nature, he takes pride in supporting early-stage founders by helping them discover their blind spots and navigate as they grow and scale their businesses. His tenacity when it comes to asking the difficult questions while helping founders think big is what has stood out the most. Speaking of questions, we asked Sean a few so you could get to know him better!
What are you looking for the most when the pandemic is over?
Eating out. Don’t get me wrong, I love a home-cooked meal. But I am ready to get back to supporting our amazing local restaurants and sharing meals with friends and business connections.
What is one thing that might surprise people about you?
I went to a performing arts high school and play(ed) all the woodwinds. (Related: I have also been on the boards of three professional ballet companies.)
What do you think is the next big opportunity for the Atlanta ecosystem?
I think that 2021 will be the year that Atlanta is (finally!) recognized as the top-tier city for startups and entrepreneurship it has always been. Over the last year, there has been a large increase in available early-stage capital in our city, with the recent launch of a number of new local funds and coastal funds being more active here now that COVID has begun to erode the geographic barriers that have traditionally existed in early-stage investing. Combined with an accelerated inflow of talent to our city and our maturing support ecosystem, the increased availability of early-stage capital bodes well for the health of the local startup scene. As the T-shirt says, Atlanta Influences Everything—a truism that is quickly extending beyond culture and politics into the venture landscape as well.
Sean, thank you for all you do for our Endeavor entrepreneurs, the Atlanta ecosystem, and beyond!