Joined: August 2010
Dendy Young
PARTNER
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Finance/Payments/E-Commerce
Government/Defense/Intelligence
Information Technology/SaaS/Big Data
Dendy is a founding member of Blu Venture Investors and also runs McLean Capital, LLC, a family office based in Delaplane, VA. From January 1996 to 2006, Dendy was CEO of GTSI Corp. (NASDAQ: GTSI), an over $1-billion enterprise services and solutions provider. Prior to GTSI, he served as founder and CEO of Falcon Microsystems, Inc. and, before that, Falcon Systems, Inc. Dendy serves on the executive committee of the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Dendy is chairman of the board of Saltenna LLC, which builds innovative antennas, Navanti Group, which delivers real-time insight into the economic, political, and security trends shaping the world, and eKare, Inc., which is a world leader in wound-care imaging. He serves on the board of SecureG, a company on the forefront of authentication in 5G networks and Perthera Inc., which is commercializing a breakthrough in personalized medicine for patients with cancer. He lives in Delaplane, Virginia, with his wife, Andrea, where they are building a regenerative conservation farm. Dendy holds a SB in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
As an investor, Dendy believes that early-stage companies are where tomorrow’s opportunity lives. A “techie” at heart and a business guy, he is able to satisfy both his passions by investing in early stage companies. And he always enjoys spending time helping new, young companies get off the ground!
FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE
Finance
IT
Management
Mergers & Acquisitions
Sales & Marketing
What drives you to invest in early stage companies?
Early-stage companies are where tomorrow’s excitement lives. As a “techie” at heart, I love new technology and, as a business guy, I love making change happen, and the best way to indulge both of these passions is by investing in early stage companies.
What do you look for in a startup company?
I look for a management team that I can work with: the team must be willing to be coached and must be willing, when necessary, to work nights and weekends to achieve success. It is important that the CEO at least sees this company as the next step in a lifelong quest to achieve something. If there is no passion and long-term commitment there, I walk away.