James Pardee is an investment partner at 137 Ventures who focuses on secondary transactions that help founders and early employees at breakout technology companies get liquidity while continuing to scale their businesses. His background as an equity research associate at Raymond James covering the internet sector gives him a public-markets perspective that is uncommon among growth-stage private technology investors.

• Focuses on the practical side of new technology and life in San Francisco. You could easily break the ice by chatting about local tech experiences, much like the funny observation about whether a passenger needs to wave thank you when an autonomous Waymo car stops for a jogger on the street.
• Follows professional hockey and Colorado sports passionately. Bringing up recent games or team news would be a great way to connect personally, given the past enthusiasm for the Avalanche getting a top draft pick and the excitement of both the Avalanche and Broncos starting their seasons undefeated.
• Enjoys playing golf during downtime. Chatting about time on the course provides a relaxed topic for relationship building, especially since successful weekend rounds and the great environment at Toscana Country Club have been highlights in the past.