Charles Hudson
Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures
Bio
Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures, a classic seed stage investment firm based out of San Francisco, CA. Precursor seeks to invest in a company's first round of institutional investment and focuses on investments in B2B software applications, B2C software and services, and connected hardware.
Prior to launching Precursor, Charles Hudson was a Partner with SoftTech VC, one of the most active seed stage investors in Internet and mobile startups. He focused on identifying investment opportunities in mobile infrastructure, mobile applications, and marketplaces. He was also the Co-Founder and CEO of Bionic Panda Games, an Android-focused mobile games startup.
Prior to joining SoftTech VC and co-founding Bionic Panda Games, Charles Hudson was the VP of Business Development for Serious Business until the company was acquired by Zynga in February 2010. Prior to Serious Business, he was the Sr. Director for Business Development at Gaia Interactive, an online hangout and virtual world for teens. Prior to Gaia, Charles worked in New Business Development at Google and focused on new partnership opportunities for early-stage products in the advertising, mobile, and e-commerce markets. Prior to joining Google, he was a Product Manager for IronPort Systems, a leading provider of anti-spam hardware appliances that was acquired by Cisco Systems for $830 million in 2007.
Charles was also the founder of the Virtual Goods Summit and Social Gaming Summit, two of the leading conferences in the free-to-play games space.
Charles spent several years working at In-Q-Tel, the strategic venture capital group for the Central Intelligence Agency. While at In-Q-Tel, he focused on identifying investment opportunities that could deliver significant value to the CIA and the commercial market in both the short and long term. He holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Stanford University.
Key Quotes
“There are some things I think you can tweak and massage about your story to make it easier for people to understand. But don't lose the thread.”
Career
Managing Partner
Precursor Ventures
2015 - Present
Lecturer
Stanford University Graduate School of Business
2019 - Present
Board Member
Venture Forward
2020 - Present
Board Member
National Venture Capital Association
2019 - Present
Board Member
Reinvent Technology
2020 - Present
Board Member
Tastemakers Africa
2020 - Present
Board Member
Pico
2019 - Present
Board Member
Populus
2019 - Present
Board Member
Pair Eyewear
2018 - Present
Member of the Steering Committee
Ada Ventures
2019 - Present
Board Member
H2 (h2.co)
2018 - Present
Board Member
LightSide Games
2010 - Present
Board Member
Fixt: On-Site, On-Demand Device Solutions
2017 - 2020
Board Member
Kahuna
2012 - 2019
Interim CEO
Kahuna
2016 - 2016
Advisor
Day View Capital Management
2017 - 2018
Venture Partner
Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC)
2015 - 2018
Partner
Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC)
2013 - 2015
Venture Partner
Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC)
2010 - 2012
Member of the Board of Trustees
Hood College
2014 - 2018
Board Member
Tulip Retail
2013 - 2016
Managing Partner and Founder
CH3 Media Holdings LLC
2010 - 2014
Board Member
Newhound
2012 - 2014
Co-Founder and CEO
Bionic Panda Games
2010 - 2013
Consultant
WebMediaBrands
2010 - 2012
VP
Serious Business
2008 - 2010
Managing Partner
3rd Power LLC
2007 - 2009
Senior Director, Business Development
Gaia Interactive
2007 - 2008
New Business Development Manager
2006 - 2007
Product Manager, MGA
IronPort Systems
2005 - 2006
Consultant
Dashjack
2005 - 2005
Student Chair
MIT/Stanford VLAB
2004 - 2005
Marketing Intern
Cassatt Corporation
2004 - 2004
Sr. Associate
In-Q-Tel
2000 - 2004
Product Management Intern
Excite@Home
1999 - 2000
Background
- Stanford University Graduate School of Business - MBA
- Stanford University - BA, Economics, Spanish & Portuguese
- Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School
Wife, Brandi Hudson
Investments
Personal InvestmentsPartner Investments
Material about Charles
ArticlesVideosPodcasts