Meet Dave Mullen, Partner at Pinegrove Capital Partners
Written by
Samantha Huang
Dave Mullen is a Partner at Pinegrove Capital Partners, a venture investment platform with offerings that span fund of funds, venture debt, venture secondaries, and direct investments. Before putting down roots in San Francisco, Dave lived a life in perpetual motion, bouncing from city to city ever since his earthly arrival in Denver, Colorado, as one of three boys in a triplet. For college, Dave graduated with a degree in Finance from University of Georgia, proudly continuing his family’s legacy as a third generation Bulldog. He darted off next to Miami after receiving a full-time offer to join JP Morgan’s newly emerging Florida outfit. Miami, with its renowned beaches and electrifying nightlife, was a veritable playground for a fresh-out-of-college twenty-two-year-old, but it was hardly the place to establish a career in finance. Within two years, Dave architected his move to Chicago and took a role on JP Morgan’s Leveraged Finance team helping out large industrial companies. The move was pivotal, in that it allowed Dave to meet his future husband. It also revealed to Dave that a career dedicated to servicing industrial companies wasn’t the future he envisioned for himself; rather, he saw the future was in tech. Dave, seeking a pivot, matriculated into University of Chicago’s MBA program.
In 2018, freshly graduated with an MBA degree, Dave made his way to San Francisco--the epicenter of the global tech industry. He joined Wells Fargo Ventures, which was then the nascent corporate venture capital arm of the bank Wells Fargo. A year later, he moved to SVB Capital, the venture capital fund of SVB. In 2023, when SVB collapsed after a historic bank run, Dave rose from the calamity stronger than ever. SVB Capital emerged from it all by partnering with two of the largest bellwethers of the tech industry’s financial ecosystem--Sequoia Heritage and Brookfield Asset Management. The resulting platform was Pinegrove Capital Partners, a multi-asset investment firm focused on serving the innovation economy. Today Dave, as a Partner at Pinegrove, can’t imagine himself being anywhere else. When asked where he saw himself in the future, he replied with certitude: “my ideal scenario is being right where I am, building this platform for the long haul."
Sam: Where did you grow up?
Dave: I grew up all over - Colorado, California, Minnesota, New Jersey, Georgia but consider Georgia, and Athens, Georgia in particular to be where I and my family are anchored to. Its where my parents grew up and met - its where I went to school, a town my grandparents taught in and where we spend the holidays. Its a fantastic time to be a Georgia Bulldawg and I try to trumpet that where and when I can - consider this a calling of the Dawgs for any other alum in the Bay Area. Reach out - I’d love to connect!
Sam: What would you say are the top skills necessary to be a good VC or fund manager?
Dave: So many ways to approach this one. If I’m going to give a hot take, I’d say maybe not a skill so much as a trait but a bit of unabashedness. Or maybe said better a bit of checking your pride or shame at the door - this is a world where cold emails, or walking into a room not knowing anyone and diving right into a conversation with strangers, or even Linkedin posting does drive a ton of value. You have to swallow a bit of self pride at the door and go for it. To benefit from all of the incredible people in the ecosystem, you have to be willing to put yourself out there - with that, of course, comes a lot of rejection. But in a numbers game, particularly venture capital, when it does pay off, it pays off substantially. The greatest opportunities for me - be that a deal, a relationship, a writing or speaking opportunity - have all come from putting myself out there and getting rejected many times over.
Sam: Working in this industry, we’ve all had moments where we think, “Why did I do that?” Looking back across your career, is there anything you would have done differently?
Dave: Where do I even start? This job is a lot of trial and error. If you’re pushing yourself, you’re going to have cringey moments. I’ve had many times where I thought I could have phrased that better or I should have handled that differently. I’ve looked back at plenty of times and felt, Yeah, maybe I wouldn’t say that today. But if you’re never having those moments, you’re probably not pushing yourself enough. This industry moves fast. VCs are paid to take the information they have and make educated, thoughtful decisions in real time—because that’s the pace of innovation. So, yeah, there are things I could have done differently, but I don’t regret them. Those moments helped me grow, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.
Sam: If you could advise a younger version of yourself, what would you say?
Dave: Don’t ask for permission—ask for forgiveness. I spent my first few years dealing with this outsider complex, waiting for the community’s permission to speak up, write, or engage with founders. But no one’s going to give you that permission. This isn’t a corporate environment with a clear, linear path where you hit milestones at two years, four years, etc. Venture is an apprenticeship. You learn as you go, develop your own perspective, and build your brand. And the only way to do that is by putting yourself out there—reaching out to founders, speaking on panels, sharing your ideas—without waiting for someone to say you’re ready. You set your own milestones, and if you wait for approval, you’ll fall behind.
Sam: What were you like as a kid?
Dave: I was incredibly shy. My mom used to joke that even at soccer banquets, when they called my name to give me a participation award, I’d be so mortified that I’d hide under the table or her legs. I had a hard time putting myself out there. So my mom got me involved in acting and worked with my teachers to challenge me a bit with more prominent roles. In third grade, I played the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and the next year, I was Wilbur the pig in Charlotte’s Web. In some ways, acting changed everything—it helped me get comfortable with other people and find my voice. Now, I consider myself an extreme extrovert, but as a kid, I lived in a bubble.
Sam: How would your friends or family outside of the tech ecosystem describe you?
Dave: Great question - you’d have to ask them but if I had to say maybe extroverted, socially driven? Which is crazy given where I’ve come from. I’d also say maybe optimistic—sometimes to a fault. Every day is the best day ever, every problem is an opportunity - sometimes I have to challenge that optimism but in so many ways, venture capital and innovation is a world built by optimists and I think I’m in the right place right now.
Sam: When you're not working, what are you doing?
Dave: I’m writing my physical love letter to the Bay Area—running, biking, and swimming out in Aquatic Park. Funny story: I tore my MCL on my wedding night trying to hop a fence to get into my hotel room—don’t ask. After being sidelined for a year, I decided to recover by training for a triathlon. I did my first one in 2023 and got hooked. So, most mornings or evenings, you’ll find me running or biking through the Woodlands outside Menlo Park, Golden Gate Park, or over the bridge in Marin.
Sam: Where do you see yourself in a decade or two?
Dave: What I’ve learned is that whatever answer I give is probably not going to happen—every time I try to predict five years out, I’m wrong. That said, I’m incredibly fortunate to be where I am at Pinegrove. I love the people I work with, I believe in our platform and mission, and I see myself continuing to build this thing in different directions. Our vision is helping both founders and emerging GPs scale into multi-generational platforms. Whether that’s helping them build their brand with LPs through our network, supporting their founder outreach at hackathons, or amplifying their thought leadership through fireside chats with industry figures—we want to continue to be that central node of Silicon Valley as we always have been. So, my ideal scenario is being right where I am, building this platform for the long haul.
