David Tisch is a collector, and always has been.
The first time I met Tisch, I was floored and delighted walking into his New York office: An entire wall-and-more of bears—they’re Bearbricks, to be exact, vinyl bear-like Japanese art-toys. They’re whimsical and unexpected; they can be monochrome, translucent, camo, patchwork, and all together a bit alien. Tisch, who started early-stage venture firm BoxGroup in 2008, has around 600 Bearbricks.
This led to a conversation about how Tisch has been a collector since he was a kid, and when he was 11, in the early days of the internet, it was all about sports cards—hockey, baseball, basketball, you name it. And in some sense, his instincts as a collector then remain true to his career today, investing early in startups. And Tisch and BoxGroup just hit a home run. As I wrote in the profile I just published:
The crown jewel of Tisch’s collection, however, isn’t so easily displayed on a shelf: Tisch and BoxGroup were among the very first investors in AI coding startup Cursor, which this month was acquired by Elon Musk’s SpaceX for $60 billion, the largest VC-backed acquisition of all-time.
The returns are staggering: BoxGroup first wrote a $750,000 check to Cursor CEO Michael Truell, plus two follow-on checks, ultimately proffering a return that should shake out to around $1 billion, a source familiar with the matter told Fortune.
It’s the kind of home run most VCs dream about their whole career and, for Tisch, there are all sorts of throughlines. For one, investing is a form of collecting—from portfolio construction to placing your bets—and Tisch, 45, sees a parallel between investing in startups and the sports cards of his childhood. “Especially in early-stage investing, you’re buying something, someone, at the earliest stage, and then you get to see their careers play out.”
For Tisch—warm with a sardonic edge and, yes, a scion of one of business’s most famous families—the Cursor acquisition also affirms the strategy he’s been chasing all along: That the person you’re backing matters most. And Cursor was sourced by then-principal Claire Smilow (now a partner). So, back in 2022, it was a bet by Tisch on both a young investor and a young founder who, at the time, seemed like he was off-point.
“Michael’s original idea was to do AI for CAD [computer-aided design],” Tisch said. “The decision to get excited about investing in Cursor was never about AI for CAD. It was always about the people.”
In a moment when venture is obsessed with big numbers and endgames, Tisch and BoxGroup’s story is about beginnings—and why they still matter.
See you tomorrow,
Allie Garfinkle
X: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
