Derek Norton

Derek is the founder and managing general partner of Watertower Ventures. Previously, he was the founder and managing partner of Watertower Group, an industry leading boutique investment bank advising technology, internet and digital media. He has built three other successful companies including Entertainment Media Ventures, $120 million seed and early stage venture capital fund, Jeffries Technologies, which became one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest growing privately held U.S. companies, and Digital Boardwalk, which was Netscape’s second commercial application partner and one of the very first internet service providers. He is a frequent speaker and panelist on the subject of venture capital investing specifically in the areas of transformative technologies, the future of commerce, evolution of media, and consumer tech. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at USC’s Marshall School of Business. He and his wife support charities focused on improving the lives and education of under-privileged youths, is a former member of the board of directors of The Fulfillment Fund, and previously served as Vice President of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Contemporaries.