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Jacob Smith

Halftone black and white image of Jacob Smith

Jacob is a former classical musician whose career has spanned technology, nonprofits, the opera house and digital marketing. Active as a seed investor, Jacob lives in rural Vermont with his family and two dogs.

  • Location

    Vermont, US

  • Passions

    My dogs, reading, music, entrepreneurship, meeting new people

  • Day job

    Early stage technology investor / apprentice at Apple Tree Builders

Describe yourself in five or fewer words

Connecting people and ideas. Smile!

Describe your ideal day

I’ve recently discovered the joy of a slow morning routine that involves getting up around 8am, coffee (no cream, sigh), then a long dog walk with Beethoven on the playlist. This is definitely how my ideal day starts. And it is summer in Vermont, and weirdly there are no bugs.  Perfection. After a long walk I force myself to workout (yuck! but feels good!) and then comes my first reward of the day ➡️ lunch.

Something simple, prepared by someone else. Maybe a soup and sandwich at Amy’s Cafe in Brattleboro VT? The afternoon definitely involves a “walk and talk” phone call with an old friend or colleague before nap time with a good book.

After that it is onwards to my dad’s deck where we fire up the grill, making something tasty for some friends and family. Evening probably ends with a walk to a nearby farm stand with my wife, and maybe a chat over the fire pit with one or both of my teenage boys.

Do I get to have fireflies? Let’s add those in!

What’s your favorite book and why?

The book I just started is always my favorite.  I love the feeling of reading the first chapter or two of any book. Physical only, no Kindle for me!

If you could time travel back to a single point in history, where would you go and why?

I would probably pick late 17th century London, when Isaac Newtons ran the Royal Mint, Sir Christopher Wren was rebuilding after the fire, and various other folks gathered in the world's first major coffee house scene. Even though grimy and dirty, I’d love to experience the energy of that moment and place in time.

If you could be any animal other than a human for a day, what would you be and why?

I’ve always had a connection with dogs so I would have to try that.  I would love to experience the world from their perspective.