Michael Dearing

Founder, Harrison Metal

Michael is the founder of Harrison Metal, a seed-stage venture capital fund based in Palo Alto, California. Harrison Metal backs early-stage startups in gaming, ecommerce, consumer media & communications, small business services, and developer tools & services. Harrison Metal’s investments focus on software and services for the desktop and mobile markets. Michael is also a Consulting Associate Professor at the d.school at Stanford University where he co-developed and co-taught courses including Creating Infectious Action, Creating Mass Market Experiences, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Launchpad. Prior to founding Harrison Metal, Michael worked at eBay (NASDAQ – EBAY) as Senior Vice President & General Merchandise Manager. In that role, he led category management, product marketing, seller development, eBay Stores, and direct-to-consumer marketing for eBay North America. While at eBay, Michael and his colleagues were also responsible for the launch and growth of innovations such as Buy-it-Now, the listings upgrade business, eBay Stores, and ProStores. Prior to eBay, Michael held operating and strategy roles at Industrial Shoe Warehouse, the Walt Disney Company (NYSE – DIS), Filene’s Basement, and Bain & Company. Michael holds an AB in Economics, with a focus in economic history, from Brown University, and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.

Articles by Michael Dearing

Practical Uses of AI Automation for Startup Operations

Practical Uses of AI & Automation for Startup Operations

In a recent Mucker Growth Series session, we invited Rock Vitale, Founder & CEO of Easie, to share how he’s helped early-stage teams move from manual, fragmented workflows to streamlined,...

New York Tech Week Mucker Sessions Recap

2025 New York Tech Week Recap Of Mucker Sessions

Last week during New York Tech Week 2025, we joined more than 1,000 events hosted by founders, investors, and VCs. This post is a full Mucker recap of the three...

Build a Customer Support Function for Startups Using AI Alex Velinov

How to Build a Customer Support Function for Startups Using AI Tools with Alex Velinov

Delivering high-quality customer support can be one of the most resource-draining parts of a startup. The good news: we’re at a turning point where founders can use AI tools to...

Zero → 100: The Exact Steps We Took to Close Our First 100 Paying Customers

Zero → 100: The Exact Steps We Took to Close Our First 100 Paying Customers

Going from zero customers to 100 in just four months sounds impossible—unless you’re a founder willing to roll up your sleeves and hustle relentlessly. I’m Gaurav Bhattacharya, co-founder of Jeeva.ai,...

Sales Discovery & Qualification for Startups Richard Harris

Unblocking Startup Growth: Best Practices for Sales Discovery & Qualification with Richard Harris

Startups are in a constant race against time and resources, navigating complex sales environments with lean teams and limited margins for error. In a recent session from the Mucker Growth...

LinkedIn Playbook for Startups and Founders

The LinkedIn Playbook: How Startup Founders Can Stand Out & Scale

This LinkedIn Playbook is based on insights from a recent one-time Mucker Growth Session webinar featuring LinkedIn growth experts Alec Paul (Founder of SalesBrand) and Kyle Williams (Founder of Brickstack)....

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