Jacques B. Nichols, as an attorney, has specialized in representing early-stage and emerging growth companies. He attended Stanford University where he received an undergraduate degree (1959) and graduated from the law school (1961). As an attorney, his primary area of interest is focused on companies with financial service products. He has also served as the Managing Partner of a venture capital fund (1984-1987).

He has served on a number of corporate boards and advisory boards. Several of his clients became public companies, including FLIR Systems, Mentor Graphics, Lattice Semiconductor, Gregg Foods, and AVIA Group International. He represented the original investors in NIKE. He has been a member of the advisory board of Las Vegas Gaming, Inc., and has also served as a director of the Oregon Film & Video Board.

He has been an associate, partner or of counsel with several law firms in Oregon and one in Nevada. He organized the Northwest Financial Symposium, which held events in Portland, Seattle, Phoenix and Calgary, Alberta over a span of 11 years. In 1982 he was invited by the Parliament of The Netherlands to speak about venture capital. Jacques maintains a special interest in China after making a trip there as a guest of the government in 2003. (See www.chinaselections.com and Mr. Jin Lan.)

He has been credited with bringing the venture capital industry to Oregon. Well-known funds like New Enterprise Associates and Venrock in the 70’s and 80’s worked closely with Nichols. He has been dubbed the Godfather of Start-Ups.

Jacques is noted for the clarity of his opinion. He is sought out for his solutions to complex problems and for his original thinking and ability to write in ways that resonate. His areas of interest include business structures, technologies and telling stories that insure that the focus of the parties is on making it right, not just on being right. His email address carries the ‘savvysageandwise.com’ tagline.

His prized relationships, with well-known persons of accomplishment, are his personal hallmarks. Jacques delights in making phone calls to these friends, knowing that they can open doors to companies and even to countries that can make for priceless relationships. One of Jacques’ personal quotes is: “Life is a series of introductions,” to which a friend recently added: “. . . and what you then do with them is the key.”

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