Profiles of the
1. NEIL SHEN
Neil (Nanpeng) Shen spent much of his early career in banking at firms like Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers, Citibank, and others. However, in 1999 he left the financial services industry to co-found the travel company Ctrip.com,L where he served as CFO. He also helped co-found the hotel chain Home Inns.
After his entrepreneurial endeavors, he co-founded Sequoia Capital China in 2005 with the help of US partners Michael Moritz and Doug Leone. Since then, Shen has built one of the most successful venture capital franchises in the world by focusing on trends specific to the Chinese region, rather than within the broader technology landscape.
Current Firm: Sequoia Capital China (Founding Partner)
Operating Location: Hong Kong
Notable Investments: Meituan-Dianping (IPO), Bytedance, Vipshop (IPO), Qihoo 360 (IPO), DJI
Education: Yale University (MA), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (BA)
2. LEE FIXEL
Since joining Tiger Global in March 2006, Lee Fixel quickly established a reputation for investing in internet and software companies in emerging markets.
Fixel’s investments span Souq (acquired by Amazon), MercadoLibre (often called the “eBay of Argentina”), and an early bet on Indian e-commerce with Flipkart (sold to Walmart for $16B). More recently, Lee has backed high-profile unicorns like Stripe, Peleton, and the now-public Spotify.
Current Firm: Tiger Global (Founding Partner, leaving to potentially start an investment firm)
Operating Location: New York, NY
Notable Investments: Flipkart (Acquired), Juul, Stripe, Peleton, Spotify (IPO), Glassdoor (Acquired),
Education: Washington University in St. Louis (BA)
3. BILL GURLEY
Bill Gurley started his career as an electrical engineer for Compaq Computers in 1989. He received his MBA in 1993 from UT Austin before joining Credit Suisse First Boston as an equity research analyst, where he focused on computer hardware and software.
After 3 years with Credit Suisse, Bill joined Deutsche Bank for a short time, and focused exclusively on internet companies. While at Deutsche Bank, he expanded his Silicon Valley network and joined Hummer Winblad Venture Partners in 1997. Shortly after, he joined the newly established Benchmark, where he has served as General Partner ever since.
Current Firm: Benchmark
Operating Location: San Francisco, CA
Notable Investments: Uber, Stitch Fix (IPO), Nextdoor, GrubHub (IPO), OpenTable (IPO), Zillow (IPO)
Education: University of Texas at Austin (MBA), University of Florida (BSE)
4. ALFRED LIN
In 1996, Alfred Lin joined LinkExchange as the Vice President of Finance after completing his master’s degree in statistics. After two years with the company, it was acquired by Microsoft. Alfred went on to join Tellme Networks as the Vice President of Finance and Business Development. He left the company in 2005, and in 2007 it was also acquired by Microsoft.
After parting ways with Tellme, Alfred joined Zappos.com, where he assumed the roles of Chairman, CFO, and COO. He stayed with the company through its acquisition by Amazon in 2009 and joined Sequoia Capital as Partner in October 2010.
Current Firm: Sequoia Capital
Operating Location: Menlo Park, CA
Notable Investments: Airbnb, Houzz, DoorDash, Instacart, Reddit
Education: Stanford University (MS), Harvard College (BA)
5. JEFF JORDAN
Jeff Jordan began his post-graduate career as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group. After 3 years with the firm, he joined The Walt Disney Company in a variety of roles and eventually became the Senior Vice President of Finance for The Disney Stores. In 1998 he became President and CEO of Reel.com, which operated independently after its acquisition by Hollywood Entertainment.
Shortly after, he joined eBay as Senior Vice President and General Manager. During his 5 years with the company, Jeff oversaw the acquisitions of Paypal and Half.com (#11 Josh Kopelman’s company). He then went on to serve as President of Paypal in 2004, before becoming President and CEO of OpenTable in 2007.
In 2011, Jeff parted ways with OpenTable after taking the company public in 2009. He joined Andreessen Horowitz as the firm’s fifth general partner, and has served in the role since.
Current Firm: Andreessen Horowitz
Operating Location: Menlo Park, CA
Notable Investments: Airbnb, Pinterest, Instacart, Lookout, OfferUp, Lime
Education: Stanford University (MBA), Amherst College (BA)
6. PETER FENTON
Peter Fenton began his career at video company Virage, where he worked as a general manager between 1996 and 1998. After completing his MBA, Peter joined Accel Partners, where he rose to become a Managing Partner. After a number of successful investments, Peter joined Benchmark in 2006, where he still invests today.
Current Firm: Benchmark
Operating Location: San Francisco, CA
Notable Investments: Elastic (IPO), Zuora (IPO), Hortonworks (IPO), Yelp (IPO), Quip (Acquired),
Education: Stanford University (MBA, BA)
7. BRIAN SINGERMAN
Brian Singerman started his career as a software engineer for virtual-world company There. After 4 years with the company, Brian joined Googleas a software engineer and rose to become an engineering manager. Along the way, he started a small investment fund called XGYC (ex-Google, Y Combinator) to invest in early-stage startups.
After nearly four-and-a-half years with Google and some investment experience, Brian joined Founders Fund as a Principal in 2008. In 2011, he was promoted to Partner.
Current Firm: Founders Fund
Operating Location: San Francisco, CA
Notable Investments: Stemcentrx (Acquired), Affirm, Oscar, Airbnb, Wish
Education: Stanford University (BS)
8. MARY MEEKER
Mary Meeker began her career as a securities analyst in 1986. From 1991 to 2010, she worked at Morgan Stanley, where she served as a managing director and research analyst. She is best known for her annual Internet Trends Report, which is one of the most widely read technology reports each year.
After nearly 20 years with Morgan Stanley, Mary joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 2010, where she has sourced major exits including Twitter and Square. In early 2019, Mary announced she was leaving to start Bond, a new investment firm, along with several others from Kleiner Perkins.
Current Firm: Bond, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Operating Location: Menlo Park, CA
Notable Investments: DocuSign (IPO), Spotify (IPO), Houzz, Peleton, Twitter (IPO), Lending Club (IPO), Square (IPO)
Education: Cornell University (MBA), DePauw University (BA)
9. MATT COHLER
Matt Cohler joined Benchmark in 2008, after working previously at McKinsey, Facebook, and LinkedIn. As one of Facebook’s first five employees, Cohler was an integral part of Instagram’s sale to Facebook in 2012.
At Benchmark, Cohler has largely focused on interntet companies, as evidenced by investments in Dropbox, Quora, Asana, Tinder, and 1stdibs.
Cohler also sits on the boards for companies like Uber, Greenhouse, and Domo, among others.
Current Firm: Benchmark
Operating Location: San Francisco, CA
Notable Investments: Dropbox (IPO), Duo Security (Acquired), Uber, Instagram (Acquired), Domo (IPO)
Education: Yale University (BA)
10. RAVI MHATRE
Ravi Mhatre started his career as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton in 1989. After completing his master’s degree, Ravi then joined Silicon Graphics as a Product Manager in 1993.
Just over two years later, he jumped into the venture capital world and joined Bessemer Venture Partners as an investor. In 1999, Ravi went off the start Lightspeed Venture Partners with 3 other colleagues. He still serves as a Founding Partner and Managing Director nearly 20 years later.
Current Firm: Lightspeed Venture Partners (Founding Partner)
Operating Location: Menlo Park, CA
Notable Investments: AppDynamics (Acquired), Rubrik, MuleSoft (IPO), Nutanix (IPO), Kosmix (Acquired), Natera (IPO)
Education: Stanford University (MBA & BA)
11. JOSH KOPELMAN
Josh Kopelman is one of the few serial entrepreneurs on our list of Top 20 Venture Capital Partners.
While a student at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he began information services company Infonautics, which went public in 1996 (and was later acquired). In 1999, Kopelman parted ways with Infonautics to start person-to-person marketplace Half.com. After a short and successful year, Half.com was acquired by eBay in 2000. Josh continued to run Half.com within eBay for approximately 3 years before starting anti-spam company TurnTide, which was acquired by Symantec just six months after its creation.
In 2004, Josh founded First Round Capital, where he serves as General Partner.
Current Firm: First Round Capital (Founding Partner)
Operating Location: Philadelphia, PA
Notable Investments: Flatiron Health (Acquired), AppNexus (Acquired), Clover Health, BazaarVoice (IPO), OnDeck Capital (IPO)
Education: University of Pennsylvania (BS)
12. BRYAN SCHREIER
Bryan Schreier joined Sequoia Capital as a partner in 2008, and worked on two major venture exits last year: the now-public Dropbox and the recently-acquired Qualtrics. Other investments have included Thumbtack and Trulia.
Prior to entering VC, Bryan launched Google‘s European headquarters and was an Interim President of Sales in China. Before Google, he worked in tech investment banking at Morgan Stanley.
Current Firm: Sequoia Capital
Operating Location: Menlo Park, CA
Notable Investments: Dropbox (IPO), Qualtrics (Acquired), Thumbtack
Education: Princeton University (BA)
13. ALLEN ZHU
Allen Zhu is a Managing Director with GSR Ventures, where he focuses on investments in early-stage companies in the internet, mobile, and new media sectors. Prior to GSR Ventures, he co-founded eBaoTech, a leading provider of insurance core back-end systems.
Current Firm: GSR Ventures
Operating Location: Palo Alto, Beijing, Singapore
Notable Investments: Didi Chuxing, ofo, ele.me (Acquired)
Education: Fudan University (MA), Shanghai Jiaoton University (BS)
14. MIKE VOLPI
Mike Volpi began his career at Hewlett Packard, where he worked in both engineering and marketing. After receiving his MBA, he joined Cisco, where he held a number of executive positions including Chief Strategy Officer and SVP/GM of the routing business.
Since joining Index in 2009, he’s sourced big exits such as Sonos, Hortonworks, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Zuora. More recently, Mike has backed companies like Aurora, Wealthfront, Slack, and Cockroach Labs.
Current Firm: Index Ventures
Operating Location: San Francisco, CA
Notable Investments: Hortonworks (IPO), Sonos (IPO) Wealthfront, Slack, Blue Bottle Coffee
Education: Stanford University (MBA, MS, BS)
15. SAMEER GANDHI
Sameer Gandhi joined Accel Partners in 2008 and focuses on consumer, software, and services companies. Prior to joining Accel, Sameer was a partner at Sequoia Capital and led investments in companies like Barracuda Networks, Dropbox (initial seed), Gracenote, Trulia, and Sourcefire.
Current Firm: Accel Partners
Operating Location: Palo Alto, CA
Notable Investments: Spotify (IPO), Flipkart (Acquired), Dropbox (IPO), Jet (Acquired), Venmo (Acquired)
Education: Stanford University (MBA), MIT (BS)
16. JP GAN
JP Gan has been a Managing Partner and investment committee member at Qiming Venture Partners since 2006. He has over twenty years of experience in investment and finance. JP’s investments include Ctrip, Dianping, and Jiayuan, among others.
Gan started his venture capital career in 2000 at the Carlyle Group, where he was a founding member of the firm’s Asian venture fund in Hong Kong.
Current Firm: Qiming Venture Partners
Operating Location: Shanghai, China
Notable Investments: Bilibili (IPO), Meitu (IPO), Meituan-Dianping (IPO), Ctrip
Education: University of Chicago (MBA), University of Iowa (BA)
17. ANN MIURA-KO
Ann Miura-Ko is a founding partner at Floodgate, a seed-stage VC firm. She was one of the first investors in companies including Lyft and TaskRabbit, with additional early investments in Ayasdi, Xamarin, and Modcloth, among others. Prior to Floodgate, Ann worked at Charles River Ventures and McKinsey and Company.
Current Firm: Floodgate (Founding Partner)
Operating Location: Palo Alto, CA
Notable Investments: Lyft, TaskRabbit (Acquired), Ayasdi
Education: Stanford University (PhD), Yale University (BSEE)
18. HANS TUNG
Hans Tung began his career as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. He joined GGV in 2013 from Qiming Venture Partners, where he had focused on investments in China and co-led a Series A investment in Xiaomi. Prior to that, he was with Bessemer Venture Partners, where he helped companies like Skype expand into China.
Current Firm: GGV Capital
Operating Location: Menlo Park, CA
Notable Investments:Musical.ly (Acquired), Slack, Lime, Poshmark, Xiaohongshu
Education: Stanford University (BS)
19. AYDIN SENKUT
In 1996, Aydin Senkut began working at Silicon Graphics as a business development manager. He later became a product manager at the company before joining Google in 1999. At Google, he held a number of roles, including product manager, sales manager of strategic accounts, and to senior manager of websearch & syndication
In 2005, Aydin left Google to start Felicis Ventures, where he is a Managing Partner.
Current Firm: Felicis Ventures (Founding Partner)
Operating Location: Menlo Park, CA
Notable Investments: Adyen, Credit Karma, Pluralsight (IPO), Shopify (IPO), Fitbit (IPO), Meraki (Acquired)
Education: University of Pennsylvania (MBA, MA), Boston University (BS)
20. BEN HOROWITZ
Ben Horowitz is a founding partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Before founding the firm, Ben was an angel investor and the co-founder of Opsware (formerly Loudcloud), which was acquired by HP in 2007. Earlier, he was vice president and general manager of AOL’s e-commerce platform division and a vice president at Netscape Communications. He also served as vice president of Netscape’s widely acclaimed Directory and Security product line.
In 2009, Ben started Andreessen Horowitz (also called a16z) with co-founder Marc Andreessen
Current Firm: Andreessen Horowitz (Founding Partner)
Operating Location: Menlo Park, CA
Notable Investments: Lyft, Okta (IPO), Tanium
Education: UCLA (MS), Columbia University (BA)
Methodology
Below are the factors considered in ranking our list of top venture capital partners:
- An investor’s exits — The frequency/volume, size, and stage of entry.
- Network centrality — Connectivity to other investors. Think of this as akin to Google PageRank.
- Consistency — Stage, industry consistency of investments.
- Illiquid portfolio company value — Frequency, size and stage of entry in high value (but un-exited companies). Given relatively less weight as these are paper valuations.
- Recency of performance — Our focus was on these metrics since 2010. As a result, we didn’t give a lot of credit to those who made glorious picks in the 80s, 90s, or early 2000s. This is a ranking of today’s best VCs, not the best VCs in history.