Jennifer Fonstad Explained

Jennifer Fonstad
Occupation:Venture Capital Investor, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Owl Capital Group
Nationality:American
Alma Mater:Georgetown University, Harvard Business School

Jennifer Fonstad is an American venture capital investor and entrepreneur. She is the managing partner and a co-founder of the Owl Capital Group, a venture firm based in Silicon Valley.[1]  Fonstad was Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) for 17 years.[2] She is also co-founder of angel investing network Broadway Angels.[3] [4] [5] Fonstad has been recognized as a top 100 tech investor on Forbes’ Midas List twice[6] [7] and was named 2016 Venture Capitalist of the Year by Deloitte.[8] She is also a Founding Member of All Raise.[9]

Education

Fonstad earned a Bachelor of Science in International Economics from Georgetown University and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.[10] While a student at Harvard, Fonstad co-founded the New Venture Competition, an annual competition for HBS student entrepreneurs.[11]

Career

Early career

Fonstad began her career at Bain & Company after spending a year teaching high school math in sub-Saharan Africa.[12] She joined venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson as a Kauffman Fellow in 1997 and became a partner in 1998.[13] Fonstad spent 17 years with DFJ, helping to grow the firm from $150MM to $3.5Billion under management.[14] Through her career Fonstad has participated in many successful investments including Athenahealth,[15] Tesla, Solarcity,[16] the Real Real, Chime Bank, Hotmail, Netzero, Box, Redfin, and others.[17]

In 2010, Fonstad and Sonja Hoel Perkins were among the founders of Broadway Angels, an angel investing network of senior women from the fields of technology and venture investing.[14] [18]

Aspect Ventures

In 2014, Fonstad co-founded Aspect Ventures, an early stage, all-female venture-capital firm, with fellow venture capital investor Theresia Gouw.[19] Gouw and Fonstad worked together early in their careers at Bain & Company and at Release Software.[20]

During the first year, Aspect Ventures made several Series A and seed investments funded by the co-founders' personal capital. Aspect secured $150 million for its debut fund,[21] which included outside capital from Limited Partners,[22] and followed it with a second fund of $181 million in early 2018.[23] [24] It had 116 rounds of investments in 67 companies and had 13 exists.[25]

The firm made investments in companies including ForeScout (FSCT), Cato Networks,[26] Exabeam,[27] The Muse, Crew, Silverfort, Eden Health, Pie Insurance, and PredictHQ.

The founders decided to split in 2019 over clashing management styles.[28] In the same year, both founders started new venture capital firms.

Owl Capital Group

Fonstad launched Owl Capital Group, which focused on early-stage startups.[29] Her current investments include Vida Health, Ohmconnect, Grokker, Stem.io, Roofstock, WelcomeTech, and Owlet.[30] [31] [32]

Board member and advisor

Fonstad serves on the Board of Directors of several private companies. She also serves on the board of the Mastercard Foundation, a $35B AUM foundation based in Toronto, Canada.[33]  She is a Founding Member of All-Raise, a Managing Member of Broadway Angels, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[34] [35] [36]

Recognition and awards

Speaker and commentator

At the Catalyst Conference 2017, she spoke at the Fireside Chat.[39]

Fonstad is a frequent media contributor on issues pertaining to women in tech, cyber-security, the future of healthcare and the venture capital industry. Her commentary appears in Fortune,[40] [41] Fast Company,[42] Entrepreneur,[43] Re/code,[44] Yahoo Finance,[45] Forbes,[46] Bloomberg,[47] and CNBC.[48]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jennifer Fonstad. March 25, 2021. LinkedIn.
  2. Web site: Two Silicon Valley Investors Venture Out on Their Own. Fortune. Time, Inc..
  3. Web site: Broadway Angels. 2021-05-03. Broadway Angels. en-US.
  4. Web site: Jennifer Fonstad Bio. Broadway Angels. Broadway Angels.
  5. Web site: Yesil. Magdalena. Coming out as a woman in venture capital: opinion. 2021-03-25. USA TODAY. en-US.
  6. Web site: The Midas List 2008. Forbes.
  7. Web site: The Midas List 2009. Forbes.
  8. Web site: The Broadsheet. Fortune. Time, Inc..
  9. Web site: Jennifer Fonstad - Founding Member at All Raise. 2021-05-03. THE ORG. en.
  10. Web site: Executive Profile Jennifer Scott Fonstad. Bloomberg. Bloomberg L.P..
  11. Web site: Harvard Business School's annual contest for entrepreneurs is a case study unto itself. Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC.
  12. Web site: Jennifer Fonstad Bio. Aspect Ventures. Aspect Ventures.
  13. Web site: Fellows Directory. Kauffman Fellows. Kauffman Fellows.
  14. Web site: Bridging The Funding Gap: An Interview With The Women Behind Aspect Ventures. Forbes.
  15. Web site: Athenahealth Funding. AngelList.
  16. Web site: Form S-1. 2021-03-25. www.sec.gov.
  17. Web site: Jennifer Fonstad AngelList Profile. AngelList.
  18. News: Yesil . Magdalena . Coming out as a woman in venture capital: opinion . 17 May 2019 . USA Today . July 22, 2016.
  19. Web site: Rao . Leena . 2014-02-05 . Accel's Theresia Gouw And DFJ's Jennifer Fonstad Partner To Launch Mobile-Focused VC Firm Aspect Ventures . 2023-10-12 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  20. Web site: Newlands . Murray . Bridging The Funding Gap: An Interview With The Women Behind Aspect Ventures . 2023-10-12 . Forbes . en.
  21. Web site: Boorstin . Julia . 2015-05-14 . Aspect Ventures, a woman-led VC, raises $150 million fund . 2023-10-12 . CNBC . en.
  22. Web site: Schubarth . Cromwell . May 14, 2015 . VCs Jennifer Fonstad, Theresia Gouw raise $150M for Aspect Ventures' first fund . 2023-10-12 . www.bizjournals.com.
  23. Web site: Konrad . Alex . Aspect Ventures Raises $181 Million Second Fund From Investors Including Melinda Gates . 2023-10-12 . Forbes . en.
  24. Web site: Loizos . Connie . 2019-09-17 . Aspect Ventures, founded by Theresia Gouw and Jennifer Fonstad, is splitting up . 2023-10-12 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  25. Web site: Aspect Ventures — 116 Investments, 13 Exits, 67 Portfolio companies . 2023-10-12 . Unicorn Nest . en-US.
  26. Web site: Networks . Cato . 2015-10-27 . Cato Networks Secures $20 Million in Series A Round From U.S. Venture Partners and Aspect Ventures . 2023-10-12 . GlobeNewswire News Room . en.
  27. Web site: Shieber . Jonathan . 2014-06-10 . Exabeam Raises $10 Million For Network-Tracking Security Software . 2023-10-12 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  28. News: Chernova . Yuliya . 2019-09-16 . Venture-Capital Firm Aspect Ventures Breaking Up . en-US . Wall Street Journal . 2023-10-09 . 0099-9660.
  29. Howell . Travis . 2019-08-01 . Solo vs. Co: Under What Conditions Can Solo-Founded Ventures Perform as well as Co-Founded Ventures? . Academy of Management Proceedings . 2019 . 1 . 17923 . 10.5465/ambpp.2019.17923abstract . 0065-0668.
  30. Web site: Owl Capital Group Companies . 2021-03-25 . owlcapital.com.
  31. Web site: Roof . Katie . September 28, 2021 . Cisco-Backed Acrew Capital Has $680 Million in New Venture Funds .
  32. Web site: Loizos . Connie . 2019-12-18 . Theresia Gouw's 'multigenerational' new firm, Acrew, just closed a $250 million debut fund . 2023-10-12 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  33. Web site: Jennifer Fonstad. 2021-03-25. Mastercard Foundation. en.
  34. Web site: Jennifer Fonstad - Founding Member at All Raise. 2021-03-25. THE ORG. en.
  35. Web site: Jennifer Fonstad Bio. 2021-03-25. Broadway Angels. en-US.
  36. Web site: Council on Foreign Relations Membership Roster. Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations.
  37. Web site: 50 Most Powerful Moms. Working Mother. Working Mother.
  38. Web site: Portraits of Power. Marie Claire. Hearst Communications, Inc.
  39. Web site: Catalyst Conference Speakers. Girls in Tech. Girls in Tech.
  40. Web site: What James Comey's Firing Means For the Future of Cyber Attacks. Fortune. Time Inc.
  41. Web site: Here's How Snap's Wall Street Debut Could Spark An IPO Boom. Fortune. Time Inc.
  42. Web site: Business Leaders Share Their Biggest Concerns About The Future Of Business. Fast Company. Fast Company, Inc.
  43. Web site: To Impress This VC, Deliver on What You Promise. Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
  44. Web site: After Ellen Pao, Now What?. Recode. Vox Media, Inc.
  45. Web site: What Trump Doesn't Get About Silicon Valley's H1-B Visas. Yahoo! Finance. Oath Inc.
  46. Web site: Women Investors' Best Advice For Startup Success In The Uncertain Trump Era. Forbes.
  47. Web site: Free Speech Versus Abuse: Social Media Scrutinized. Bloomberg. Bloomberg, L.P..
  48. Web site: Crashing the tech boys club. CNBC. CNBC, LLC.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jennifer Fonstad".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.