Investors
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Lightspeed is a leading global venture capital firm that manages over $2 billion of capital commitments, having closed Lightspeed VIII, an $800 million fund, in early 2008. Over the past two decades, their investment professionals have backed more than 150 companies, many of which have gone on to become leaders in their respective industries. Investments include Blue Nile, Brocade, Calista, DoubleClick, eHealth, Growth Networks, Informatica and Riverbed Technology. Lightspeed invests in the U.S. and internationally, with investment professionals and advisors located in Silicon Valley, China, India and Israel.
Visit Lightspeed’s website
Board of Directors
Eric O’Brien
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Eric is a Managing Director at Lightspeed, where he leads investments in enterprise software, digital media, datacenter infrastructure and semiconductors and also helps oversee Lightspeed's investment efforts in China. Previously, he worked in product management at Ciena (formerly Lightera Networks). Prior to Ciena, Eric worked at InterWest Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm where he focused on communications and software investments, and at Morgan Stanley in the telecom mergers and acquisitions group. Eric holds a BA in Economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University.
John Vrionis
Lightspeed Venture Partners
John is a Principal at Lightspeed and focuses primarily on information technology infrastructure, with a particular investment interest in datacenter technologies, enterprise software and communications systems. Previously, John worked in product management and marketing with Determina (acquired by VMware). Prior to Determina, John was Director of Strategic Initiatives and an initial member of the management team at Freedom Financial Network, a financial services software company. Before Freedom, John worked at ABN Amro Ventures where he supported numerous investments in information technology and communications systems companies over a four year period. John holds a BA from Harvard University, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Stanford University.
Jim Meyerle
Evolv On-Demand
Jim has a background in strategy consulting with a focus on operations and structured finance. Prior to Evolv, he was with Keystone Strategy, where he worked in two key areas: divestiture strategy for Fortune 50 consumer products and technology companies; and product management for ‘mega’ projects in the public sector. Prior to Keystone, his background was largely in structured finance, with a specialty in leveraged buyouts for middle-market technology-enabled service companies. Jim has a BA in Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia where he was an Echols Scholar and a MA in Economics from Saint Andrews University, Scotland, where he was a recipient of the Saint Andrews Graduate Fellowship.
Max Simkoff
Evolv On-Demand
Max was most recently the Director of Corporate Development for RCS, a hospital revenue cycle management company backed by Austin Ventures and InvestRx, and based in Chicago. At RCS, Max oversaw the evaluation and negotiation of strategic acquisitions and joint venture programs while also managing the design and implementation of the company’s recruiting and hiring program. Before joining RCS, Max was a co-founder of InvestRx, a San Francisco-based private equity fund targeting middle-market Healthcare Services companies. Max has a BA in History from Northwestern University.
