Jennifer Fonstad
Jennifer Fonstad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 27, 1965 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Venture capital investor |
| Title | Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Owl Capital Group |
| Children | 4[1] |
| Website | owlcapital |
Jennifer Fonstad (born November 27, 1965[2]) 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.[3] Fonstad was the Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) for 17 years.[4] She is also a co-founder of angel investing network Broadway Angels.[5][6][7]
Education
[edit]Fonstad earned a Bachelor of Science in International Economics from Georgetown University and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.[8] While a student at Harvard, Fonstad co-founded the New Venture Competition, an annual competition for HBS student entrepreneurs.[9]
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Fonstad began her career at Bain & Company after spending a year teaching high school math in sub-Saharan Africa.[10] She joined venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson as a Kauffman Fellow in 1997 and became a partner in 1998.[11]
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.[12][13]
Aspect Ventures
[edit]In 2014, Fonstad co-founded Aspect Ventures, an early stage, all-female venture-capital firm, with fellow venture capital investor Theresia Gouw.[14] Gouw and Fonstad worked together early in their careers at Bain & Company and at Release Software.
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,[15] which included outside capital from Limited Partners,[16] and followed it with a second fund of $181 million in early 2018.[17][18] It had 116 rounds of investments in 67 companies and had 13 exists.[19]
The founders decided to split in 2019 over clashing management styles.[20][17][18] In the same year, both founders started new venture capital firms.
Owl Capital Group
[edit]Fonstad launched Owl Capital Group in 2019,[17] which focused on early-stage startups.[21][22][23]
Board member and advisor
[edit]She serves on the board of the Mastercard Foundation and on the board of the Mastercard Foundation Asset Management Company (MFAM).[24][25] She is a Founding Member of All-Raise, a Managing Member of Broadway Angels, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[26][27][28] Fonstad works on a volunteer basis with the Red Cross and has been selected to be the Head of Delegation for the 2024 International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - IFRC General Assembly.[29]
References
[edit]- ^ Garland, Russ (October 10, 2016). "Garland's Take: Thoughts on Diversity, From Jennifer Fonstad". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Fact Sheet – Jennifer Fonstad". Venture Capital Journal. January 12, 2001.
- ^ "Jennifer Fonstad". LinkedIn. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
- ^ "Two Silicon Valley Investors Venture Out on Their Own". Fortune. Time, Inc.
- ^ "Broadway Angels". Broadway Angels. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
- ^ "Jennifer Fonstad Bio". Broadway Angels.
- ^ Yesil, Magdalena. "Coming out as a woman in venture capital: opinion". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ "Executive Profile Jennifer Scott Fonstad". Bloomberg. Bloomberg L.P.
- ^ "Harvard Business School's annual contest for entrepreneurs is a case study unto itself". Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC.
- ^ "Jennifer Fonstad Bio". Aspect Ventures.
- ^ "Fellows Directory". Kauffman Fellows.
- ^ "Bridging The Funding Gap: An Interview With The Women Behind Aspect Ventures". Forbes.
- ^ Yesil, Magdalena (July 22, 2016). "Coming out as a woman in venture capital: opinion". USA Today. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- ^ Rao, Leena (2014-02-05). "Accel's Theresia Gouw And DFJ's Jennifer Fonstad Partner To Launch Mobile-Focused VC Firm Aspect Ventures". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ Boorstin, Julia (2015-05-14). "Aspect Ventures, a woman-led VC, raises $150 million fund". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ Schubarth, Cromwell (May 14, 2015). "VCs Jennifer Fonstad, Theresia Gouw raise $150M for Aspect Ventures' first fund". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ a b c Konrad, Alex. "Aspect Ventures Raises $181 Million Second Fund From Investors Including Melinda Gates". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ a b Loizos, Connie (2019-09-17). "Aspect Ventures, founded by Theresia Gouw and Jennifer Fonstad, is splitting up". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ "Aspect Ventures — 116 Investments, 13 Exits, 67 Portfolio companies". Unicorn Nest. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ Chernova, Yuliya (2019-09-16). "Venture-Capital Firm Aspect Ventures Breaking Up". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
- ^ 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. doi:10.5465/ambpp.2019.17923abstract. ISSN 0065-0668.
- ^ Roof, Katie (September 28, 2021). "Cisco-Backed Acrew Capital Has $680 Million in New Venture Funds". Bloomberg.
- ^ Loizos, Connie (2019-12-18). "Theresia Gouw's 'multigenerational' new firm, Acrew, just closed a $250 million debut fund". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ^ "Jennifer Fonstad". Mastercard Foundation. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ "Jennifer Fonstad". Mastercard Foundation Asset Management website. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ "Jennifer Fonstad - Founding Member at All Raise". THE ORG. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ "Jennifer Fonstad Bio". Broadway Angels. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ "Council on Foreign Relations Membership Roster". Council on Foreign Relations.
- ^ "Jennifer Fonstad Selected as Head of Delegation". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2024-10-22.