MENLO PARK, Calif., Aug. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading venture capital firm Menlo Ventures has a new partner: Jean-Paul (“J.P.”) Sanday.
J.P. joins Menlo Ventures, from Summit Partners, as an inflection-stage investor. Announced six months ago, Menlo Ventures’ Inflection Fund is a $500 million fund designed to invest in companies at their early breakout point between venture and late stage growth, generally between $5 million and $15 million of ARR. From this fund, Menlo Ventures makes investments of $20 - $40 million, in companies where a meaningful injection of capital, team building, introductions to early customers and partners, and a highly focused partnership will help accelerate them to scalable, hypergrowth. The firm makes early-stage investments (Seed through Series A and early Series B) from their $450 million Venture Fund.
“We’re excited to add J.P. to the team! He’s a great addition and comes highly recommended by everyone he’s ever worked with both on the operating side and as an investor. His experience, twice as an investor at leading growth firm Summit Partners, and twice as head of growth in start-up operating roles, give him a differentiated perspective which will be incredibly valuable to entrepreneurs he partners with.” said Matt Murphy, Partner, Menlo Ventures. “We’re excited about the early results of our inflection strategy, and J.P. is the ideal candidate to help us take things to the next level!”
“It’s a great time to join Menlo Ventures. The firm is doing incredibly well with IPO’s like Uber and Roku and investments in several of the next big companies in Silicon Valley, such as Carta, Chime, and Harness,” said J.P. Sanday. “Menlo has done a great job identifying companies at their early stage of growth, while the vast majority of traditional growth funds have moved much later stage. There is a huge opportunity in this segment of the market. I’m excited to build on this foundation working with the team and great entrepreneurs to build break out companies.”
J.P. joins Menlo Ventures from Summit Partners, where his board and investment experience included Smartsheet, Clearwater Analytics (acquired by Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe), Ascentis and Teaching Strategies. He previously served as Vice President of Growth at online education platform CreativeLive and Vice President of Growth at mobile games and entertainment company Kiwi. He co-founded a mobile ad network focused on driving high quality installs for app developers and spent time as a Product Manager at Amazon. J.P. graduated summa cum laude from Boston College Carroll School of Management and later earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. J.P. grew up in Argentina, but now lives with his wife and daughter in the Bay Area.
Since launching the Inflection Fund launched in February, Menlo led three financing rounds with an average investment of $20 million, in rounds that averaged $25 million. These new companies, Hover, Benchling, and one still not public, join an impressive portfolio of inflection-stage companies that include BitSight, Carta, Chime, Envoy, Everlaw, HomeLight, Rover, ShipBob, Signifyd, and Qualia. Menlo believes these fast-growing start-ups will follow in the footsteps of more established portfolio companies such as Betterment, BlueVine, Pillpack, Poshmark, Uber, and Roku all funded by Menlo at the inflection stage.
About Menlo Ventures
Menlo Ventures is a venture capital firm that strives to have a positive impact on everything we do. That’s why we support businesses including Betterment, Carta, Roku, Poshmark, Uber, and Warby Parker that are reimagining life and work for the better. Over 43 years, we’ve grown a portfolio that includes more than 70 public companies, over 100 mergers and acquisitions, and $5.5 billion under management. We invest at every stage and in every sector, with expertise in Consumer, Enterprise, and Healthcare. From developing market strategies to creating communities, we provide real impact where entrepreneurs need it most. When we’re in, we’re all in.
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