Jennifer Fonstad

Jennifer Fonstad is an American venture capital investor and entrepreneur. She co-founded Aspect Ventures, a female-led venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies.[1] She is also co-founder of angel investing network Broadway Angels.[2] Fonstad has been recognized as a top 100 tech investor on Forbes’ Midas List twice[3][4] and was named 2016 Venture Capitalist of the Year by Deloitte.[5]

Jennifer Fonstad
Alma materGeorgetown University, Harvard Business School
OccupationVenture Capital Investor, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Aspect Ventures
Websiteaspectventures.com

Education

Fonstad earned a Bachelor of Science in International Economics from Georgetown University and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.[6] While a student at Harvard, Fonstad co-founded the New Venture Competition, an annual competition for HBS student entrepreneurs.[7]

Career

Fonstad began her career at Bain & Company after spending a year teaching high school math in sub-Saharan Africa.[8] She joined venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson as a Kauffman Fellow in 1997 and became a partner in 1998.[9] Fonstad spent 17 years with DFJ, helping to grow the firm from $150MM to $3.5Billion under management.[10] Her investments included Athenahealth (ATHN), NanoString Technologies (NSTG), NetZero, Flurry, Lumenos, and others.[8]

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.[10][11] In 2014, Fonstad left DFJ to co-found Aspect Ventures with fellow investor and former Bain & Company colleague, Theresia Gouw.[12] With Aspect, Fonstad has made investments in Vida Health, Grokker, FollowAnalytics, OhmConnect and Stem.io.[13]

Board member and advisor

Fonstad serves on the board of directors of FollowAnalytics, OhmConnect, Grokker, Stem.io and Vida Health. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[14]

Recognition and awards
  • One of “The 50 Most Powerful Moms” by Working Mother (2017)[15]
  • “Venture Capitalist of the Year” by Deloitte at the Technology Fast 500 (2016)[5]
  • Portraits of Power, Marie Claire (2016)[16]
  • Forbes Midas List (2008, 2009)[3][4]

Speaker and commentator

At the Catalyst Conference 2017, she spoke at the Fireside Chat.[17]

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,[18][19] Fast Company,[20] Entrepreneur,[21] Re/code,[22] Yahoo Finance,[23] Forbes,[24] Bloomberg,[25] and CNBC.[26]

References
  1. "Two Silicon Valley Investors Venture Out on Their Own". Fortune. Time, Inc.
  2. "Jennifer Fonstad Bio". Broadway Angels. Broadway Angels.
  3. "The Midas List 2008". Forbes. Forbes Media, LLC.
  4. "The Midas List 2009". Forbes. Forbes Media, LLC.
  5. "The Broadsheet". Fortune. Time, Inc.
  6. "Executive Profile Jennifer Scott Fonstad". Bloomberg. Bloomberg L.P.
  7. "Harvard Business School's annual contest for entrepreneurs is a case study unto itself". Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC.
  8. "Jennifer Fonstad Bio". Aspect Ventures. Aspect Ventures.
  9. "Fellows Directory". Kauffman Fellows. Kauffman Fellows.
  10. "Bridging The Funding Gap: An Interview With The Women Behind Aspect Ventures". Forbes. Forbes Media.
  11. Yesil, Magdalena (July 22, 2016). "Coming out as a woman in venture capital: opinion". USA Today. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  12. "Accel's Theresia Gouw And DFJ's Jennifer Fonstad Partner To Launch Mobile-Focused VC Firm Aspect Ventures". TechCrunch. Oath Tech Network.
  13. "Aspect Ventures Companies". Aspect Ventures. Aspect Ventures.
  14. "Council on Foreign Relations Membership Roster". Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations.
  15. "50 Most Powerful Moms". Working Mother. Working Mother.
  16. "Portraits of Power". Marie Claire. Hearst Communications, Inc.
  17. "Catalyst Conference Speakers". Girls in Tech. Girls in Tech.
  18. "What James Comey's Firing Means For the Future of Cyber Attacks". Fortune. Time Inc.
  19. "Here's How Snap's Wall Street Debut Could Spark An IPO Boom". Fortune. Time Inc.
  20. "Business Leaders Share Their Biggest Concerns About The Future Of Business". Fast Company. Fast Company, Inc.
  21. "To Impress This VC, Deliver on What You Promise". Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
  22. "After Ellen Pao, Now What?". Recode. Vox Media, Inc.
  23. "What Trump Doesn't Get About Silicon Valley's H1-B Visas". Yahoo! Finance. Oath Inc.
  24. "Women Investors' Best Advice For Startup Success In The Uncertain Trump Era". Forbes. Forbes Media.
  25. "Free Speech Versus Abuse: Social Media Scrutinized". Bloomberg. Bloomberg, L.P.
  26. "Crashing the tech boys club". CNBC. CNBC, LLC.
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