Jennifer Fonstad
American venture capital investor (born 1965)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Jennifer Fonstad | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | November 27, 1965 |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Venture capital investor |
| Title | Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Owl Capital Group |
| Children | 4[1] |
| Website | owlcapital |
Education
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
Early career
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
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
Fonstad launched Owl Capital Group in 2019,[17] which focused on early-stage startups.[21][22][23]
Board member and advisor
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]