Brian O'MalleySan Francisco, California, United States
Bio
Brian brings fifteen years of investment experience to the Forerunner team spread across two world-class firms, Accel and Battery Ventures. Between the two firms, he’s served on over two dozen boards. Notable investments include Anchor (acquired by Spotify), Away Travel, Bazaarvoice (IPO), BrightEdge, Coravin, Coupa (IPO), Dollar Shave Club, Gametime, HotelTonight (acquired by AirBnb), KeyMe, Insitu (acquired by Boeing), InstaEdu (acquired by Chegg), J. Hilburn, Narvar, Serena & Lily, Shift Technologies, Skullcandy (IPO), Represent (acquired by CustomInk) and TradeKing (acquired by Ally Financial).
Brian spent several years in operating roles before entering the venture capital industry, originally helping the founding teams at Matrics, Inc. (acquired by Motorola) and Compoze Software (acquired by Oracle) before spending three years at Bowstreet, where he was Director of West Coast Technical Sales before the Company was acquired by IBM. His professional career began while only a sophomore in college, when he was a web developer for Motorola Computer Group.
Brian has been named to the Skift30, recognizing the “top 30 movers and shakers in the online travel sector.” He has been included in the Forbes’ up-and-coming Midas List, the VC Draft: Hot Prospects, and the AlwaysOn Power Player in Mobile and Cloud Computing lists. Brian earned a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he completed a Dual Concentration in Entrepreneurial Finance and Management.
Specialties: venture capital, consumer internet, ecommerce, network effects, freemium models, technology-enabled services, vertical SaaS applications, mobile commerce, marketplace dynamics.
Brian spent several years in operating roles before entering the venture capital industry, originally helping the founding teams at Matrics, Inc. (acquired by Motorola) and Compoze Software (acquired by Oracle) before spending three years at Bowstreet, where he was Director of West Coast Technical Sales before the Company was acquired by IBM. His professional career began while only a sophomore in college, when he was a web developer for Motorola Computer Group.
Brian has been named to the Skift30, recognizing the “top 30 movers and shakers in the online travel sector.” He has been included in the Forbes’ up-and-coming Midas List, the VC Draft: Hot Prospects, and the AlwaysOn Power Player in Mobile and Cloud Computing lists. Brian earned a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he completed a Dual Concentration in Entrepreneurial Finance and Management.
Specialties: venture capital, consumer internet, ecommerce, network effects, freemium models, technology-enabled services, vertical SaaS applications, mobile commerce, marketplace dynamics.
Experience
General Partner
Forerunner Ventures
Sep 2018 - Current
Forerunner Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to partnering with ambitious entrepreneurs who are addressing the challenges and opportunities of today’s changing commerce landscape. The San Francisco-based firm leverages a unique thesis-driven approach to investing by pairing extensive commerce expertise and a deep knowledge of changing consumer behaviors with brand building and focus on customer experience to successfully identify strong leaders and guide them in their efforts to build disruptive and meaningful companies. Forerunner Ventures is the only VC firm to invest in both Dollar Shave Club and Jet.com, two of the biggest and highest-profile e-commerce exits in recent years, and includes Away, Chime, Glossier, Hotel Tonight, Indigo Fair, Warby Parker, and Zola among its growing list of portfolio companies. For more information, please visit http://forerunnerventures.com/.
Board Member
dumpling
Apr 2020 - Current
Board Member
MakerSights
May 2019 - Current
Board Member
Sunday
Jan 2019 - Current
Investor / Advisor
Homeroom
Jan 2019 - Current
Board Member
Narvar
Jul 2015 - Current
Investor / Advisor
Shift Technology
Jul 2017 - Current
Board Member
Duetto
Apr 2012 - Dec 2018
Board Member
HotelTonight
Apr 2011 - Oct 2018
Partner
Accel Partners
Dec 2013 - Sep 2018
Board Member
Anchor
May 2016 - Aug 2018
General Partner
Battery Ventures
Apr 2004 - Dec 2013
Education
The Wharton School
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