John Balen

John Balen is a General Partner at Canaan Partners, a venture capital firm he joined in 1995.12 He has extensive experience in the technology industry and venture investing, with a focus on both consumer and enterprise technologies.3

Education and Early Career

Balen received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and his MBA from Cornell University.12 His early career included roles as:

• Engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation (1980-1982)
• Applications Engineer at Codenoll Technology (1982-1984)
• Managing Director at Horsley Bridge Partners (1985-1995)2

Career at Canaan Partners

Since joining Canaan Partners in 1995, Balen has worked with numerous entrepreneurs to build high-performance companies.1 His investment portfolio includes successful ventures such as:

• Commerce One (B2B ecommerce)
• eStamp (Internet postage pioneer)
• Intraware (electronic license delivery and management)
• Cardlytics (transaction marketing platform)
• Switchfly (travel products software)
• ID Analytics (real-time fraud prevention)
• SOASTA (cloud testing)13

Investment Focus

Balen invests in various sectors, including:

• Digital media
• Financial technology (FinTech)
• Enterprise technology
• Consumer internet4

He has been involved in numerous successful exits, including IPOs and acquisitions by major tech companies.3

Personal

John Balen lives in Hillsborough, CA, with his wife Norma and two children.1 He is actively involved in educational causes and serves on several advisory boards at Cornell University, including the Electrical & Computer Engineering Advisory Council and the Entrepreneurship@Cornell Alumni Board.1