John Simon
Education
John is a graduate of Harvard University, earning a B.A. in History and Science and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and received his M.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
Biography
John joined Sigma Prime in November of 2012 to help build the firm and help invest in great entrepreneurs. He focuses on software-based businesses and disruptive technology businesses, often getting involved in businesses at their formation or earliest stages.
Background
Previous to joining Sigma Prime, John was a Co-Founder and Managing Director of General Catalyst Partners. He was responsible for investments in both new and existing technology businesses. Special areas of interest included software companies with an emphasis on mobile and software-as-a-service platforms, and disruptive technology companies in a variety of areas.
While at General Catalyst Partners, portfolio companies of General Catalyst Partners for which John served on the Board of Directors or that John was otherwise involved with include: Jumptap, Paydiant, OwnCloud, SignalDemand, BetterLesson, Mocospace, Thumb, Swirl, Swoop, CyPhy Works, iWalk, Aidin, Tear Science, Fractyl, DC Devices, and OvaScience (OTC BB:OVSC), Taleo (NASDAQ:TLEO, acquired by Oracle), m-Qube (acquired by VeriSign), ProfitLogic (acquired by Oracle), Maven Networks (acquired by Yahoo!), Bullhorn Software (acquired by Vista Equity), Quickplay Media (acquired by Madison Dearborn), BzzAgent (acquired by Dunn Humby/Tesco), and Outstart (acquired by Kenexa/IBM).
Before co-founding General Catalyst Partners, John was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of UroMed Corporation. UroMed completed its initial public offering in 1994 and was subsequently merged to form Alliant Medical Technologies. Prior to founding UroMed, he led marketing and sales at Adaptive Networks and was a venture capitalist at Highland Capital Partners and Charles River Ventures.
John is a member of the World Presidents’ Organization (WPO). He’s a co-founder and current trustee of the Steppingstone Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides educational opportunities to deserving inner-city students. In addition, he’s continued his involvement with the non-profit sector by founding the GreenLight Fund (www.greenlightfund.org), which spurs the replication and growth of innovative non-profits.