BJ

Brian Jacobs

Silicon Valley VC | Lecturer at Stanford GSB | Founder, Moai Capital | Founder, Emergence Capital

San Mateo, California

Work Experience

  • Board Member

    2023

    The National Forest Foundation is a congressionally chartered nonprofit dedicated to supporting our 193 million acres of National Forests and Grasslands. The NFF is a leading partner to the U.S. Forest Service at the national and local level.

  • Lecturer In Management

    2019

    Co-teaching "F385 Angel and Venture Capital Financing for Entrepreneurs and Investors" with Prof. Ilya Strebulaev. - We help our MBA and MSx students understand venture capital term sheets and startup cap tables. - Our students form VC teams to evaluate and propose terms to real Silicon Valley startups. - Advisor to many GSB startups.

  • Founder and Managing Partner

    2018

    Seed capital firm investing in consumer/business software/hardware, climate, robotics, healthcare and scalable impact opportunities. Find out more at www.moai.vc.

  • Founder and General Partner

    2003

    - Emergence Capital Partners is an early stage venture firm focused on technology-enabled services, including cloud computing, software-as-service, mobile software and business and information services. Emergence investments include Salesforce.com, Zoom, Veeva, Bill.com, Intacct, SuccessFactors, Yammer, Doximity, Box and many others. - Founded firm with two partners. Raised initial capital during 2003 (the "Great Bust"), developed highly focused investment strategy and hired an awesome team. - Created a winning culture that uses teamwork, respect and life balance to enable our employees to execute at a world class level. - Startup to market leadership. Emergence Capital was named VC of the Year by the NVCA in 2017. - Named to Forbes' Midas list in 2006 and 2007.

2007

  • Board Member

    2007

    - Board member for an innovative small business bill payment company. - Bill.com allows business managers to pay their company bills as easily as they do at home, but with the security and management that they need at work. - Led first venture round in 2006. IPO in 2019 (NYSE: BILL) - Helped CEO establish and scale a multi-channel sales strategy. - Chairman of the Compensation Committee

  • Board Member

    2017

    Impartner is the leading partner relationship management (PRM) software, which enables customers to manage large worldwide partner channels. - Led expansion financing round.

  • Board Member

    2013

    AASCEND is a San Francisco based nonprofit support and advocacy organization for adults on the autism-Asperger spectrum, family members of autistic adults, and professionals in autism services. Founded in 1999, AASCEND holds monthly meetings and events open to the public. For more info, please visit www.aascend.org or AASCEND | Facebook. - Introduced the Spectrum Employment Community, a LinkedIn Group designed to bring awareness of the potential of employment for workers on the spectrum. Everyone can help by joining.

2013 - 2022

  • Board Member

    2013 - 2022

    - Eversight provides a big data analytics and testing solution to the makers of consumer packaged goods and their retail partners. - Led first venture round. - Helped to hire a killer management team - Assisted founding team with product launch, recruiting, SaaS sales and marketing strategies. - Sold to Instacart in August 2022.

2005 - 2017

  • Board Member

    2005 - 2017

    - Board member for leading SaaS provider of cloud accounting and financial applications. - Led restructuring round which fueled dramatic growth and market leadership. - Partnered with new CEO to recraft the sales and marketing strategy. - Used the Emergence network to hire most of the management team. - Sold company to Sage at near-unicorn valuation.

1998 - 2006

  • Board Member

    1998 - 2006

    - Board member for leading provider of flash memory cards and inventor of the USB flash drive. - Lead investor and board member from first shipments through IPO and sale of company to Micron Technologies from approx. $1 billion. - Lead Board Member during first implementation of Sarbox policies. - Witness in case of IP theft that resulted in a $465 million judgment against Toshiba.