Shawn Carolan

Partner at Menlo Ventures

Speaker

As a consumer investor, Shawn focuses on finding technology that improves our daily lives. How can we do more of what we like? How can we make things faster? Easier? Less expensive? More accessible? More enjoyable?
He’s demonstrated an uncanny ability to recognize the new technologies that unlock future innovation and become the foundation on which categories are built. Long before making early investments in Uber and Roku, Shawn was the first investor in Siri (now central to your Apple experience), PlaySpan (which became Visa checkout), Scan (acquired by Snap and is now Snapcodes), and backed Telenav, a foundational technology and leading provider of GPS, that paved the way for today’s transportation innovators.
Shawn’s early interest in the mobility sector informed his investments not only in Uber but also in JUMP bikes (acquired by Uber) and scooter startup Skip. Through these investments, he was recognized as a top investor in the mobility category.
Before joining Menlo, Shawn earned a BS and MS in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he graduated with highest honors. His interests in programming led him to Open Port Technology, a Chicago internet messaging startup. The opportunity to pursue his MBA at Stanford GSB brought him to the Bay Area. He spent a summer at Booz Allen, then joined Menlo upon graduation. Now a father of three, Shawn enjoys hiking with his family, running with his wife Jennifer (founder of Reach Capital), snowboarding and motorcycling