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Brian O'Malley

Managing Partner at Forerunner

Brian O'Malley is a Managing Partner at Forerunner Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm focused on understanding the modern consumer and identifying promising founders.1 Here are some key details about Brian O'Malley:

Professional Experience

  • Current Role: Managing Partner at Forerunner Ventures since September 20181
  • Previous Positions:
    • Partner at Accel Partners' early stage team2
    • Led Battery Ventures' Seed & Early Stage practices2

Investment Focus

Brian specializes in investing in:

  • Consumer applications
  • Bottoms-up software
  • Areas where the user is the decision maker3

Some of his investments include Arrived, Atticus, Canal, Dumpling, Fora, MakerSights, Metafy, Narvar, Sunday, Stress-Free, and Topline Pro.3

Education

  • Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
  • Dual Concentration in Entrepreneurial Finance and Management3

Career Highlights

  • Over 15 years of investment experience from world-class firms like Accel and Battery Ventures3
  • Named to Forbes' Midas List VC Draft: Hot Prospects
  • Listed on AlwaysOn's Power Players in Mobile and Power Players in The Cloud3

Personal Approach

Brian is known for:

  • Seeking out high-integrity people to work with
  • Empathizing with founders due to his personal startup experience
  • Focusing on amazing product experiences rather than just clever sales and marketing tactics3

Brian O'Malley brings a wealth of experience and a consumer-focused approach to his role at Forerunner Ventures, where he continues to identify and support innovative startups in the consumer and software spaces.

Highlights

Apr 24 · twitter

Congrats to the Fora team on their $40M Series C round led by @ThriveCapital.

Fora has become the fastest growing company in travel, booking 2 million room nights and over $1 billion in annual spend. This growth has been based on the simple premise that, when given the choice, travelers actually prefer booking through real people, especially when they receive better deals and treatment upon arrival. Fora has helped thousands of people who share an interest in travel build a business based on this passion. As AI reshapes what is possible, Fora looks to merge the best of both worlds: efficiency and scale through AI while continuing to lean on advisors for trust and curation.

https://t.co/KgAdsqCdG1

Apr 9 · twitter

So many quotable updates in this @chudson post on the state of the industry, but this is my favorite:

"Somewhere along the line, we traded metrics for taste. Metrics give you the comfort of absolute and relative comparisons. Venture firms can invest like algorithmic hedge funds when metrics are the only input that matters. But taste is where the magic is in this business."

https://t.co/CO1XmKwWBR

Brian O'Malley, Managing Partner at Forerunner - Studying Success
Jun 13 · bloomberg.com
Forerunner's O'Malley: Founders Need to Be Scrappier Than Ever
Oct 31 · acquired.fm
Consumer Investing in 2022 (with Brian O'Malley of Forerunner ...
Consumer Investing in 2022 (with Brian O'Malley of Forerunner ...

Related Questions

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How did Brian O'Malley transition from Accel Partners to Forerunner Ventures?
What is Brian O'Malley's investment strategy at Forerunner Ventures?
What unique qualities does Brian O'Malley look for in startups?
How has Brian O'Malley's background influenced his approach to venture capital?
Brian O'Malley
Brian O'Malley, photo 1
Brian O'Malley, photo 2
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Experience

Managing Partner at Forerunner (September 2018 - Present)

Education

BS in Finance, Management from The Wharton School (1997 - 2001)

Location

San Francisco, California, United States