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Matthew Nichols

General Partner at Commerce Ventures with extensive venture capital and corporate leadership experience

Matthew Nichols is a General Partner at Commerce Ventures, a venture capital firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area that focuses on innovation in the retail and financial services sectors. He has over 20 years of experience as both an investor and operator in early-stage technology companies.

Professional Background

  • Current Role: As a General Partner at Commerce Ventures since August 2017, Nichols leads the firm's investment team focused on commerce infrastructure and retail technology. He is also a member of the management committee and serves on the boards of several portfolio companies, including Pensa and Instock.12

  • Previous Experience: Before joining Commerce Ventures, Nichols was the CEO of Gemvara, an eCommerce company specializing in customizable jewelry, which was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway. He played a crucial role in driving the company's growth and achieving profitability.12 His earlier roles include being a Principal at Highland Capital Partners and a Venture Associate at Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, where he was involved in several successful investments.123

Education

Nichols holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College and an MBA with high distinction from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.23

Notable Achievements

  • Led Gemvara to profitability within 1.5 years of taking the CEO role.
  • Played a part in the Google IPO while working at Morgan Stanley.
  • Has a history of successful investments in various technology sectors, particularly in eCommerce and digital media.123

Personal Interests

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Nichols is noted for being a nationally-ranked badminton player.2

Highlights

Apr 26 · linkedin

We are expanding our SF investing team and are looking for someone with a few years of VC experience. An ideal candidate would be comfortable driving diligence processes and have a solid handle on financial analyses.

If you know anyone who might be a fit - please let us know!

Jan 23 · linkedin

Looking to invest in a company that is building the Netsuite for scaling eCommerce businesses. So many of my D2C friends had to upgrade from quickbooks, but Netsuite is both overkill and not ideal for companies with thousands (or millions) of monthly orders from end customers. Anyone know of anyone doing this? #ecommerce #erp #accounting

Related Questions

What are some of the notable companies in Matt Nichols' portfolio?
How did Matt Nichols' role at Gemvara influence his investment strategy at Commerce Ventures?
What sectors does Matt Nichols focus on at Commerce Ventures?
Can you provide examples of Matt Nichols' most successful investments?
What is Matt Nichols' approach to investing in retail technology?
Matthew Nichols
Matthew Nichols, photo 1
Matthew Nichols, photo 2
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Experience

General Partner at Commerce Ventures (August 2017 - Present)
CEO at Gemvara (March 2011 - May 2017), Principal at Highland Capital Partners (July 2006 - March 2011)

Education

MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, 2004 - 2006; BA from Pomona College, 1995 - 1999

Location

San Francisco Bay Area