Sign In

Hans Swildens

CEO and Founder, Industry Ventures LLC

Hans Swildens is the CEO and Founder of Industry Ventures, a leading venture capital firm he established in 2000.12 As an early pioneer of the modern secondary market for venture capital, Swildens created innovative ways to provide liquidity for venture capital investments prior to IPO or M&A events.12

Key aspects of Hans Swildens' career and background include:

  1. Entrepreneurial experience: Before founding Industry Ventures, Swildens co-founded and served as President of Microline Software, which was later acquired.12 He also helped start Speedera Networks (acquired by Akamai) and provided advisory services to several tech companies.12

  2. Education: Swildens holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA with distinction from the University of California at Santa Barbara.12

  3. Industry Ventures: Under his leadership, the firm manages over $7 billion of committed capital and invests across the full venture spectrum, including seed/early-stage, early-growth stage, late-stage, and post-venture investments.1

  4. Innovation in VC: Swildens was instrumental in supporting the development of a new class of venture capital partnerships focused on seed and early-stage investing.12

  5. Personal interests: He actively skis with his family, enjoys surfing, and has a background in hunting and fishing from his Minnesota upbringing.2

Hans Swildens is known for his expertise in venture capital, particularly in creating liquidity in the secondary market and supporting emerging fund managers.34

Highlights

Jul 19 · linkedin

Justine Huang and Wiley Miller did the math and posted an update on unicorn valuations. We were inspired by a few conversations Aileen Lee and Cowboy Ventures to dig another layer down into financials/valuations. Enjoy the read! We had a brief call with The Information about why we are asking venture fund managers to considering selling or rolling equity in their portfolio companies to tech buyout funds - to improve returns and liquidity. We believe this will become another core part of how venture funds manage and create liquidity in the coming years.

Jul 2 · linkedin

Related Questions

What inspired Hans Swildens to create Industry Ventures?
How did Hans Swildens' early entrepreneurial ventures influence his approach to venture capital?
What are some of the most notable investments made by Industry Ventures under Hans Swildens' leadership?
How does Industry Ventures' strategy differ from other venture capital firms?
What challenges did Hans Swildens face when establishing Industry Ventures?
Hans Swildens
Hans Swildens, photo 1
Hans Swildens, photo 2
Add to my network

Location

San Francisco Bay Area