Overview

Gender

female

Investor Type

Investment Partner

Investor Stage

Early stage Venture,Venture

Combining a unique and unconventional blend of professional history and acquired investment experience, Kirsten formed San Francisco-based Forerunner Ventures in 2010, where she serves as Founder and Managing Partner. Noticing that emerging purchasing processes were linear and ripe for improvement, Kirsten developed a pacesetter mentality and analytical eye to remain ahead of experience-driven retail trends and identify compelling brand platforms and visionary entrepreneurs.

In an unpredictable consumer landscape, Kirsten’s 20+ years of evaluation and investment success stems from a combination of product savvy, retail acumen and a thesis-driven approach that has been the basis of all her investments — from pre-revenue startups to multi-billion-dollar enterprises- to date. As a founder, Kirsten has lead efforts to raise over $2B from leading investors and Forerunner has invested in nearly 150 companies. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors at Glossier, Faire, Ritual and Curated, among other Forerunner portfolio companies. She also served on the board of Dollar Shave Club and Bonobos, two Forerunner portfolio companies with notable sale transactions.

Kirsten has been honored in Time’s 100 Most Influential People, named a Top 20 Venture Capitalists by The New York Times in 2017 & 2018, is part of Forbes 2017 - 2022 Midas List, in addition to being named in the magazine’s World’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2017 - 2021, as well as named to Vanity Fair’s New Establishment list in both 2017 & 2018. Kirsten is a founding member of the female mentorship collective, All Raise, and champions women in the tech industry.

Combining a unique and unconventional blend of professional history and acquired investment experience, Kirsten formed San Francisco-based Forerunner Ventures in 2010, where she serves as Founder and Managing Partner. Noticing that emerging purchasing processes were linear and ripe for improvement, Kirsten developed a pacesetter mentality and analytical eye to remain ahead of experience-driven retail trends and identify compelling brand platforms and visionary entrepreneurs.

Prior to Forerunner, Kirsten was an equity research analyst and investor at Bank of America Securities, formerly Montgomery Securities, covering publicly-traded retail and consumer stocks. Kirsten graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Business Economics, and has earned a CPA license and a CFA certification.