Charles Birnbaum is a partner in Bessemer’s New York office, where he invests in early stage and promising financial services, consumer, and education companies in the U.S. and Europe. He has a strong interest in fintech infrastructure, embedded financial services, consumer-facing products, the powerful emergence of DeFi, and the consumer-facing companies and infrastructure players that will serve as a bridge between DeFi and TradFi.
Before joining Bessemer in 2013, Charles was one of the earliest team members at Foursquare, the location-based mobile application and social network, where he helped to bring forth the company’s first merchant-facing tools. During the company’s growth phase, Charles became the director of mobile and international business development and built strategic partnerships with media companies, carriers, and OEMs in key growth markets.
Prior to Foursquare, Charles spent six years in investment banking and equity capital markets focusing on the technology, media, and telecom sectors.
He earned his MBA from the Wharton School, Master of Arts in international studies from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts in history from Northwestern University.
“Disruptive fintech companies come in many different flavors – some emphasize the F, some the T. No matter what, they all have to build trust with their consumers, find an innovative hook for distribution, and differentiate around customer experience.”
