Ethan is a partner in the San Francisco office and a leading investor in developer platforms, data infrastructure, digital consumer applications, and consumer-facing crypto. He’s passionate about new platforms that provide technologists and business users with democratized access to cutting-edge technical tooling and applications like gaming, entertainment, media, creator tools, and other products that have the potential to change the way we live, play, and interact.
Before joining Bessemer in 2008, he worked for Dow Jones & Co., managing the turnaround of international editions of the Wall Street Journal, and Linden Lab, the creator of Second Life. Earlier in his career, Ethan co-founded SSB-Bart Group (now known as Level-Access), a company whose mission is to make the Internet accessible to users with disabilities.
Ethan graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University and earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. Raised in Boston, he remains a Red Sox fan for life.
“Developers are increasingly powerful decision makers within organizations. It’s exciting that we’ve only just begun to capture and create value for this thriving ecosystem.”
Alloy helps top banks and fintechs make better decisions using a single API and dashboard to manage Know Your customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), fraud, and more.
Coiled supercharges the Python tools data scientists already use for scale and performance.
ForeVR develops virtual reality (VR) category-defining games built to entertain people of all ages.
Intercom develops customer messaging apps for sales, marketing, and support, connected on one platform.
LaunchDarkly is a feature management platform that enables software teams to build better software faster with less risk by decoupling the deployment of code from the release of features to users.
Okera enables the management of data access and governance at scale for today’s modern heterogeneous data environments.
Okera was acquired by Databricks in May 2023.
PagerDuty is an operations performance platform delivering visibility and actionable intelligence across the entire incident lifecycle. In April 2019, PagerDuty (NYSE: PD) went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
Periscope offers real-time video feeds, enabling individuals to see the world through another person's eyes. In January 2015, Periscope was acquired by Twitter.
Periscope Data brings data together in a single platform and delivers SQL, Python, and R in one solution. In May 2019, Periscope Data merged with Bessemer portfolio company, Sisense.
Prefect is a data workflow management system, designed for modern infrastructure.
SendGrid is a proven, cloud-based customer communication platform that drives engagement and business growth. In 2017, SendGrid went public (NYSE: SEND) and was then acquired by Twilio (NYSE: TWLO) in 2018.
Sorare is a blockchain-based fantasy football platform designed to let managers trade official digital collectibles.
Terra Bella (fka Skybox Imaging) provides commercial, high-resolution satellite imagery and high-definition video and analytics services. In August 2014, Skybox was acquired by Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).
TRM Labs is a regulatory technology platform that addresses digital asset compliance and risk management in the cryptocurrency industry.
Twilio is a cloud communication company that enables users to use standard web languages to build voice, VoIP, and SMS apps via a web API. In June 2016, Twilio went public (NYSE: TWLO).
Twitch is a social video platform for gamers where more than 100 million gather every month to broadcast, watch and talk about video games. In 2014, Twitch was acquired by Amazon for ~$1 billion.
