Photo of Rob Stavis, Partner

Rob Stavis

Partner

Rob Stavis is a partner in Bessemer's New York office primarily focused on financial services and investments in emerging software and hardware technologies.

He’s been actively investing for more than 20 years and currently serves on the board of directors for fintech companies such as Betterment, Quantopian, and Bread, along with education startups including 2U and BrightBytes. He was an early investor in Skype (acquired by eBay), wealth management company United Capital (acquired by Goldman Sachs), and mobile gaming company OMGPOP (acquired by Zynga).

Rob entered venture capital after a 15-year career at Salomon Smith Barney, where he was co-head of global arbitrage trading, a member of Salomon's operating and risk-management committees and chaired the recruiting committee.

He earned his degrees in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and education from the Wharton School of Management.

Companies

Betterment

Betterment is a goal-based online investment company, delivering personalized financial advice paired with low fees and customer experience.

Skype

Skype provides a telecommunications platform that offers free video chat and voice calls to internet-connected devices. In 2009, Skype was acquired by eBay and in 2011, Skype was acquired by Microsoft.

Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG)

Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) is the world's leading platform connecting business to insight.

* NASDAQ: TWOU

2U

NASDAQ: TWOU

2U is a SaaS platform that provides schools with the comprehensive operating infrastructure. In March 2014, 2U went public (NASDAQ: TWOU).

ACTIV Financial Systems *

ACTIV Financial Systems

ACQUIRED BY OPTIONS TECHNOLOGY

ACTIV Financial Systems provides market data services for electronic trading strategies.

August *

August

ACQUIRED BY: ASSA ABLOY

August is a virtual home automation company. August was acquired by ASSA ABLOY in November 2017.

Bread Financial *

Bread Financial

ACQUIRED BY: ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS

Bread Financial partners with retailers to offer pay-over-time solutions that make financing easier and more transparent.

Bread was acquired by Alliance Data Systems in December 2020.

BrightBytes

BrightBytes

BrightBytes uses a cloud based analytics platform to improve the way millions of students learn.

CPower, Inc. *

CPower, Inc.

ACQUIRED BY: CONSTELLATION

CPower, Inc. offers strategic energy management services that enable companies to optimize their facilities and operations to control energy expenditures. In September 2011, CPower, Inc. was acquired by Constellation.

Fabric Technologies *

Fabric Technologies

ACQUIRED BY: WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP

Fabric Technologies is a mobile life insurance broker that makes the process of getting coverage quick and easy.

Fabric was acquired by Western & Southern Financial Group in January 2021.

Forever Oceans

Forever Oceans

Forever Oceans is committed to protecting our planet and preserving our oceans.

HomeLight (fka Eave)

HomeLight (fka Eave)

HomeLight Home Loans (formerly Eave) makes real estate transactions certain, simple, and satisfying.

K2 Intelligence

K2 Intelligence

K2 Intelligence provides specialized risk services and solutions to corporations, sovereign nations and individuals.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency *

Kroll Bond Rating Agency

ACQUIRED BY: WHARF STREET RATINGS

Kroll Bond Rating Agency is a credit rating agency. KBRA was acquired by Wharf Street Ratings.

Mambu

Mambu

Mambu is the leading SaaS banking engine powering modern digital financial services. It is the lean alternative to cumbersome core banking systems, a cloud-native solution driving open API-enabled architectures.

NYDIG

NYDIG

NYDIG provides the full suite of digital asset services to premier institutions and sophisticated investors.

OMGPOP *

OMGPOP

ACQUIRED BY: ZYNGA

OMGPOP is a web and mobile game developer. In March 2012, OMGPOP was acquired by Zynga.

Pure Networks *

Pure Networks

ACQUIRED BY: CISCO

Pure Networks provides equipment management, content and digital services to individuals and companies. Pure Networks was acquired by Cisco.

Quantopian

Quantopian

Quantopian is a platfrom for users to build, test and execute trading algorithms.

SiteAdvisor, Inc. *

SiteAdvisor, Inc.

ACQUIRED BY: MCAFEE

SiteAdvisor, Inc, developed a centralized service that protects consumers from web-based security threats. SiteAdvisor, Inc. was acquired by McAfee.

Spruce

Spruce

Spruce aims to improve title insurance assessment and issuance to reduce the time needed to close a real estate deal.

United Capital *

United Capital

ACQUIRED BY: GOLDMAN SACHS

United Capital is a wealth counseling company helping clients to achieve empowerment over their financial aspirations. In 2019, United Capital was acquired by Goldman Sachs.

Winc *

Winc

NYSE: WBEV

Winc is a subscription wine service.

Winc went public in November 2021 (NYSE: WBEV).

Yodle *

Yodle

ACQUIRED BY: WEB.COM

Yodle provides local marketing and lead-generation services to small and medium sized businesses. In March 2016, Yodle was acquired by Web.com.

Zopa

Zopa

Zopa offers peer-to-peer loans with low rates, flexible terms, and no early repayment fees.

In the News