Jay Haynes
Managing Director, Strategyn Ventures
Locale: San Francisco, CA
Biography: Jay Haynes is an entrepreneur and private equity investment professional with 18 years experience. He is an award-winning CEO who has led venture backed start-ups for the past decade. His experience includes leading early-stage companies from the initial idea through development to launch and growth. Executive responsibilities have included formulating and executing company strategies; recruiting, building and leading product development and operating teams; leading and managing product development; creating financial models; managing budgets; raising venture capital; and serving on the board of directors of start-up companies.
Jay was the founder of Earthscreen, a consumer Web service with 300,000 members, where he led the development of the company’s strategy and products and financed the company’s capital needs. He was previously CEO of the networking software company Blue Falcon Networks (which later became Akimbo after a merger with NexTV). Jay was actively recruited by Blue Falcon’s early-stage venture investors during a difficult stage in the company’s life. He was responsible for formulating a new strategic plan, rebuilding the technical and product development teams, recruiting a new executive team, raising new equity capital, and executing the new plan. During his tenure, Jay raised $12 million from venture investors, turned around the company, shipped award-winning distributed networking software, and increased the company’s valuation fourfold in two years.
Prior to this, Jay was the founder and CEO of mValue, a privacy software company. At mValue, he created the company’s strategy, product roadmap and financial model, and raised $6 million in equity financing from venture investors. Jay recruited and managed the company’s executive team, and he led the successful development and launch of three software products.
Earlier in his career, Jay worked as an investment professional with GTCR Golder Rauner. He started his career in leveraged buy-outs and co-founded The Aviation Group with his father, a former Naval aviator. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with highest honors from Brown University, and he received his MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.
Personal: I live in San Francisco with my wife Hollie and our twin girls.
Spare Time: I enjoy soaring, sailing and playing music. I’m a licensed glider pilot and was awarded a Symons Wave Memorial Award, also known as a “Lennie,” for a glider flight to 30,000 feet over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On the safer side, I also play guitar and enjoy singing to my two girls.
Quote: Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Best Vacation: Bejing 2008 Olympics
Life in San Francisco is: … Passionate and inspirational.