Number of Portfolio Companies 2
Number of Exits 
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  • Investor Type  Investment Partner, Individual/Angel
  • Investor Stage  Seed
  • Number of Exits 

John Balen has been involved in the venture capital and technology industries for over 25 years. At Canaan he focuses on the digital media, enterprise, and fintech sectors and has led investments in several successful startups including Commerce One, which brought B2B ecommerce to the masses; eStamp, the pioneer in Internet postage; Everdream, an

innovator in on-demand desktop management services (acq. by Dell); ID Analytics, the nation’s only real-time fraud prevention system for enterprises (acq. by LifeLock); Intraware. the leading provider of electronic license delivery and management; and Rightpoint, a real-time customer analytics software provider (acq. by Epiphany).

Before joining in 1995 Canaan Partners, John held a variety of operational and financial roles, including Managing Director of Horsley Bridge Partners, a multi-billion dollar private equity firm in San Francisco.

While at Horsley Bridge, John was responsible for investing in technology companies, as well as many venture capital and buyout partnerships. Earlier in his career, John was a sales applications engineer at fiber communications startup Codenoll Technology and an engineer at Digital Equipment Corp.

John currently serves on the boards of Blurb, Cardlytics, Echopass, SilverRail Technologies, SOASTA, Switchfly, and UrbanSitter.

John received a BS in electrical engineering and an MBA from Cornell University. A firm believer in education, he is a strong advocate for his alma mater, Cornell University, and his children’s schools.

Number of Investments 2
John Balen has made 2 investments. Their latest investment was Seed Round - Intermix.io on May 1, 2018, when Intermix.io raised
$3.1M
.
Announced Date  
Organization Name  
Lead Investor  
Funding Round  
Money Raised  
May 1, 2018
Intermix.io
No
Seed Round - Intermix.io
$3.1M
Mar 18, 2014
Ziploop
—
Seed Round - Ziploop
$2.2M
Number of Exits 
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John Balen has exit - Ziploop.
  • Ziploop Ziploop founded by Peter Jackson, Sandra Breber and Paul Martinelli, the company is focused in the mobile retail space.
Number of Current Jobs 1
Number of Past Jobs 2
John Balen is the General Partner at Canaan Partners. Additionally, John Balen has had 2 past jobs including Managing Director at Horsley Bridge Partners.
Organization Name  
Title At Company  
Start Date  
End Date  
Horsley Bridge Partners
Managing Director—1995
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
Engineer19801982
Number of Current Board & Advisor Roles 10
Number of Past Board & Advisor Roles 2
John Balen holds 10 board and advisor roles including Board of Director at Stayful, Member of the Board of Directors at SilverRail Technologies, and Board Member at UrbanSitter.
Organization Name  
Title At Company  
Start Date  
End Date  
Merian Ventures
AdvisorJan 2017Jan 2018
Switchfly
Member of the Board of Directors—Jan 1, 2010
John Balen studied at Cornell University and Cornell University.
Number of News Articles 9
News•Jan 30, 2020
Funding Round•May 1, 2018
Intermix.io raised $3,060,000 / Seed from Bastian Lehmann and 8 other investors
News•Apr 8, 2018
News•Mar 18, 2014
Funding Round•Mar 18, 2014
Ziploop raised $2,200,000 / Seed from Andrew Rudd and 6 other investors
News•Aug 9, 2013
News•Sep 11, 2009