Nicole Quinn

About[edit]

Nicole Quinn believes in hard work and concentrated determination, narrowing her investment focus on consumer technology. Quinn works one-on-one with founders and personally researches potential investments, even if it means driving across the country to meet with a startup.

Today, Quinn is a venture capitalist at Lightspeed Venture Capital and has invested in significant businesses like Calm, Cameo, Goop, Lady Gaga's Haus Labs, and Zola. She encountered Lightspeed after launching her startup during business school, having spent almost 10 years gaining international consumer experience at Morgan Stanley.

Education[edit]

The foundation for Quinn’s affinity for hard work came at an early age; her father was an early online business pioneer, building an online pharmacy startup in the 1990s. Quinn helped him and learned how difficult it could be to start a new company, leading to a strong desire to only work with founders willing to do anything it takes to succeed.

Quinn took her own advice to heart through her education, entering Wellington College in England in 2001 and studiously earning a Bachelor of Science in economics at the University of York in 2006. From there, she traveled to the United States to earn her MBA at Stanford University.

At Stanford, she tackled more than the degree; she was co-president of the VC Club and founded the GSB (Graduate School of Business) Women in Tech and VC group, paving the way for students to follow in her footsteps. Quinn’s experiences and education gave her the qualifications necessary to start a career at a large, established company.

Career[edit]

Armed with her bachelor's in math and economics from the University of York and an MBA from Stanford, Quinn was prepared to begin her career at Morgan Stanley, focusing on research and equity sales. She was responsible for working on IPOs for companies like Pandora, Groupon, and Facebook, inspiring her to become an angel investor for health care and consumer companies.

During her career, Quinn narrowed her focus on investing to commerce, health, fintech, social media, brands, marketplaces, and other areas of consumer technology. Her work with Morgan Stanley helped her become an expert in consumer behavior, the nature of the retail landscape in Europe and the United States, and how to take consumer brands to both markets.

Before joining Lightspeed Venture Partners, Quinn also handled marketing and branding operations for Nutmeg, an online fintech startup based in London that offered wealth management options for millennials. She worked closely with the CEO to fully understand the company, leveraging that information with her knowledge to raise $32 billion. Quinn was personally involved throughout the process, including the initial pitches, working with legal officials, and sending press releases to major news outlets like TechCrunch and The Financial Times.

Quinn then became a partner with New York City-based Ramco VC, taking an active role in seeking new investment opportunities as an advisor. Later, she used her experience with Ramco to become a board member with several promising businesses, including Rothy's, Multiverse, Lunchclub, Real, Calm, Cameo, Goop, Lady Gaga's Haus Labs and Zola.

Today, Quinn is a general partner with Lightspeed Venture Partners, providing her with a platform to continue investing in promising fintech, health care, and consumer companies that are shaping popular culture by improving lives. She strives to work with passionate founders who want to change the world, helping them achieve those goals.

Investments[edit]

Quinn is happiest helping passionate investors realize their full potential, leveraging her education in economics and business to provide support, empathy, and insight even during the bad times. As an investor, she focuses on funding companies rapidly gaining popularity for their life-changing products or services.

Having learned valuable information in her eight years with Morgan Stanley and time spent with Nutmeg and Ramco, Quinn made her first investment through Lightspeed after three years. Her first experience was with Goop in March 2018, successfully raising $50 million as the lead investor in their Series C fundraise. That same year, she worked as the lead investor on Cameo and Lady Gaga's Haus Labs.

In 2019, Quinn raised $27 million for Calm in a Series B fundraise, and she raised another $24 million in a Series A for Lunchclub the following year. In December 2020, Quinn worked with Calm again to raise an additional $75 million through a Series C fundraise.

Quinn has recently invested in Real, leading their $10 million Series A. Finally, she raised $10 million for Daybreak Health in a Series A fundraise in March 2022.

References[edit]

Related People[edit]

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