Joshua Goldman

Bio

Josh brings to Norwest Venture Partners more than 20 years of operational experience having been a repeat entrepreneur, CEO, board member and investor in several high-growth technology companies. As CEO or board member, Josh has generated more than $2.6 billion in M&A exit values and has participated in two highly successful IPOs. Josh has spent his career seeking to combine his passion for breakthrough technology with an ability to create innovative and sustainable business models for high-growth companies. At NVP, Josh focuses on investments in consumer-facing Internet products and services including search, e-commerce, social networking and digital media. His current investments and board seats include Gilt Groupe, Lumosity, Quirky, Sojern, Snapfinger and WhaleShark Media, and he also holds board observer or advisory roles with Retrevo, Apigee, Sabre Holdings, and JiWire. Josh’s first executive leadership role was as president and CEO of mySimon, Inc., a pioneer in online comparison shopping services. Josh oversaw all aspects of the company's growth into one of the largest and best-known consumer e-commerce companies in the late 1990's, culminating in its acquisition by CNet Networks in early 2000 for $703 million. After the acquisition, Josh was named president of CNet's Consumer Division, reporting to the company's CEO. In 2001, Josh joined venture capital firm Sprout Group as its first Entrepreneur-in-Residence, leading to his 2002 appointment as CEO of Akimbo Systems, Inc., a company backed by Cisco, AT&T and leading venture capital firms. Akimbo was the first Internet-delivered video-on-demand provider serving content to large service operators and set-top makers including AT&T. Earlier in his career, Josh held management roles at USWeb/CKS (IPO in 1998, and subsequently acquired by Whitman-Hart, Inc.), Softbank Content Services (Acquired by Logistix, Inc.), Phoenix Technologies, Inc., and Apple. Josh has previously served on the board of directors at Synaptics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA) through its initial public offering, at Ask Jeeves (NASDAQ: ASKJ) until its acquisition by IAC/Interactive Corp for $1.9 billion, at PremierGuide, Inc. (acquired by Local.com) as well as at mySimon, Inc. and Akimbo Systems, Inc. He also has served on the Board of Advisors at Zedo, PremierGuide and Hyperpia. Josh holds an MBA from Harvard Business school and a bachelor of science (honors) degree in computer science from Tufts University.