Menlo Group

What Menlo Group does

Menlo Group is a private venture capital investment firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California, founded in 2015 by Kristin McDonnell. The firm is operated by a two-person core team — Managing Partner & Founder Kristin McDonnell and President & General Counsel John McDonnell — who collectively bring over 55 years of operator, executive, and legal experience across Fortune 100 companies and Silicon Valley startups. Menlo Group invests venture capital in late-stage and growth-stage technology companies across seven primary verticals: SaaS, fintech, data management, robotic process automation, e-commerce, education technology, and electric vehicles. The firm's disclosed portfolio includes category leaders and unicorns such as Robinhood, DoorDash, SoFi, Affirm, UiPath, Rubrik, Carta, Automation Anywhere, Mysten Labs, REE, Degreed, Skillshare, and Pipe. The firm sources deal flow through formal mentorship roles at Stanford's School of Engineering Technology Venture Formation class, TechStars, and StartX, as well as through direct executive networks built during the founders' prior operating careers.

The firm's business model is that of a traditional venture capital investor: capital appreciation and carried interest from equity stakes in portfolio companies, supplemented by management fees on committed capital. Securities are distributed through a regulated partnership with Emerson Equity LLC (a FINRA/SIPC member), which allows Menlo Group to place offerings across U.S. states where Emerson is registered. The firm does not develop proprietary technology, sell products, or generate traditional product revenue. Its value to portfolio companies — and by extension to its limited partners — is operational guidance, strategic advisory, and access to the principals' executive networks, rather than any technology platform. Notably, the firm does not disclose its fund size, AUM, management fee structure, or committed capital, making its commercial scale difficult to assess from public information.

Menlo Group's competitive position is defined almost entirely by the individual reputations and operating track records of its two principals. Kristin McDonnell previously raised over $150 million in venture capital as CEO and co-founder of LimeLife (2004–2010), resulting in two IPOs and multiple acquisition exits, and has held senior roles at AT&T, McKinsey, Electronic Arts, IBM, Xfire, and Mplayer-HearMe. John McDonnell has led over $2 billion in commercial and corporate transactions as in-house and external counsel for Autodesk, HP, Pandora, PayPal, Samsung, Shutterfly, and others, and was a member of the teams that built the first smartphone at Handspring and Palm and the first cable Internet service at Excite@Home.

Name

Menlo Group

Legal name

Menlo Group

Website

https://menlogroup.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Menlo Group is a private two-person venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California, founded in 2015, that invests in growth-stage technology companies across SaaS, fintech, data management, RPA, e-commerce, edtech, and electric vehicles, including portfolio holdings in Robinhood, DoorDash, SoFi, Affirm, UiPath, and Rubrik.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital Investment Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-PE / Lower Middle Market ETA Funds (FSANALAG)

Keywords

• Venture capital investments
• Growth stage tech investing
• Silicon valley venture capital
• Technology company funding
• Portfolio investment advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns and Carried Interest: Menlo Group generates returns through equity investments in portfolio companies. As a VC firm, revenue is derived from capital appreciation, IPO exits, and acquisition exits of portfolio companies. The firm earns carried interest on successful investments while managing capital for investors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Menlo Group is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital investment firm that makes equity investments in late-stage technology companies. The firm invests across SaaS, financial technologies, data management, software automation, robotic process automation, e-commerce, education technology, and electric vehicles, while also providing strategic advisory and operational expertise to portfolio companies. Securities for investment offerings are distributed through Emerson Equity LLC.

Product overview

Menlo Group is a venture capital investment firm, not a product company. Based in Silicon Valley, the firm makes investments in technology companies across multiple sectors including Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), financial technology, robotics process automation, data management, e-commerce, education technology, and electric vehicles. The firm does not offer a unified product platform but rather provides investment capital and operational expertise to portfolio companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Venture Capital Investment
• Strategic Advisory and Operational Support

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $150 million raised in venture capital leading to 2 IPOs and multiple acquisition exits
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Founders Fund: Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm investing in transformative technology companies. Comparable to Menlo Group as a tech-focused VC with concentrated, high-conviction bets on category-defining companies.
• Khosla Ventures: Menlo Park-based venture capital firm founded by Vinod Khosla, investing across stages in technology companies. Directly comparable given shared Silicon Valley base, tech focus, and reputation for bold early-to-growth stage bets.
• IVP (Institutional Venture Partners): Later-stage venture capital firm investing in growth-stage technology companies. Comparable given Menlo Group's late-stage tech focus and IVP's track record of growth equity checks in category leaders.
• Greylock Partners: Silicon Valley venture capital firm investing in early-to-growth stage technology companies. Comparable given shared Menlo Park base, enterprise tech focus, and similar portfolio composition patterns.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz: Large Silicon Valley venture capital firm investing across stages in technology, with portfolio overlap to Menlo Group's UiPath and other tech holdings. Comparable as a tech-focused VC but operates at significantly larger scale across multiple funds.
• Bessemer Venture Partners: Established venture capital firm with strong SaaS and fintech portfolio overlap (including UiPath, MindBody, and other category leaders). Comparable to Menlo Group's tech sector focus, but operates at much larger scale.
• Insight Partners: Growth-stage technology investment firm making large checks in software and tech companies. Comparable given late-stage tech focus and shared portfolio names with Menlo Group, though at significantly larger fund sizes.
• General Catalyst: Venture capital firm investing across stages in technology companies, with strong enterprise and consumer tech portfolio overlap. Comparable to Menlo Group's tech investment thesis at broader institutional scale.

Emerging players

• Forerunner Ventures: Early-to-growth stage venture capital firm investing in consumer and technology companies. Comparable given operator-investor model, relatively small team, and focus on consumer-tech themes that overlap with Menlo Group's portfolio.
• Floodgate: Seed-stage venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley investing in technology companies. Comparable given small-team structure, founder-led model, and Silicon Valley tech focus, though Floodgate concentrates at seed rather than late stage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kristinmcd33

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Menlo Group