Jon Sakoda
Founder of Decibel Partners
Jon Sakoda
Founder of Decibel Partners
Menlo Park, California
Overview
Work Experience
Founder
2018 - Current
Decibel is an independent venture capital firm created in partnership with Cisco to push the conventional boundaries of early stage investing. Decibel combines the speed, agility, and independent risk-taking traditionally found in the best venture firms, while offering differentiated access to the scale, entrepreneurial talent, and deep customer relationships found in one of the largest tech companies in the world. This approach is an industry first and provides a unique way for entrepreneurs to get access to unparalleled resources at a time and stage when they need it most.
General Partner
2006 - 2018
I joined NEA in 2006 and led investments in early stage start-ups in the B2B software and consumer Internet sectors while at the firm. I managed the firm's investments in Aera, BlueJeans Network (acquired by Verizon), ChannelAdvisor (NYSE: ECOM), DataVisor, Elastic (NYSE: ESTC, acquired Swiftype), HackerOne, Hearsay Systems, MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB), Opower (NYSE: OPWR, acquired by Oracle), ScienceLogic, Snap (NYSE: SNAP), ThirdLove, and Uber (NYSE: UBER).
CTO and Co-Founder
2001 - 2006
I co-founded the market leader for instant messaging and P2P security and compliance. As CTO, I ran product, marketing, and business development and recruited a world-class executive team. IMlogic was acquired by Symantec in 2006 and was backed by Venrock Associates, General Catalyst, Kodiak Venture Partners, Crosslink Capital, and Goldman Sachs.
Analyst
1999 - 2001
I was an analyst in the Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group. I focused on internet, software, and communications investments.
Education
BA
1995 - 1999