TARA TAN

Tara Tan
The biggest ideas are always a little strange at the start. This belief drives how we invest — with boldness, conviction, and before everyone else.

On the hunt for "the irreversible"

Who I Invest In

I partner with deeply technical software founders who can leverage design for market breakthroughs. I'm looking for the "irreversible" – innovations so impactful that once they exist, you never look back. Design and engineering play a huge part in this vision.

Where I Invest

Currently focused on the future of creativity and computing, a passion I've pursued since 2015. The TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecom) sector has been the largest growth driver in North America for the last decade, and I believe this trend will continue.

When I Invest

I write first checks, typically partnering with founders after a first demo or a working prototype. My specialty is spotting high-growth, high-tech, high-design businesses early – often 6 to 12 months ahead of the market.

Beyond The Day Job

My creative outlet is building and shipping things with code, usually by night, with a glass of wine, after the kids go to bed! We live in the SF Bay area, a place I am lucky to call home. There are very few places in the world where you get to peek into the future, and SF is one of them. I'm originally from Singapore, and lived in Europe for several years.

Design drives outsized returns.

The Mission

Get more creatives on cap tables. I believe that when leveraged well, design can create incredibly valuable companies. My goal is to see more creatives in board seats and leadership positions. Why? Simply put, they make the world better.

What I did previously

  • 7 years at IDEO, founding GP of a top-quartile fund, 60+ investments
  • Collaborator with Transformer paper authors and Fortune 100 companies (Citi, Nasdaq)
  • Harvard Masters in Design & Technology: learned how to learn anything
  • Founded an interactive media company in 2012: had a vision, went for it.
  • Design leader at deep tech startups (now a $2B unicorn), navigated Product-Market Fit
  • Ex-journalist: honed skills in swift truth-seeking, now applied to investment due diligence

Built for the bold

I collaborate with startups at the most embryonic stages, to Fortune 100 companies building for the future at scale. Grab time for a chat!