A successful young investor, Chris Paik joined Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital in 2010 – not long after the fund was formed, and entered as a partner at the firm.
Thrive Capital invests in companies focused on new forms of self-expression, communication and networking, such as Instagram, Whisper and Kickstarter. Riding their wave of continuous success, Thrive announced a new $400 million fund this past fall.
Before entering the investing world, the Harvard alumnus cofounded a social media consultancy and worked as an analyst for a fashion-consulting firm. He was also a founding member of a Silicon Valley startup during college. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in Economics and a secondary degree in Psychology, with special interest in Behavioral Economics.
At Thrive, Paik manages several funds and recently sat on the board of Twitch, a live streaming service that caters to the gaming industry. In September 2014, Amazon acquired Twitch for $970 million.
Paik was born and raised in the Bay Area. He currently lives in New York City.
VC Firm
Thrive Capital, founded 2009.
Expertise Areas
Marketplaces, Video Streaming, Finance Technology, Analytics
Sector Focus
Consumer Internet, Local Services, Mobile Commerce, E-commerce
Selected Investments
Twitch, Dispatch, Codecademy, WarbyParker, Artsy, and Giftly
Boards
Venture for America
Websites/Social Media
Twitter
LinkedIn
Blog
Memorable Quotes
On pursuing a career: “As long as you can scrape together stuff, do what you love, because in the same amount of time doing something you love doing, you’ll travel way farther in your career than doing something that you even feel okay about.”
On art and technology: “I think the role of technology is to make art more accessible. I know that’s a total tee-up for Artsy, but I think that technology fundamentally reduces friction for people to connect, and allows greater opportunity for a larger percentage of people.”
