Technology
Hootan Rashidifard
Principal / East Coast
Since 2017
Hootan loves investing at the earliest stages of company building; he primarily focuses on product-led, bottom-up SaaS and fintech. He also works closely with Canaan Beta, the firm's consumer seed program. Prior to Canaan, Hootan spent three years on LinkedIn’s business operations team in Silicon Valley, where he worked on the mobile and feed consumer product teams and oversaw mobile growth from 30% to 70% in total site engagement. Prior to LinkedIn, he was a tech investment banker. Hootan graduated cum laude from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics.
Hootan in 5
Accomplishments: Attempted to hike Yosemite’s Half Dome to conquer my fear of heights
Travel: Drove a 1973 BMW racecar 430 miles non-stop, while inhaling gas fumes
Talent: Was once sponsored for mountain biking
Dream Job: To be a vintage Porsche race car driver
Bucket List: Hit a golf ball straight. One day...
Investments
Current
Previous
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Podz
Acquired by Spotify (SPOT)
Latest
Hootan Rashidifard: The Crypto Bridge
Forbes: Tia raised $100M to turbocharge women’s health
TechCrunch: Tropic picks up $25M to streamline software procurement experiences
Bloomberg: 'Tattoo for a year' startup inks a $20M funding round
TechCrunch: Spotify acquires Podz, a podcast discovery platform
Forbes: Ephemeral Tattoo, The first-ever made-to-fade tattoo company, rethinks the traditional tattoo parlor
Fast Company: Would you get a tattoo that fades in a year? Ephemeral is banking on it
Forbes: This fintech startup wants to cover your overdraft fees, and it just announced $35M in Series A funding
The Wall Street Journal: Apartments become Silicon Valley’s hot new thing
Announcing three team promotions
TechCrunch: The Inside adds sofas to its custom furniture lineup
Variety: Superplastic raises $10M to turn Janky and Guggimon into animated Instagram stars
Bloomberg: Ikea startup boot camp tests life beyond flat-pack furniture
Forbes: Is Silicon Valley coming for rosé?
Axios: Drake invests in esports startup Players' Lounge
Vogue: Meet Tia, the new women’s clinic making gynecologist visits less stressful
TechCrunch: Tia launches a clinic that places the menstrual cycle at the center of care
WSJ: The Inside founder's guide to scoring décor deals online
Fast Company: Your Wes Anderson fantasy room is just a few clicks away with The Inside
Entrepreneur: 'Fast' furniture? This founder spent years forming her business idea -- and launched when the timing Was right
Inc: Bumblebee Spaces named a world-changing startup to watch
Forbes: Hootie Rashidifard named to 30 under 30
VentureBeat: Drivetime raises $4M for voice-based trivia game for drivers
CNBC: Bumblebee Spaces is making robotic systems for your home so you can store stuff on the ceiling
VentureBeat: Skale Labs raises $9.65M for better blockchain infrastructure
NYT: Get in bed with Skynet and Bumblebee Spaces
Blockhous Investor Spotlight: Hootan Rashidifard talks crypto & the growth of blockchain tech
Forbes: This VC firm just gave two twenty-something investors $20 million to find the next Snapchat
Fortune: Ticketfly Cofounder and Monero Ringmaster Start New Blockchain Project, Tari
Hootan in 5
Accomplishments: Attempted to hike Yosemite’s Half Dome to conquer my fear of heights
Travel: Drove a 1973 BMW racecar 430 miles non-stop, while inhaling gas fumes
Talent: Was once sponsored for mountain biking
Dream Job: To be a vintage Porsche race car driver
Bucket List: Hit a golf ball straight. One day...