Chris Farmer

Chris is a founding partner of SignalFire (2013–) and leads strategic direction for the firm.

Prior to founding SignalFire, Chris was a Venture Partner with General Catalyst Partners (2010–13), where he played a significant role in establishing the California office. He led GC’s successful seed investment program including seed investments in Alation, ClassDojo, Coinbase, Discord, Fivetran, Game Closure/PlayCo, Getaround, Stripe, Venmo, & Zapier.

Chris was previously a Vice President with Bessemer Venture Partners (2005–09) where he led investments in digital media and mobile companies. Prior to Bessemer, Chris was a Consultant with Bain & Company where he advised on technology buyouts.

Earlier in his career, Chris was a successful entrepreneur. Chris spearheaded the turnaround of Skybitz, a wireless-enabled SaaS company that was acquired by Telular Corporation. He led product management, recruited the executive team, and was responsible for finance and business development. Chris helped conceive, design, and launch products and services that drove over $35M in annual revenue and $5M in profit. Previously, Chris founded an investment advisory firm for angel investors and private equity funds. Chris began his career on Wall Street in the private equity group of Cowen & Company.

Chris received a B.A. from Tufts University, where he studied international relations and business at Tufts and the Fletcher School of Diplomacy as part of a personally designed program. He received High Honors for his thesis on the policy implications and competitive dynamics of Internet marketplaces. His extensive research on best practices in venture capital has been published in Harvard Business Review, Institutional Investor, The Journal of Private Equity, as well as other leading publications.