Taylor Barada

Taylor joined SignalFire in 2020 after being one of the first angel investors in SignalFire and a long-time member of the advisor network.

Prior to joining SignalFire, Taylor was a senior executive at Adobe, where he played a significant role in transforming the Adobe business while leading the company’s Corporate Strategy, Corporate Development, and Strategic Partnership groups. Since leaving Adobe, Taylor has been an active angel, advisor, executive and performance coach for founders and has invested in or advised founders of leading companies.

Taylor was previously Vice President, Business at Zynga where he led the companies New Markets efforts for Real Money Gaming, as well as Business Development, Developer Relations, and co-headed Corporate Development. He was at Yahoo! Immediately prior (2009-2011) where he rose to VP, Corporate Development responsible for all of the company’s M&A, divestitures, investments (including the HortonWorks spin-out), and M&A integration. Prior to Yahoo!, he worked as an investor and executive-in-residence at Rosewood Capital. At Rosewood Capital, he helped forge a new investment thesis around what would in later years be called DTC e-commerce. Taylor joined Rosewood from Bain & Company, where he was a consultant in the technology and private equity practices and worked on some of the largest technology deals of the era with some of the top private equity firms in the industry.

Earlier in his career, Taylor spent almost 7 years at Peregrine Systems where he started his career in product management and post-IPO co-founded a business unit taking it from $0-10M in revenue in its first year. Later as head of corporate development he completed numerous acquisitions and divestitures during a tumultuous period that ultimately saved the company leading to it’s ultimate acquisition by HP.

Taylor began his career as a professional soccer player in England, the Netherlands and the US. In England, he was part of a pioneering period where upon making his debut with Colchester United in 1994 he became only the 5th American ever to have played in an English Football Association League. He won two coaches awards for leadership and dedication while a member of the 3-Time NCAA Division I National Championship winning soccer team.

Taylor received a B.A. in History and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. He holds J.D. (Magna Cum Laude and Order of the Coif) from Northwestern University School of Law and M.B.A. from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He was selected for Owen L. Coon Senior Research program and completed the study on social networks with high honors. Additionally, he is also a graduate of Harvard Business School’s General Manager Program.