Rick Kimball

Background

Rick Kimball is a Founding General Partner and Senior Advisor at TCV (Technology Crossover Ventures), the growth-stage technology investment firm he co-founded with Jay Hoag in 1995 ¹. He is based in New York ¹. Since TCV’s founding, the firm has raised over $17 billion in capital and has become a leading provider of growth capital to technology companies ¹.

Before founding TCV, Kimball spent more than 10 years as a Managing Director at Montgomery Securities, where he focused on telecommunications and data communications as both a venture capitalist and senior equity research analyst ¹. His institutional research at Montgomery received top rankings from Greenwich Associates and earned “Home Run Hitter” recognition from Institutional Investor Magazine ¹. In total, Kimball has worked as a venture capitalist and technology investor for approximately 40 years ¹.

Kimball holds an A.B. in History (cum laude) from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Chicago ¹. He has been recognized multiple times by Forbes on its Midas List as one of the industry’s top technology investors ¹.

Outside of investing, Kimball serves on the Board of Trustees at the University of California, San Francisco, where he chairs the Audit, Compliance and Risk Management Committee and sits on the Executive and Development Committees ¹. He also serves on the Board of the Ohana Foundation in Kona, Hawaii, and chairs its Investment Committee ¹. From 2012 to 2020, he served on the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees, where he chaired the Investment Committee and co-chaired the “Call to Lead” $3.8 billion capital campaign ¹.

Stated Thesis

Kimball’s publicly stated approach centers on growth-stage technology investing. In a PBS Frontline interview, he described TCV’s philosophy: “I think when we get involved with companies, we do follow that philosophy…you typically try to get the company’s goal to be thinking about building a company that could do an IPO” ³. He has emphasized that technology investing is inherently risky: “Investing in a private technology company or investing in a public technology stock is by its very nature a risky proposition” ³.

On market dynamics, Kimball has stated: “It’s a winners and losers game. Technology markets are horribly unforgiving” ³. He has also been quoted saying: “If you make fewer mistakes, if you have a great team, and you have a disruptive wind at your back, you’re probably going to do okay” ⁴.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 26 verified investments attributed to Kimball on TCV’s website; this represents his personal deal involvement over approximately 30 years at TCV.

Kimball’s portfolio is heavily weighted toward telecommunications and networking infrastructure, particularly in the earlier portion of his career: Alteon WebSystems, Copper Mountain Networks, Corsair Communications, LHS Group, Metapath Software, Redback Networks, Saville Systems, Xylan, and XIOtech all fall in the telecom/networking/infrastructure category — 9 of 26 investments (35%) ¹.

Enterprise software and data infrastructure represents the second-largest cluster: AxiomSL, Claremont Technology Group, ExtraHop, RiskMetrics Group, Trading Screen, and Techwell — 6 of 26 investments (23%) ¹.

Consumer internet and marketplace companies are a smaller but notable segment: GoDaddy, Rent the Runway, AllBusiness.com — 3 of 26 investments (12%) ¹.

The remaining investments span various technology sectors including Actifio (data management), Fuze (unified communications), Liquidnet (financial technology), kgb (information services), Clarus, Solect Technology Group, and Vastera (supply chain) ¹.

Stage focus: exclusively growth-stage, consistent with TCV’s mandate. TCV’s typical investment ranges from $3 million to $300 million ⁶.

Several of Kimball’s investments resulted in notable acquisitions: Alteon WebSystems (acquired by Nortel), Redback Networks (acquired by Ericsson), Metapath Software (acquired by Marconi), Saville Systems (acquired by ADC Telecommunications), Claremont Technology Group (acquired by Complete Business Solutions), Vastera (acquired by JP Morgan), XIOtech (acquired by Seagate), and Xylan (acquired by Alcatel) ².

Co-investor patterns: As a TCV co-founder, Kimball’s deals reflect TCV’s institutional relationships. The GoDaddy acquisition in 2011 was done alongside KKR and Silver Lake ⁷. ExtraHop’s Series C included Meritech Capital Partners and Madrona Ventures ⁵.

Notable pattern: Kimball’s portfolio shows a clear shift over time from pure telecommunications/networking infrastructure (late 1990s and early 2000s) to broader technology platforms and enterprise software (2010s), reflecting the evolution of the technology landscape.

Portfolio

Notes: - Many investment years are approximate based on company founding dates or era of activity, as precise TCV investment dates for Kimball’s earlier deals are not publicly available. - Kimball is listed as a Senior Advisor, suggesting he has transitioned from active deal-making in recent years.

In Their Own Words

“Investing in a private technology company or investing in a public technology stock is by its very nature a risky proposition.” — Rick Kimball, PBS Frontline “Dot Con” interview ³

“It’s a winners and losers game. Technology markets are horribly unforgiving.” — Rick Kimball, PBS Frontline “Dot Con” interview ³

“I think when we get involved with companies, we do follow that philosophy…you typically try to get the company’s goal to be thinking about building a company that could do an IPO.” — Rick Kimball, PBS Frontline “Dot Con” interview ³

“Businesses, particularly venture-backed businesses, never operate flawlessly.” — Rick Kimball, PBS Frontline “Dot Con” interview ³

“Being public for a company is a stressful process. And if you are an adolescent rather than an adult, there are risks.” — Rick Kimball, PBS Frontline “Dot Con” interview ³

“If you make fewer mistakes, if you have a great team, and you have a disruptive wind at your back, you’re probably going to do okay.” — Rick Kimball ⁴

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found.

Sources