Jess Ou

Principal
Technology
US
Seed/Early

Jess joined NEA in 2018 as a technology investor. She is a board observer for Tulip, Embrace, ARRIS Composites, Workera, and Smartcar, among others. She’s also involved in NEA’s investments in GoodLeap, HackerOne, Automation Anywhere, Gen.G, Regression Games, and Theorycraft Games. Prior to joining NEA, Jess spent two years at Morgan Stanley, in its Global Technology Group in Menlo Park. Jess graduated from UC Berkeley, where she earned dual degrees in business administration from the Haas School of Business and Social Impact.

What’s a childhood trait of yours that continues to persist today?


I’ve always been a student. I started teaching myself how to code and build websites when I was six years old. Today, I continue to deepen my knowledge across different areas of technology. I learn the most from the founders I have the privilege of working and meeting with.  I’m also currently enrolled in a master’s degree program in computing and information Technology at the University of Pennsylvania.

How would a founder describe working with you?


I think founders would describe me as reliable, responsive, and data-oriented. My say-to-do ratio is very high.

From your perspective, how is NEA different from other VCs?


NEA prides itself on sticking with companies through thick and thin. We know building enduring, successful companies has twists and turns. Our goal is to be a founder’s first call for anything they want a sounding board on.

What piece of advice would you give a founder as they’re considering investors?


My advice to them would be to create a board with a diversity of experience. The most helpful boards I’ve seen are composed of folks with finance, operating, and former-CEO backgrounds. A startup faces a large variety of headwinds as they go on their growth journey, and having diverse perspectives and networks to tap can be immensely helpful for founders.

Complete the sentence: “I strongly believe that…”


Successful startups are about relentless execution, rather than having the most creative idea.

What was your first job, and how did it shape you?


Working at my mother’s bakery. I knew from a very early age I wanted to enter the business world in some way, and I haven’t looked back since.

I strongly believe that successful startups are about relentless execution, rather than having the most creative idea.

Jess Ou, Principal

Companies