CLINT CHAO
Managing Director
clint@formative.com

Clint Chao is a founding Managing Director at Formative Ventures. Clint invests in early-stage technology start-ups, most recently focusing on web services, cloud computing applications and software infrastructure. Clint is an experienced technology executive who brings more than 20 years of start-up operating experience including marketing, sales and business development to Formative Ventures. His investment and board leadership experience include Adept Cloud, Mashery (acquired by Intel), SOASTA, Silicon Clocks (acquired by Silicon Labs), Vungle and Zyray Wireless (acquired by Broadcom).

Prior to co-founding Formative Ventures, Clint served as the first vice president of marketing, sales, and business development at SkyStream Networks (acquired by Tandberg TV), a leading provider of video routing solutions. Under his leadership, SkyStream became the worldwide leader in MPEG routing solutions to the broadcast, networking and enterprise markets.

Prior to joining SkyStream, Clint served as senior director of marketing at C-Cube Microsystems where he was responsible for marketing for the PC Division, a group he co-founded and grew to run rates exceeding $50M in sales annually. Clint began his tenure at C-Cube as the first salesperson for the company, where he created the company’s sales representation network around the country. While there, C-Cube became the dominant supplier of digital video and imaging compression chips to the consumer electronics, computing and communications markets.

Before joining C-Cube in 1990, Clint held numerous sales and sales management positions at Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector, where he was recognized as one of the company’s top salespeople.

Clint earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California at Berkeley.

On entrepreneurs:  “Company founders are usually singularly focused on the technology behind their company, but truly successful start-ups need to also be focused on how their technology gets adopted by the marketplace – converging their offerings with the actual needs of their early-adopter customers.  Entrepreneurs should look to partner with investors who have a seasoned business background to help position their company for market leadership.”

Read Clint's Tumblog, "The Good Stuff in the Seller"

Board experience: Adept Cloud (observer), Marketocracy, Mashery (acquired by Intel), Silicon Clocks (acquired by Silicon Labs), Smalltown (acquired by major Silicon Valley co.), SOASTA, Zyray Wireless (acquired by Broadcom)

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MANAGEMENT TEAM
Clint Chao, Managing Director
Brian Connors, Managing Director
Dino Vendetti, Managing Director

"Formative Ventures delivers on what they advertise: in addition to being savvy technology investors, they help us with their deep marketing and sales expertise. We think of Clint and his partners as valuable members of our team who are always accessible to discuss ideas about how to grow our business."

– Hal Rucker
CEO of Smalltown