Bo Ren

As a managing director of early-stage startups at Silicon Valley Bank in New York City, Bo mentors and advises startups at the beginning stages of their journey, connecting them to the larger SVB ecosystem and accelerating them to Series A via company building and fundraising strategies.

Before joining SVB, Bo invested in and led ecosystem strategy at Samsung Next. There, she specialized in AI/ML, data privacy and deep tech and helped entrepreneurs and innovators build, grow, and scale their software and services ideas and businesses. Bo also spent a decade building engaging consumer products at such companies as Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. She began her career in cleantech, scaling the companies Sunrun and Opower to IPO.

In addition to her work with early-stage startups at SVB, Bo writes about technology and culture, behavioral science, product thinking and responsible technology. She’s been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek and Fast Company. In 2017, she gave a TED Talk about how “Curiosity Drives Career Paths.”

Bo loves meeting and helping brilliant and inspiring minds in the innovation economy and holding conversations with founders that leave them with an enhanced sense of possibility. She’s excited to leverage her operating experience as a product leader, investor, and advisor to help the next generation of founders.

Bo is a mentor and cofounder of Gold Rush, an accelerator investing and supporting early-stage AAPI founders. She is also a founding member of Gold House Ventures. In addition, she mentors diverse and underrepresented founders and operators through First Round’s Fast Track program.

Outside of work, Bo loves to box at Gleason’s Gym, America’s oldest boxing gym. She is also an avid runner, yogi, and meditator too. Her research scientist father named her “Bo” after a semiprecious metal on his circuit board. Bo means white gold in Chinese.