Alex Finkelstein

Co-founder & General Partner, Early

Alex began his career at Cambridge Associates before joining two Softbank venture capital funds. Alex then left the venture capital world to scratch his creative itch where he wrote and sold a number of original television shows to networks including Fox, Discovery, and E!. He then returned to venture as a co-founder of Spark Capital.

Alex has focused on uncovering unconventional companies led by entrepreneurs who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo. He often looks outside Silicon Valley for undiscovered, product-focused founders with a drive to reinvent, rather than copy. Alex has made investments in startups around the world including in Nigeria, Germany, and Spain, as well as in companies just two minutes from his home in Boston. He was the first investor and Board member at Flywire (Nasdaq:FLYW), Talkspace (Nasdaq:TALK), Wayfair (NYSE:W), 5min (acquired by AOL) and SoundHouse (acquired by Apollo). “I love the scrappy, underdog founders, who’ve often never done it before,” he says.

Alex is a graduate of Middlebury College.

Companies
Adept
AllStripes
Capella Space
Cruise
Discord
Harmonix
Instawork
North
Postmates
Proletariat
Standard Metrics
Zum

In 2011, Alex led the Series A of Wayfair, the company that pioneered selling furniture online. Shortly thereafter, founders Niraj Shah and Steve Conine took the company public. Today, with the duo still at the helm, Wayfair is the largest online destination for home goods in the world.

Alex gave Berlin-based founder Johannes Reck his first check back in 2014. Reck started GetYourGuide after a travel mix-up that sparked a revolutionary approach to tourism.

Brooke’s students, many of whom come from low-income and minority families, annually achieve the highest MCAS scores for any public school in Massachusetts.