Bain Capital Ventures Adds Former Affirm Exec as Partner
Bain Capital Ventures Adds New Partner
Bain Capital Ventures (BCV) has announced the appointment of Christina Melas-Kyriazi as a new partner. She brings experience gained as a former executive at Affirm and as an angel investor to the firm.
Focus on Fintech and Commerce
Melas-Kyriazi will operate from BCV’s San Francisco location. Her primary focus will be on providing seed and Series A funding to emerging companies within the fintech and commerce sectors – areas central to the firm’s investment strategy.
Merritt Hummer, a partner at BCV, highlighted Melas-Kyriazi’s relevant expertise. They first connected while both were students at Harvard Business School.
Strategic Alignment and Domain Expertise
Matt Harris, also a partner at Bain Capital Ventures, emphasized the firm’s deliberate search for someone with a strong understanding of the intersection between fintech and commerce.
He stated that BCV prioritizes domain expertise and establishing leadership in its target investment areas. More than 50% of the firm’s investment capital is allocated to fintech and commerce. Companies often operate at the convergence of these two fields.
Expanding West Coast Presence
With the addition of Melas-Kyriazi, BCV now has a team of seven investing partners situated in San Francisco and Palo Alto. The firm’s early-stage investment activities on the West Coast are expected to continue representing over half of its total investments.
Firm Assets and Investment History
Currently, BCV manages $9.2 billion in assets. In May, the firm finalized two funds totaling $1.3 billion, reaffirming its commitment to seed and Series A investments.
Since its inception in 2001, BCV has invested over $4.5 billion across 365 companies. The firm reports that its portfolio companies have collectively achieved an enterprise value exceeding $430 billion. Notable investments include Finix, GoCardless, Airbase, and Orum.
Recent portfolio companies that have undergone IPOs are AvidXchange, FlyWire, Rent the Runway, and SmartRent, among others.
Melas-Kyriazi’s Background
Melas-Kyriazi received her undergraduate education at Stanford University, where she studied economics and engineering. She began her career as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs.
Subsequently, she joined LinkedIn, working closely with product development, and then contributed to Shift Cars during its early stages.
Fintech Focus and Early Insights
After earning her MBA from Harvard Business School, Melas-Kyriazi developed a keen interest in fintech. She identified fundamental shortcomings in the existing fintech infrastructure.
Her work at GoFundMe, in product and growth roles, demonstrated the benefits of streamlined payment processing facilitated by providers like PayPal and the broader advancements in fintech distribution.
Experience at Affirm
In 2019, Melas-Kyriazi joined Affirm, an alternative lender, experiencing rapid growth from 400 to over 2,000 employees during her tenure. She contributed to multiple product areas, with a focus on the merchant side of the product team.
“I realized I really loved the zero to one phase of product building,” Melas-Kyriazi stated. “I love working with founders at that stage.”
Transition to Angel Investing and BCV
This passion led her to begin angel investing approximately five years ago, ultimately culminating in her joining BCV. The move to venture capital felt like a natural progression.
“There are still so many hard problems left to solve, especially within fintech and commerce tech and I am excited to continue to work with great founders and back the next generation of mission-driven fintech founders,” she said.
Angel Investment Portfolio
As an angel investor, Melas-Kyriazi has invested in over 20 startups, with a concentration in fintech, proptech, and enterprise SaaS. BCV had previously collaborated with her on several early-stage deals.
Harris noted, “We have worked with Christina for many years as an angel investor partner on early-stage deals. Her commitment to entrepreneurs’ success is second to none; she always goes the extra mile for founders.”
Areas of Investment Interest
Melas-Kyriazi is currently exploring opportunities in areas such as buy now, pay later, and the development of new payment rails built on decentralized networks.
She also believes that e-commerce enablement and B2B payments are areas experiencing significant growth, despite remaining “quite broken” in her assessment.
Leveraging Bain Capital’s Resources
Harris pointed out that BCV’s investment in commerce is strategically aligned with Bain Capital’s ownership of numerous multibillion-dollar retail businesses.
He explained that this provides portfolio companies with access to major retailers like Dunkin’ Donuts and Michael’s. Furthermore, Bain Capital’s $130 billion asset management presence positions it as a key player within the financial services industry, offering valuable connections to banks, insurance companies, and broker-dealers.