Jon Baer is a senior executive who brings a unique perspective to the world of startups. He has been both a venture capitalist as well as the founder and CEO of two venture backed companies, eBoomerang, an enterprise software company which was sold in 2006 and Artificial Muscle, Inc., a spinout from Stanford Research Institute (SRI). As a principal and founder of Threshold Ventures, Jon works with companies around the world, serving as an advisor/mentor, working on specific projects (such as creating venture backed companies from emerging new technologies and helping international companies develop and execute plans for entering the U.S. market) and when appropriate, taking on interim operating roles.

He has worked with a wide range of software, telephony, hardware and services businesses. Earlier in his career Jon was a General Partner at Oscco Ventures, a Sand Hill Road early-stage venture capital firm which was one of the pioneering firms in Silicon Valley. He has invested in a range of companies including Landec, Peerless Systems, and Coinstar.

Jon started his career at Exxon Enterprises where he was responsible for creating and managing new businesses for the corporation. He has also worked at Gartner Group and Prudential Securities, where he managed a portion of a $240 million fund. He has a BA in Biology and a BS in Engineering Science from Tufts University and as an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. Jon has been an active angel investor and a startup advisor to Software Development Forum, where he is a frequent panelist and mentor to tech based companies in the U.S. and abroad.  

Companies hire Jon to sharpen the focus of their business, identify market opportunities and determine the best way to address those needs, develop fundable business plans and investor presentations, act as interim executive and help build the management team.