Chris FarmerFounder & CEO, SignalFire

    Chris is the CEO and Founder of SignalFire. SignalFire is developing a business intelligence & venture development platform focused on working with leading companies, founders, and core engineers to build the next generation of great consumer & enterprise technology. Most recently Chris was a venture partner at General Catalyst Partners based in their Palo Alto office. Prior to joining General Catalyst Partners, Chris co-founded Ignition Talent Group, a talent acquisition and advisory firm focused on scouting out the next generation of entrepreneurs and bringing the best executive and technical talent to leading venture backed companies. Previously, Chris was a Vice President with Bessemer Venture Partners where he led investments in digital media & mobile companies. Prior to BVP, he was a consultant with Bain & Co where he advised on large scale technology buyouts. Prior to Bain, Chris spearheaded the successful turnaround of Skybitz, a wireless enabled SaaS company, where he served as led Product Management, Finance & Business Development. Earlier in his career, Chris founded an investment advisory firm for angel investors & private equity funds and served as a Venture Advisor to an early stage venture capital fund where he led investments in SkyBitz and Applied Semantics (acquired by Google). He started his career on Wall Street in the private equity group of Cowen & Company. Chris received a BA in International Relations & Business from Tufts University & the Fletcher School of Diplomacy. He has been published in Harvard Business Review, Institutional Investor, The Journal of Private Equity and other leading publications