CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwired - October 06, 2015) - Matrix Partners today announced that Hardi Meybaum has become its newest general partner. Meybaum shares a strong history with Matrix, as the firm was the first institutional investor in GrabCAD, the company Meybaum founded in 2009. Upon emigrating from Estonia, Meybaum built GrabCAD from Matrix's offices to become the world's leading cloud-based collaboration platform for engineering teams to manage, share, and view CAD files. It was acquired by Stratasys (
"Hardi is not only an exceptional entrepreneur, but he's also someone other entrepreneurs like and readily turn to for advice," said David Skok, General Partner at Matrix Partners. "Hardi is a visionary with a strong understanding of where markets are headed, what makes great products, and how to construct the right deals with partners and customers. We believe founders will gain tremendous value from his deep experience and insights."
Meybaum, 33, began his career as a mechanical engineer in Estonia. A natural entrepreneur, he went on to found three companies before his breakthrough idea with GrabCAD. Through GrabCAD, Meybaum created a community that brought 2.2M engineers together to help them collaborate and bring better products to market faster.
Meybaum has remained at the helm of GrabCAD since its acquisition by Stratasys, but he has also become an avid angel investor and advisor to several early-stage companies and incubators.
"Hardi built one of the most robust and engaged communities in the world, driving not just activity but also customer demand. He understands the sensitive dynamics of community building and scaling that almost every B2B company needs to drive adoption," said Doron Reuveni, CEO and co-founder of Applause (formerly uTest) and GrabCAD board member. "At the same time, Hardi has a very strong grasp of the sales process and how to build great teams, as well as how to evangelize new markets and products. Hardi will be instrumental in helping entrepreneurs start or scale their business."
Meybaum will be based in Matrix's Cambridge office but will be investing nationally. He will focus on identifying and assisting early-stage companies, with a particular interest in vertical communities, hardware, and B2B SaaS.
"I believe that we are past the time of horizontal SaaS and communities. The next phase of big companies will be built on mobile and cloud and will focus heavily on niche verticals. Hardware is also going through a huge period of disruption, which I find exciting because this is where my roots are," said Meybaum. "I look forward to helping entrepreneurs in the same manner that Matrix supported me. The firm represents what all venture firms should be-a team that works wholeheartedly on behalf of the entrepreneur at every turn-and I intend to carry on that tradition."
For more perspective on Hardi's move from a Matrix-backed founder to general partner, please visit the Matrix blog. Follow Hardi @hardi_meybaum.
About Matrix Partners:
Matrix Partners works with visionary leaders of early-stage startups to amplify their potential. Each of our general partners blends their deep experience with personal commitment to help startups do more, be better and achieve greater success. Recent Matrix investments include Oculus VR, Zendesk, Hubspot, Polyvore, Lever, Poynt, and Namely. Founded in 1977, Matrix Partners has East and West Coast offices (in Palo Alto and Cambridge) as well as offices in Shanghai, Bejiing, Mumbai, and Bangalore. Reach us at www.matrixpartners.com and @matrixpartners.
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