Shawn T. Carolan

2021 Distinguished Alumni Award

For contributions as an investor in startups and mentorship to entrepreneurs seeking to solve problems at scale.

Shawn is an early-stage consumer investor at Menlo Ventures where he discovers or helps start innovative companies that shape our lives. Examples include early investments in Roku, Uber, Chime, and Siri long before they became household names. His formula is simple: a strong and responsible business that uses cutting-edge technologies to make life better/faster/cheaper for all. He brings a diverse background to investing with previous experiences as a software developer, electrical engineer, startup founder, and management consultant. 

Shawn earned his BS and MS in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he graduated with highest honors and delivered countless lines of Fortran code during his fellowship with Illinois’ Center for Computational Electromagnetics under the stewardship of Jianming Jin. He also has an MBA from Stanford University.

Current as of 2022.