John J. Vrionis Jr.

Lecturer in Management
John J. Vrionis Jr.

Bio

John Vrionis is currently the Founder and Managing Partner at Unusual Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm known for working closely with formation stage founders on finding product market fit. A seasoned venture capitalist with over two decades of experience, John has been an early investor in a number of successful software startups including: AppDynamics, Arctic Wolf Networks, Carta, Harness, Hallow, Liftoff.io, Mulesoft, Pinterest, Nicira, Nimble Storage and Robinhood.

Originally from Georgia, John graduated from Harvard University in 1997, where he studied economics. His passion for entrepreneurship and technology led him to pursue a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Chicago. John moved to Silicon Valley in 2002 and completed his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2006. Before co-founding Unusual Ventures, John served as a General Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners for 12 years.

Research Interests

  • Entrepreneurship
  • Venture Capital

Stanford University Affiliations

  • Guest Lecturer CS 210 Stanford University

Academic Degrees

  • MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2006
  • MS in Computer Science, University of Chicago, 2001
  • AB, Harvard University, 1997

Academic Appointments

  • Adjunct Professor, The University of Notre Dame

Professional Experience

  • Founder and Managing Partner, Unusual Ventures, 2018–present
  • General Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners, 2006–17
  • Director of Product Management, Achieve, 2003–05
  • Sr. Associate, ABN AMRO Venture Capital, 2000–03
  • Professional Soccer, USA and UK, 1997–99

Research Statement

John Vrionis works closely with Andy Rachleff on the study of information technology startups finding product market fit.

Teaching Statement

John joined the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business formally in 2024 to teach Product Market Fit, a class originally designed by Andy Rachleff.

Degree Courses