Investors & Partners at Costanoa Ventures

Amy Cheetham

Partner, Costanoa Ventures

Amy Cheetham is a Partner at Costanoa Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology investments. She specializes in identifying and supporting innovative companies across AI, fintech, cybersecurity, enterprise software, and SaaS sectors. With a keen eye for transformative business models, Cheetham has backed notable companies including Quizlet, the leading learning platform. Her investment thesis centers on backing founders building scalable solutions that address significant market needs. Based in Silicon Valley, Cheetham leverages her deep industry expertise to mentor portfolio companies through critical growth phases. Her track record demonstrates a commitment to supporting entrepreneurs who are reshaping their respective industries through technology and innovation.

Greg Sands

Founder and Managing Director, Costanoa Ventures

Greg Sands was the first non-engineering hire at Netscape where he wrote the original business plan, coined the name Netscape, and built the SuiteSpot server business from $0 to roughly $140-150M in revenue, giving him unusually deep hands-on product and go-to-market experience for a VC. He spun out from Sutter Hill Ventures in an unconventional way by hand-negotiating a two-page agreement that allowed him to take portions of stakes in companies he'd led as seed corn to start Costanoa, and he invests with a product-manager-like approach where he personally goes on sales calls with founders to dissect customer needs and product-market fit before scaling go-to-market.

Jared Franklin

Vice President, Costanoa Ventures

Jared Franklin is a Vice President at Costanoa Ventures, where he focuses on investments across artificial intelligence, fintech, cybersecurity, enterprise software, and SaaS. Based on his role at the venture capital firm, Franklin works to identify and support emerging companies addressing critical challenges in these high-growth sectors. His investment track record includes participation in Quizlet, the popular online learning platform. Franklin leverages his expertise to help portfolio companies scale and achieve market success. As part of the Costanoa Ventures team, he brings strategic insight to early and growth-stage ventures seeking to build transformative technology solutions. His focus on both security-critical and productivity-enhancing software positions him to identify compelling investment opportunities at the intersection of innovation and market demand. Franklin is actively engaged in the venture capital community and can be reached through his professional network on Li

Madison Hawkinson

Investor, Costanoa Ventures

Madison Hawkinson is an investor at Costanoa Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology companies. She specializes in identifying and supporting innovative startups across AI, fintech, cybersecurity, enterprise software, and SaaS sectors. Her investment portfolio includes Quizlet, a leading online learning platform, demonstrating her ability to recognize high-impact companies with significant market potential. At Costanoa Ventures, Hawkinson leverages her expertise to evaluate emerging technologies and business models that address critical market needs. Her focus areas reflect current technology trends and the evolving demands of enterprise and consumer markets. Through her work, she contributes to the venture capital ecosystem by supporting founders building transformative solutions in fast-growing technology sectors.