Based in Portola Valley, California, Paul Holland has spent more than two decades as a general partner at Foundation Capital in Palo Alto, a role that has allowed him to serve as an early stage venture investor in seven funds. The startups he has sponsored investments in have achieved upwards of $20 billion in market capitalization. Paul Holland has emphasized the sponsorship and management of startups in software, consumer, and related fields.

Paul Holland previously spent more than three years as the senior vice president of sales and global operations at Kana Communications, where he developed an international team of over 300 people and helped close more than 1,000 global customer accounts. After being brought in by early investors to establish operations at the commercial company, he grew annual sales from approximately $10,000 to over $140 million. He has also served as the vice president of European operations at Pure Software.

Paul Holland holds a master of business administration from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master of science in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. He studied public administration and business at James Madison University. Before graduating cum laude, he served as vice president of the Public Administration Society. He received the university’s President’s Award in 2025.