Ron Conway is the founder and managing partner of SV Angel and has been an active angel investor since the mid-1990s. Fortune calls him an early angel in Google, Airbnb, Square and Pinterest. SV Angel's own FAQ says its seed fund typically invests $200,000, does not usually lead rounds, and does not take board seats.
This profile uses what Conway and SV Angel say about themselves, plus dated press coverage. It does not rank him against other investors, estimate returns or repeat nicknames no source supports. Fortune calls him one of tech's "super angels", which is as far as this page goes.
Who is Ron Conway?
According to SV Angel's team page, Conway worked in marketing at National Semiconductor from 1973 to 1979, then co-founded Altos Computer Systems, where he was president and CEO and took the company public on Nasdaq in 1982. The Economic Innovation Group bio adds that he was founder and managing partner of the Angel Investors LP funds from 1998 to 2005, and that he co-founded the advocacy group FWD.us and founded the civic group sf.citi.
The recognition lists come from the same two pages: Best Angel at the 2009 TechCrunch Crunchies, Vanity Fair's 2010 list of the 100 most influential people in the Information Age, and Forbes' Midas list of top deal-makers since 2011. These are credentials he and his firm choose to publish, so read them as a summary, not an audit.
What does SV Angel say about how it invests?
The SV Angel FAQ is unusually specific. It says the firm has two funds, an early-stage Seed Fund and a late-stage Growth Fund, and invests broadly in software companies across consumer and enterprise. The Seed Fund typically invests $200,000, and the Growth Fund invests in Series B and later. SV Angel says it does not lead and is usually a smaller check in a round, and it does not take board seats, to keep itself aligned with the founder. It also says founders most commonly start talking to it at the pre-seed or seed stage and that it is never too early to reach out.
On value-add, the FAQ describes an "Inflection Point Approach": help at fundraising, corporate development and M&A, and business development, plus access to a large network and portfolio discounts of more than $1 million from corporate partners. In the firm's own story page, Conway describes SV Angel as growing out of his personal investing style, which he calls hyper-engaged, founder-focused and community-oriented.
Which companies is Conway associated with?
Two public sources are worth separating. Fortune's 2020 report says Conway was an early angel in Google, Airbnb, Square and Pinterest, that he considers Google his most successful investment to date, and that SV Angel has also invested in Facebook, Twitter and Snap. SV Angel's story page lists a broader set of companies it has worked with: Google, Twitter, Meta, Airbnb, Coinbase, Stripe and Pinterest.
The firm's home page also carries founder testimonials, including from Sam Altman of OpenAI, Julia Hartz of Eventbrite and Guillermo Rauch of Vercel. Altman's credits Conway with working around the clock to help OpenAI. Testimonials are selected by the firm, so they tell you how SV Angel wants to be seen rather than how every founder experienced it.
What has Conway said about hit rates and founder networks?
Speaking on a panel at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference in December 2020, Conway described investing as hits-driven. By his account, about 60% of the companies SV Angel invests in go out of business with no return, about another 30% may return the money, and the 10% to 20% that return more than was invested pay for the rest. That is his characterization, not an audited figure, but it matches the portfolio logic that the guide to angel portfolio strategy explains.
He also credited his reputation with founders as the engine of his deal flow: the founders he backed early recommended him to other founders, and he compared the founder network to a mafia in which people tell each other which investors add value. He singled out Napster, whose failure he attributed to egos at the labels and at the investor level, as a favorite lesson.
What is SV Angel doing in AI policy now?
The team page says Conway founded the AI Ad Hoc Workgroup to convene top AI companies on policy inputs and AI safety. The firm's Project Blueprint page says it founded that working group in 2023, and announces that former White House press secretary Jay Carney, who spent eleven years running policy and communications at Amazon and Airbnb, has joined as a general partner and head of public policy and communications. The page frames this as SV Angel acting as a bridge between AI builders and lawmakers.
What can a founder take from SV Angel's model?
Advice, not endorsement:
Ask what role the investor plays. A firm that does not lead or sit on boards, like SV Angel, offers introductions and help at inflection points rather than control. That suits some founders and not others.
Know the check size before you pitch. A $200,000 seed check fits a round that has other money in it; it will not fill a round on its own.
Reputation compounds. Conway's own account is that founders refer investors to each other. How an angel treats the first few companies shapes the next ones.
For how angel money differs from venture money, see angel investors versus venture capitalists; for how to pick among offers, choosing the right investors. Other angel profiles in this series include Naval Ravikant and Lachy Groom, and the full set sits in the investor profiles section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:Who is Ron Conway?
He is the founder and managing partner of SV Angel, an angel investor since the mid-1990s, and earlier a co-founder and CEO of Altos Computer Systems. Fortune describes him as an early angel in Google, Airbnb, Square and Pinterest.
Q:How much does SV Angel invest in a startup?
Its FAQ says the Seed Fund typically invests $200,000, and the Growth Fund invests in Series B and later rounds. The firm says it is usually a smaller check within a round.
Q:Does SV Angel lead rounds or take board seats?
According to its FAQ, no to both. It says it does not lead invest and chooses not to take board seats so that it can align with the founder's interests.
Q:What does Ron Conway consider his most successful investment?
Fortune reported in 2020 that Conway considers Google his most successful investment to date. That is his own assessment, not a measured ranking.
Q:Is Ron Conway still investing?
SV Angel's current site, with a 2026 copyright notice, describes an active Seed Fund and Growth Fund and lists Conway as founder and managing partner. For the firm's current activity and portfolio, check its own site and Crunchbase profile.