John W. Glynn

John W. Glynn
Lecturer
Contact Info
JohnW.Glynn
Lecturer in Management

Research Statement

John Glynn’s research interest is studying organizations and cultures in early stage technology businesses. This interest is based on his experience as a venture capitalist for 37 years investing in those types of companies. Creating an environment where employees have an identity with the values of the business, a passion about their jobs and responsibilities, and a long-term focus on building a real company requires a culture that is well thought out and developed in a small firm. As companies grow, their cultures evolve, and maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit and opportunity has been a major part of the success of many companies.

Bio

John Glynn is the founder and General Partner of Glynn Capital Management and Glynn Ventures, a venture capital fund, in Menlo Park, CA. He has been active in the venture business on a national basis since 1970. His firm has committed capital exceeding $300 million from endowments and many prominent individual investors and families who are founders, CEOs, or directors of well-known technology companies or who have been active venture investors themselves.

Glynn Ventures and Glynn Capital Management focus on significant new market opportunities in which substantial businesses can be built over time, and try to invest ahead of major waves of change. Industry focus would include hardware, software, telecommunications, networking, medical devices, biotechnology, and medical service companies. Over the years, Mr. Glynn has been an active venture backer of Agile Software, Alteon, Alza, COR Therapeutics, Cypress Semiconductor, Electronic Arts, Intel, Intergraph, Intuit, The Learning Company, Mentor Graphics, Molecular Devices, Neurex Corporation, Silicon Graphics, Storage Technology Corporation, Sun Microsystems, and 3Com Corporation. He has served as a director of many small private companies over the years. Mr. Glynn also serves as an advisor to New Enterprise Associates, a Baltimore-based venture firm with over $5 billion under management.

Mr. Glynn grew up in Virginia. He holds a BA degree from the University of Notre Dame, a law degree from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He practiced law for four years in San Francisco before entering Stanford. From 1990 through 1998, he taught a course in “Starting New Ventures” at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and since 1999 has offered a course at Stanford entitled “Venture Capital and the Entrepreneurial World.” He has offered both courses as a visiting lecturer at the Darden School at the University of Virginia where he is the Thomas C. MacAvoy Professor of Business Administration. For the past three years he has also taught a class in entrepreneurship at Cambridge University’s Graduate School of Business. Mr. Glynn is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Arts and Letters College of the University of Notre Dame, the Advisory Board of Cambridge Business School, and is a Trustee of the University of Virginia School of Law. Mr. Glynn is married, has three daughters and a son, and lives in Atherton, CA. He enjoys golf, photography, and fly fishing.

Academic Degrees

  • MBA, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, 1970
  • LLB, University of Virginia, 1965
  • BA, University of Notre Dame, 1962

Academic Appointments

  • At Stanford University since 1990
  • Visiting Lecturer, Cambridge University, 1999-2004
  • Visiting Lecturer, Darden School, University of Virginia, 1990-2004

Professional Experience

  • Managing Partner, Glynn Ventures, 1983-present
  • Founder, Glynn Capital Management, 1983-present

Teaching

Degree Courses

2016-17

This 3 unit course is a case study based course designed for those students interested in entrepreneurship and/or investing. The partnership (and interaction) between the entrepreneur and the investor is a very important dimension in the growth...

2015-16

This 3 unit course is a case study course specifically for those students interested in entrepreneurship and/or investing. The partnership (and interaction) between the entrepreneur and the investor is a very important dimension in the growth of...

Stanford Case Studies

Alchemist Accelerator | E607
John Glynn, Matt Saucedo2016
Women in Venture Capital | E509
John Glynn, Tim Hsia2014
Napster: Opportunity Meets A Web of Egos | E375
John Glynn Jr., Alex Tauber2009
Startup Capital Ventures in China | E325
John Glynn Jr., Claire Magat, Peter Ziebelman2009
Founders Fund | E309
Bethany Coates, John Glynn Jr.2008
SuccessFactors, Inc. | E287
Katherine Bose, John Glynn Jr.2008
LesConcierges | E280
Bethany Coates, John Glynn Jr.2007
StartUp Capital Ventures | E247
Bethany Coate, John Glynn Jr., Peter Ziebelman2007
Emerick Woods: Leadership and Venture Capital | E216
John Glynn Jr., Alex Tauber, Peter Ziebelman2006
Western Technology Investment | E217
John Glynn Jr., Alex Tauber2006
Handspring and Palm, Inc. A Corporate Drama In Five Acts | E189
John Glynn Jr., Joshua Spitzer, Peter Ziebelman2005
Juniper Networks | E176
John Glynn Jr., Alicia Seiger2004
Peter Levine | E166
Mary Burnham, John Glynn2004
The Evolution of the Venture Capital Market in India | IB59
John Glynn Jr., Ray Koushik2004
Benchmark Capital in Europe | E148
Jamie Earle, John Glynn Jr.2003
Cadence vs. Avant! (B) What Happened | E61B
Jamie Earle, John Glynn Jr.2003
Matt Harris at Village Ventures (B) | E106B
Jamie Earle, John Glynn Jr.2003
Venture Leasing A Form of Venture Lending | E147
John Glynn Jr., Stan Kanarowski2003
Angel Investing: Innovation Within The Establishment | E127
Janet Feldstein, John Glynn Jr.2002
Corporate Venture Capital Vignettes | E131
John Glynn Jr., Andrea Higuera2002
Hewlett-Packard: Venture Capital Investing | E136
John Glynn Jr., Andrea Higuera2002
Matt Harris at Village Ventures | E106A
Janet Feldstein, John Glynn Jr.2002
Tenex Greenhouse Ventures | E126
Janet Feldstein, John Glynn Jr.2002
Fogdog | E100
Christopher Flanagan, John Glynn Jr.2001
VC Vignettes | E93
Christopher Flanagan, John Glynn Jr.2001
DoDots | E89
John Glynn Jr., K Sigg2000
Cadence Vs. Avant! | E61A
Peter Chen, John Glynn Jr., Pratap Mukherjee1999
RetailSports, Incorporated | E65
Nathaniel Durant, John Glynn Jr.1999
Asset Software | E23
John Glynn Jr., Joseph Welsh1998
Trident Health | E32
John Glynn Jr., Brian Keare1996
ASK Computer Systems, Inc. | E16
John Glynn Jr., Joseph Welsh1994
Gilead Sciences | E9
William Lazier, Kevin Taweel, John Glynn Jr.1993

Service to the Profession

  • Advisory Board: Cambridge University Graduate School of Business
  • Advisory Board: University of Notre Dame
  • Director: Several private companies
  • Member: California State Bar Assn., Castilleja School Finance Committee
  • Past President: Stanford GSB Alumni Assn., San Francisco Chapter