Illuminate Ventures is an early stage VC firm led by a team of experienced investors with significant operating and investment track records.  Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the firm is targeting US-based high growth, capital efficient companies in selected sectors within the high-tech landscape.  We work closely with founders to support them in building truly great companies. We’ve been there ourselves and know that a team-based approach delivers the best results.

The firm also benefits from a “Who’s Who” 30+ person Advisory Council made up of some of the most successful members of the high-tech ecosystem including founders like Donna Dubinsky (Palm Computing, Handspring) and Diane Greene (VMWare, Vxtreme), senior corporate executives in companies like IBM, Microsoft and Symantec and venture industry veterans like Cliff Higgerson, Ruthann Quindlen and Janice Roberts – all of whom have committed to work closely with the firm and with the founding teams in our portfolio.

Illuminate’s investment team is well respected in the venture community where they have built longstanding relationships with successful entrepreneurs and co-investors.  Illuminate team members have helped successfully build companies to deliver positive returns through IPOs and M&A transactions both as investors and as operating managers in a variety of sectors including digital media, SaaS/cloud computing, Internet/Web 2.0 applications, security, technology enabled services and mobile and wireless communications.

Cynthia B.  Padnos, Founding Managing Director

Cindy Padnos is the founding Managing Director of Illuminate Ventures, focusing primarily on Internet, SaaS/cloud computing, digital media, technology-enabled services and mobile communications investments. Cindy currently serves as a director of privately held companies BrightEdge, CalmSea, Wild Pockets and Xactly Corporation.

Prior to founding Illuminate, Cindy was a Director of Outlook Ventures where she was one of three investment professionals responsible for committing the firm’s $140M fund. During her tenure with the firm she participated in numerous new and follow-on financings, including sourcing more than half of the firm’s new investments.  Cindy took an active role within the firm and the portfolio – codifying the firm’s investment sector thesis, establishing a CMO knowledge exchange between portfolio companies and facilitating Outlook’s annual investor meeting.  Immediately before joining Outlook, Cindy’s long-standing relationships within the VC ecosystem allowed her to “apprentice” in the industry as a venture consultant, working with several top-tier venture capital firms and their portfolios.  Her work ranged from interim CEO assignments to new investment due diligence.

Before entering the venture capital community Cindy gained almost 20 years of operational experience culminating in her role as founder and CEO of Vivant, an innovative SaaS company, where she successfully led this venture-backed company to its acquisition (EVLV).  Prior positions include roles as President and CEO of Acumen (M&A), founding vice president of marketing at Scopus Technology (IPO) and management positions at IDE, Ingres and AT&T.  Earlier in her career Cindy also served as a management consultant with Arthur D. Little and Booz, Allen & Hamilton where she worked closely with executive teams in both large and small companies across the tech sector focusing on sales acceleration, new business spin-outs and go-to-market strategies.

Cindy earned her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, at the University of Michigan and her MBA/MSIA with honors from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. She serves on the Board of Advisors for the Tepper School and for Astia.  Cindy is a member of SpringBoard Enterprises, FWE&E, Women 2.0 and is active in a number of other organizations that support entrepreneurship.