John Borthwick
John Borthwick has been a leading figure in the New York technology ecosystem for more than three decades. He is the Founder, CEO, and Managing Partner of Betaworks, a well-known startup studio and venture capital firm focused on investing in, building, and accelerating early-stage consumer technology companies. Under his leadership, Betaworks has developed a broad portfolio of companies operating at the intersection of media and technology, with a strong emphasis on emerging platforms, internet culture, and product innovation. The firm is widely recognized for its hands-on approach to company building and early-stage venture investing. Before founding Betaworks, Borthwick served as Senior Vice President of Alliances and Technology Strategy at Time Warner. He was also the CEO of Fotolog, one of the earliest social photo-sharing platforms on the web. In addition, he has contributed to the startup ecosystem as a repeat judge for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield.
John Borthwick Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Co-Founder, CEO, and Managing Partner
Academic History
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Master of Business Administration
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B.A., Economics and Art History
BETAWORKS
During his tenure at Betaworks, John Borthwick has played a significant role in several influential technology and business organizations, including the Bloomberg Tech Council, the Partnership for New York City, and the New York Founders Forum.
Under his leadership, Betaworks has built and scaled a number of widely recognized technology companies. These include Giphy, acquired by Instagram and Meta; Dots, acquired by Take-Two Interactive; bitly, acquired by Spectrum Equity; TweetDeck, acquired by Twitter; and Chartbeat.
In addition to company building, Betaworks has invested in and accelerated many notable startups, including Twitter, Tumblr, Kickstarter, Medium, Anchor, and Gimlet.
More recent investments and accelerations include Hugging Face, Rec Room, Granola, and XMTP.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
John Borthwick is a recognized founder, builder, and investor within the New York technology and startup ecosystem.
He began his career as an Analyst at Mercer Management Consulting and later served as a Manager at Oliver Wyman & Company.
He went on to build WP Studio, co-founded Total NY, and led product initiatives at AOL following its acquisition.
Over the years, his work has been recognized across numerous industry rankings and media lists, including Business Insider’s Top VCs in New York, Silicon Alley’s Seed 100, Tech Power 50, 100 Best Tech People on Twitter, and AlleyWatch’s Complete Guide to Venture Capital in NYC.
Borthwick has been featured in major publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Inc. Magazine, TechCrunch, and Hidden Forces, among others.
He is also deeply engaged in civic and nonprofit work, serving on the boards of Blade Urban Mobility, WNYC, Data & Society, and New York Public Radio’s Tech Policy Press.