# Jared Hecht

> Jared Hecht is a Brooklyn-based entrepreneur and venture partner at Union Square Ventures. He co-founded GroupMe, acquired by Skype in 2011, and Fundera, acquired by NerdWallet in 2020. A Columbia political science graduate and former Tumblr business development employee, he has also backed more than eighty companies and venture funds. His recent projects include Postcards, for sharing with friends and family, and Biographer, for capturing personal life stories.

- **Role:** Venture Partner at Union Square Ventures
- **Organizations:** Union Square Ventures, Fundera, GroupMe, Tumblr, NerdWallet, Columbia University, Inside New York, Biographer, Postcards
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Political Science, Columbia University
- **Known for:** Co-founded GroupMe, acquired by Skype in August 2011., Co-founded Fundera, acquired by NerdWallet in October 2020., Fundera had helped more than 85,000 SMBs secure financial products by the 2020 acquisition announcement.

## Career timeline

- **1999** — Won the National Elementary K-6 chess championship.
- **2009** — Graduated from Columbia University; had served as publisher and managing director of Inside New York.
- **Before 2010** — Joined Tumblr as an early employee, working in business development.
- **2010** — Co-founded GroupMe with Steve Martocci.
- **2011-08** — Skype acquired GroupMe; Microsoft acquired Skype in October 2011.
- **2013** — Left GroupMe and co-founded Fundera with Andres Moran and Rohan Deshpande.
- **2014-02** — Fundera launched publicly.
- **2020-10** — NerdWallet announced its acquisition of Fundera.
- **2024-01** — Joined Union Square Ventures as a venture partner.
- **2026-06** — Introduced Postcards, a sharing application for friends and family.
- **2026-07** — Published introductions to Biographer and Biographer Wiki.

## Achievements

- Co-founded GroupMe, acquired by Skype in August 2011.
- Co-founded Fundera, acquired by NerdWallet in October 2020.
- Fundera had helped more than 85,000 SMBs secure financial products by the 2020 acquisition announcement.
- Had angel invested in more than eighty companies and venture funds by January 2024.
- Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Consumer Tech in 2015.
- Won the 1999 National Elementary K-6 chess championship.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — USV named Hecht as part of its core investment team in an announcement of $900 million in new funds on October 8.
- **2026-10** — Biographer designer Leslie Luo described ongoing product changes, including story conversations and a hardcover book editor, on October 15.
- **2026-07** — Introduced Biographer Wiki, private by default and built from the user’s shared life stories.
- **2026-07** — Published an introduction to Biographer, his project for conversational life storytelling.
- **2026-06** — Introduced Postcards for sharing personal updates with real-life friends and family.

## Links

- Website: https://jared.xyz/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredhecht
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/jaredhecht

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jared-hecht
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26