# Matt Pauker

> Matt Pauker is a San Francisco-based founder, investor and advisor, currently CEO and co-founder of Ivy Invest. He co-founded Voltage Security, acquired by HP in 2015, and 21E6, the Bitcoin business later known as Earn.com and acquired by Coinbase in 2018. His Phase Two newsletter examines the practical challenges of early-stage company building.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-founder at Ivy Invest
- **Organizations:** Ivy Invest, Voltage Security, 21E6 / 21 / Earn.com, Stanford University, Ply, Anjuna Security, Dusty Robotics, Esper, Socotra, Earnest Research, FalconX, Vault12, Change Research
- **Education:** BS in Computer Science, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Voltage Security, acquired by HP in 2015., Co-founded 21E6, later Earn.com, acquired by Coinbase in 2018., Co-won Stanford’s 2002 BASES Entrepreneurs Challenge with the team behind Voltage.

## Career timeline

- **2001** — Co-authored a Stanford research project with Rishi Kacker on secure distributed computing.
- **2002** — Graduated from Stanford and co-founded the venture that became Voltage Security after winning the BASES competition.
- **2013** — Co-founded 21E6, an early Bitcoin company later known as 21 and Earn.com.
- **2015** — HP announced its acquisition of Voltage Security; Pauker was CEO of 21 when it emerged publicly in March, before Balaji Srinivasan became CEO that spring.
- **2018** — Coinbase acquired Earn.com, a successor to the company Pauker co-founded.
- **2021** — Published practical startup essays in Phase Two, including Your First Sales Rep and Investor Communication.
- **2024** — Ivy Invest’s Institutional Investment Strategy Fund began operations on March 5.
- **2025** — Appeared on Coffee with a Founder as Ivy Invest CEO and co-founder.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Voltage Security, acquired by HP in 2015.
- Co-founded 21E6, later Earn.com, acquired by Coinbase in 2018.
- Co-won Stanford’s 2002 BASES Entrepreneurs Challenge with the team behind Voltage.
- Named among the Stanford identity-based encryption project staff.
- Led the pre-seed round at Ply, according to his personal website.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Ivy Invest’s current website lists Pauker as CEO; its fund is advertised with a $1,000 minimum and quarterly repurchase windows. This is a research-date status check.
- **2025-12** — Featured on BAM’s Coffee with a Founder podcast, discussing Ivy Invest, co-founders and regulatory challenges.

## Links

- Website: https://crypto.stanford.edu/~mpauker/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauker

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/matt-pauker
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-27