# Tom Button

> Tom Button is a technology founder, executive and investor based in Medina, Washington. After nineteen years at Microsoft, including leadership in developer tools and Windows, he founded Mobilize.Net in 2012. Its application and data businesses went to Growth Acceleration Partners and Snowflake in 2023. He now works in early-stage AI investing and also owns Buttonwood Farm.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Managing Director at BlackDiamondAI.Fund
- **Organizations:** BlackDiamondAI.Fund, BlackDiamond Ventures, Mobilize.Net, Microsoft, Buttonwood Farm, Itineris, GuardSquare, ArtinSoft, Boston Consulting Group
- **Education:** BSE, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Princeton University
- **Known for:** Helped launch the first Visual Basic and held leadership roles associated with Visual Studio .NET., Founded Mobilize.Net and led it through the 2023 separation and acquisition transactions., Holds six issued US patents, according to his investment-firm biography.

## Career timeline

- **1987-1988** — Associate consultant at Boston Consulting Group.
- **1988-2007** — Microsoft career spanning BASIC products, Visual Basic, Visual Studio, Windows product management and platform strategy.
- **2007-present** — Ownership of Buttonwood Farm, according to his investment-firm biography.
- **2009** — ArtinSoft publicly announced his appointment as a board member and product development consultant.
- **2012** — Founded Mobilize.Net; its migration business launched publicly on June 5.
- **2015** — Itineris announced his appointment to its board on February 18.
- **2017** — Joined GuardSquare’s board with a focus on growth and North America.
- **2023** — Mobilize.Net completed its acquisition by Snowflake after selling its application migration unit to Growth Acceleration Partners.
- **2024-present** — Co-founded BlackDiamond Ventures, according to its biography; current investment work appears under BlackDiamondAI.Fund.

## Achievements

- Helped launch the first Visual Basic and held leadership roles associated with Visual Studio .NET.
- Founded Mobilize.Net and led it through the 2023 separation and acquisition transactions.
- Holds six issued US patents, according to his investment-firm biography.

## Latest updates

- **2024-10** — Appeared on Beyond the Blue Badge with host Dee Dee Walsh on October 16 to discuss Microsoft and startup leadership.
- **2025-10** — His LinkedIn profile records the end of a youth soccer coaching period that began in May 1997.

## Links

- Website: https://blackdiamondai.fund/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlbutton

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/tom-button
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-24