Fundraising Fox

Ben Ling

InvestorFounder

General Partner at Bling Capital Β· Board director at Nearside

Miami Beach, Florida

Writes $400K – $3M checks Β· typically $1M

FoundedBling Capital

About

Ben Ling founded Bling Capital, a seed-stage fund, where he serves as General Partner and has invested in 10 companies that reached billion-dollar valuations. He was previously a General Partner at Khosla Ventures, leading deals in Wattpad, Tapingo, GitLab, True Accord, and Webflow across consumer, internet, mobile, marketplace, SaaS, and consumer health, and before that held senior operating roles at Google, YouTube, and Facebook. As an angel investor, he took early positions in Airtable, Lyft, Square, Palantir, Quora, Gusto, and Udemy.

ContactΒ· self-published, not guessed

Invests in

AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingConsumerCreator EconomyDeveloper ToolsDigital HealthDirect to ConsumerE-commerceEdTechEnterprise SoftwareFintechFuture of WorkHardwareInsurTechLogistics & Supply ChainMarketplacesMobility & TransportationPropTechRoboticsSaaSSector AgnosticSocialTravel & Hospitality

Board director at Nearside

Intro paths

β†’

In turn, Ben can intro founders to Nearside's investors below.

Nearside's investors Β· 11

AccompliceBoston Β· $5M – $25M checks Β· since 2014Acorn Pacific VenturesSan Mateo Β· since 2014B Capital GroupManhattan Beach Β· $10M – $50M checks Β· since 2014Bling CapitalMiami Beach Β· $1M – $5M checks Β· since 2014Flucas VenturesJupiter Β· $100K – $5M checks Β· since 2014Flybridge Capital PartnersNew York Β· $250K – $10M checks Β· since 2014Khosla VenturesMenlo Park Β· $5K – $50M checks Β· since 2014Kleiner PerkinsMenlo Park Β· $500K – $15M checks Β· since 2014Parade VenturesSan Francisco Β· $1M checks Β· since 2014Socii CapitalSan Francisco Β· since 2014Top Tier Capital PartnersSan Francisco Β· since 2014

Co-founders at Nearside

EB
Eliot BuchananExecutive Officer, Director

Experience

  1. Bling CapitalFounding General Partnercurrent2018 β€” presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  2. RipplingInvestorcurrent2017 β€” present
  3. VehoBoard Observer / Investor / Seed Round Leadcurrent2020 β€” present
  4. HermeusBoard Observer / Investor / Seed Round Leadcurrent2019 β€” present
  5. TempoBoard Observer / Investor / Seed Round Leadcurrent2015 β€” present
  6. Sprout TherapyBoard Observer / Investor / Seed Round Leadcurrent2019 β€” present
  7. ViseBoard Observer / Investor / Seed Round Leadcurrent2019 β€” present
  8. PrintifyBoard Observer / Investor / Seed Round Leadcurrent2019 β€” present
  9. RxdefineBoard Observer / Investor / Seed Round Leadcurrent2019 β€” presentLos Angeles, California, United States
  10. Merlin LabsBoard Observer / Investor / Seed Round Leadcurrent2018 β€” present
  11. DrivepointInvestorcurrent2022 β€” present
  12. QuantopianBoard Membercurrent2013 β€” presentGreater Boston
  13. WattpadBoard Membercurrent2013 β€” presentGreater Toronto Area, Canada
  14. PlastiqBoard Membercurrent2014 β€” presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  15. ZenefitsInvestorcurrent2013 β€” present
  16. HoneyBookInvestorcurrent2013 β€” present
  17. RemindHQInvestorcurrent2012 β€” present
  18. UdemyInvestorcurrent2010 β€” present
  19. Angel Investor and AdvisorInvestor and Advisorcurrent2009 β€” presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  20. Khosla VenturesGeneral Partner2013 β€” 2019Menlo Park
  21. Canary (canary.is)Board Member2014 β€” 2018New York City Metropolitan Area
  22. TapingoBoard Member2014 β€” 2018San Francisco Bay Area
  23. Academia.eduBoard Member2013 β€” 2018San Francisco Bay Area
  24. GoogleSenior Director, Product Management of Search Products and Local Business Products2010 β€” 2012
  25. GoogleSenior Director, Product Management and Engineering, Mobile Applications Lab2011 β€” 2012
  26. YouTubeSenior Director of Partnerships, Content and Platforms2008 β€” 2010
  27. FacebookDirector of Platform2007 β€” 2008
  28. GoogleFounder of Google Commerce, GM / Product Management Director2004 β€” 2007
  29. StanfordResearch Assistant1998 β€” 2004
  30. TellMeResearch Intern2003
  31. E.piphanySenior Engineer1999 β€” 2003
  32. IBMResearch Intern1996

Skills & more

Product Management99Product Marketing57Cross-functional Team Leadership47Mobile Applications78Mobile Devices43User Experience20Analytics27Cloud Computing18Big Data9Distributed Systems12Software Development13Software Engineering11
+4 moreUser Interface DesignWeb ApplicationsProduct DevelopmentSaaS

From Ben's professional profile.

Deals Β· 2

GitLabLed round

via Bling Capital

WebflowLed round

via Bling Capital

Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.

Other disclosed investments

Led

TapingoTrue AccordWattpad

Investor

AirtableGustoInstacartLucidchartLyftPalantirQuoraSquareUdemy

Sources: the firm's website Β· curated public sources.

Colleagues at Bling Capital

Ash Panchang
Senior Associate at Bling Capital
Charles Yu
Principal at Bling Capital
Charlie Pinto
Operating Partner at Bling Capital
Eric Theis
Principal at Bling Capital
Kyle Lui
General Partner at Bling Capital

Network15

Andrew ChungScout
Investor at 1955 Capital
Anne DwaneScout
General Partner at Village Global
Bradley TuskScout
Managing Partner at Tusk Venture Partners
Brandon ZeunerScout
Managing Partner at Hinge Capital
Charlie PintoScout
Operating Partner at Bling Capital
Christopher O'DonnellScout
Partner at Pfizer Venture Investments
Daniel CohenScout
Senior Advisor at Viola Ventures
David BrownScout
Techstars and Pinpoint co-founder, former Techstars CEO, Zintinus partner, educator and author
Eric TheisScout
Principal at Bling Capital
Gokul RajaramScout
DoorDash, Coinbase, Square at Good AI Capital
Matt GarrattScout
General Partner at US Venture Partners
Terry McGuireScout
Founding Partner at Polaris Partners
β–Ά3 more connections

Tom Noonan Β·Β scoutMaria PalmaRamy Adeeb

Investors connected to Ben in public investor directories β€” a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Ben Ling?
Ben Ling founded Bling Capital, a seed-stage fund, where he serves as General Partner and has invested in 10 companies that reached billion-dollar valuations. He was previously a General Partner at Khosla Ventures, leading deals in Wattpad, Tapingo, GitLab, True Accord, and Webflow across consumer, internet, mobile, marketplace, SaaS, and consumer health, and before that held senior operating roles at Google, YouTube, and Facebook. As an angel investor, he took early positions in Airtable, Lyft, Square, Palantir, Quora, Gusto, and Udemy.
Where does Ben Ling work?
Ben Ling is Founder & General Partner of Bling Capital and General Partner at Bling Capital and Board director at Nearside.
What does Ben Ling invest in?
Ben Ling invests in AI & Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Consumer, Creator Economy, Developer Tools, Digital Health, Direct to Consumer, E-commerce, EdTech, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Future of Work, Hardware, InsurTech, Logistics & Supply Chain, Marketplaces, Mobility & Transportation, PropTech, Robotics, SaaS, Sector Agnostic, Social, Travel & Hospitality.
What check size does Ben Ling write?
Ben Ling typically writes checks of $400K – $3M.
What companies did Ben Ling found?
Ben Ling founded Bling Capital.
What companies has Ben Ling invested in?
Investments tracked here include GitLab, Tapingo, True Accord, Wattpad, Webflow, Airtable, GitLab, Gusto, Instacart, Lucidchart, Lyft, Palantir, and 3 more.
Where did Ben Ling go to school?
Ben Ling studied at Stanford University (Ph.D., Computer Science); Stanford University (M.S., Computer Science); University of California, Berkeley (B.S., Electrical Engineering Computer Science).
Does Ben Ling lead rounds?
Yes β€” Ben Ling has led 5 tracked investments.

Founder mafias

Stanford University mafia903

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Peter ThielJ.D.Founded PayPal +1Reid HoffmanB.S.Founded LinkedIn +2Joe LonsdaleBSFounded Opto +3Mike Maples JrBSFounded Pattern BreakersSteve JurvetsonMSEEFounded Mojo VisionBalaji SrinivasanGraduate StudentFounded Counsyl +1

+ 896 more

University of California, Berkeley mafia538

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Steve WozniakBSFounded AppleTony XuB.S.Founded DoorDashAravind SrinivasDoctor of Philosophy - PhDFounded PerplexityAli GhodsiPost-docFounded DatabricksRyan PetersenBAFounded FlexportDavid FriedbergBAFounded Climate +2

+ 531 more

Zenefits mafia19

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Parker ConradCo-founder & CEOFounded RipplingPrasanna SankarDirector of EngineeringFounded 0xPPL +1Phil FasanoAdvisory Board MemberFounded Recuro Health +1Henry LiuVP Engineering, Core PlatformFounded Glide +1Abhijeet DwivediVice PresidentFounded Central +1Kuberan MarimuthuStaff Engineer/Tech Lead ManagerFounded Hashcube +1

+ 12 more

Khosla Ventures mafia14

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Vinod KhoslaFounderFounded AliveCorDelian AsparouhovPrincipalFounded Nightingale +1Nessan BerminghamOperatorFounded Korro Bio +2Uri LopatinOperatorFounded Pardes Biosciences +1Hari ArulInvestorFounded BoldAustin HayOperatorFounded Clarify

+ 7 more

Udemy mafia10

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Eren BaliCo-founder, Member of Board of DirectorsFounded Udemy +1Max AltschulerBusiness Development & Enterprise SalesFounded Sales HackerKen FoxBoard MemberFounded A10 CapitalKevin JohnsonCEOFounded Focal SystemsPablo StanleyVP CreativeFounded Carbon HealthVivien SinBusiness Development InternFounded The Third Place

+ 3 more

Same school

Also attended Stanford University2,000

Peter ThielCo-founder & Partner at Founders FundReid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockDavid SacksCo-founder & General Partner at Craft Ventures; former White House AI & Crypto CzarKeith RaboisManaging Director at Khosla VenturesGarry TanPresident & CEO of Y CombinatorAlfred LinPartner at Sequoia Capital

+ 1,994 more

Also attended University of California, Berkeley1,453

Byron DeeterPartner at Bessemer Venture PartnersSteve WozniakCo-founder of AppleTony XuCo-founder & CEO of DoorDashAravind SrinivasCo-founder & CEO of Perplexity AIAli GhodsiCo-founder & CEO of DatabricksRyan PetersenFounder & CEO of Flexport

+ 1,447 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Printify2

Andris BerzinsInvestment Partner at Change VenturesArtis KehrisGeneral Partner at BADideas.fund

Also worked at Khosla Ventures85

Keith RaboisManaging Director at Khosla VenturesDelian AsparouhovPartner at Founders Fund and co-founder of VardaDavid WeidenInvestor at Khosla VenturesSamir KaulInvestor at Khosla VenturesSven StrohbandInvestor at Khosla VenturesAdina TeckluInvestor at Khosla Ventures

+ 79 more

Also worked at Academia.edu1

Robert Whitby-SmithInvestor at AlbionVC

Also worked at Google1,715

Ron ConwayFounder of SV AngelElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalKai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIBrian SingermanCo-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders FundJess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalTomasz TunguzFounder & General Partner at Theory Ventures

+ 1,709 more