Simon Ru
Investor2x Founder, Venture Partner, Gold House; Strategy Council at UC Berkeley Skydeck
San Francisco Bay Area
About
Simon Ru is a Venture Partner at Gold House Venture, a $50M social impact venture fund that invests in Asian founders and has backed more than 50 companies, including ChowBus, Weee!, and Corgi. He previously held early product roles at eBay and PayPal, and founded and sold two startups to Fortune 100 companies. His background includes building two-sided marketplaces and fintech platforms.
Experience
- Gold HouseVenture Partnercurrent2026 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- UX Pilot AIBoard Observercurrent2026 — present
- MustardBoard Membercurrent2025 — present
- Eating Our Way To ExtinctionExecutive Producer2023 — 2025
- UpNest (acq. by Realtor.com)Founder & CEO2013 — 2023San Francisco Bay Area
- PlaySpan (a Visa company)Head of Digital Goods Marketplace, Head of Merchant Services2010 — 2012Foster City, CA
- Spare Change (acq. by PlaySpan/Visa)Co-Founder, CTO2008 — 2009Cupertino, CA
- PayPalSenior Product Manager, International2007 — 2008
- PayPalProduct Integration Manager, Merchant Services2005 — 2007
- EbaySenior Software Engineer2002 — 2005
Education
- University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of BusinessMBA
- University of California, BerkeleyBA, Interdisciplinary (CS & Econ)
Skills & more
Product Management13Monetization10E-commerce14Mobile Payments6Payments2Start-ups36Scalability1Real Estate1Entrepreneurship13Mergers & Acquisitions4User Experience2Mobile Applications4
+5 more
Mobile DevicesSocial GamesStrategic PartnershipsSaaSManagementLanguages Chinese
From Simon's professional profile.
Colleagues at UC Berkeley Skydeck
Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli
EECS Professor (Strategy Council) at UC Berkeley Skydeck
Alec Opdyke
Business Development Manager at UC Berkeley Skydeck
Aleksander Kuczek
Ambassador, EMEA at UC Berkeley Skydeck
Allen Yang
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences; Executive Director, FHL Vive Center for Enhanced Reality (Faculty Advisor) at UC Berkeley Skydeck
Amy E. Herr, Ph.D.
Professor of Bioengineering; Faculty Director, Bakar BioEnginuity Hub (Faculty Advisor) at UC Berkeley Skydeck
Anca Dragan
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences; Director, Interact Lab (Faculty Advisor) at UC Berkeley Skydeck
Armando Fox
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (Faculty Advisor) at UC Berkeley Skydeck
Balu Masti
Ambassador, India at UC Berkeley Skydeck
Frequently asked questions
- Where does Simon Ru work?
- Simon Ru is 2x Founder, Venture Partner, Gold House; Strategy Council at UC Berkeley Skydeck.
Same school
Also attended University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business581
Mark FiorentinoInvestor at Index VenturesRishi ModiInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Yibo NianInvestment Director at Intel CapitalZhenyu TangInvestment Director at Intel CapitalHariFellow at Clear VenturesDennisDirector of Trading at Pantera Capital
+ 575 more
Also attended University of California, Berkeley1,341
Byron DeeterPartner at Bessemer Venture PartnersTrevor OelschigInvestment Team at General CatalystBrendan Bulik-SullivanInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Glen AndersonPartner at Monta Vista CapitalAnthony LinHead of Intel Capital, Corporate Vice President at Intel CapitalScott ShawChief of Staff at Intel Capital
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+ 1,335 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Mustard1
Also worked at UpNest (acq. by Realtor.com)1
Also worked at PlaySpan (a Visa company)3
Also worked at PayPal136
Peter ThielCo-founder & Partner at Founders FundReid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockRoelof BothaAdvisor & former Steward at Sequoia Capital; SpaceX board memberDavid SacksCo-founder & General Partner at Craft Ventures; PCAST co-chair; former White House AI & crypto czarKeith RaboisManaging Director at Khosla VenturesJoe LonsdaleFounder & Managing Partner of 8VC
+ 130 more