Aaron Hinz

Aaron Hinz is the Chief Financial Officer of Industry Ventures, a pioneering venture capital platform founded in 2000 that manages over $8 billion in institutional capital. In his role, Aaron oversees the accounting and financial reporting for all Industry Ventures funds. He joined the firm and rose through the ranks, being promoted to VP of Finance in February 2017 and then elevated to CFO in 2019 as part of a broader management team strengthening initiative. Under his financial stewardship, Industry Ventures has scaled significantly, growing from a secondary investment specialist into one of the most comprehensive venture capital platforms in the industry.

Prior to Industry Ventures, Aaron served as Controller at Thomas Weisel Global Growth Partners, where he managed accounting and financial reporting for secondary and primary fund-of-funds operations. Before that, he spent over three years at Venrock -- one of the most respected venture capital firms in the country -- working in accounting and finance. Aaron began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the San Jose office, where he spent four years auditing prominent venture capital funds and fund-of-funds, giving him deep foundational expertise in VC fund operations and compliance.

Aaron graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Business Management Economics with an emphasis in Accounting. He grew up in Humboldt County in Northern California, where he attended a small K-8 school with approximately 20 total students. Outside of work, he is an avid snowboarder who started skiing at age three before switching to snowboarding at fourteen.

As CFO, Aaron Hinz plays a critical financial and operational role at Industry Ventures rather than leading deal sourcing directly. However, his work underpins the firm's multi-strategy investment approach, which includes:

• Partnership Holdings (Primary Fund Investments): Investing in select seed- and early-stage venture capital funds under $250M, backing managers with unique networks, differentiated deal flow, and a track record of picking multiple winners.
• Secondary Investments: Acquiring LP interests and direct secondary positions in late-stage venture-backed companies, providing faster liquidity and mitigated downside risk for limited partners.
• Direct Investments: The firm has made 400+ direct investments and 160+ SPV investments across the venture lifecycle.
• Tech Buyouts: Exposure to lower-middle market software and tech-enabled services companies through direct and secondary investments and strategic primary commitments to emerging tech buyout managers.
• Preferred Venture Liquidity Program (launched April 2025): A new initiative with 40+ leading venture GPs to help VC firms, portfolio companies, and LPs achieve better liquidity and realize returns.