Christopher Lynch

Christopher Lynch is one of the founding partners of Ascent Venture Partners, a Boston-area firm he helped establish in 1985 and where he now holds the title of Special General Partner. He brings more than 30 years of venture-investing experience and has historically focused on technology, software, and internet-services opportunities. (Note: this Christopher Lynch of Ascent is a distinct individual from Christopher P. Lynch, the former Vertica/Atlas Venture/Accomplice "big data" investor — the two are frequently confused.)

Lynch began his investing career in 1977, joining the prominent Boston growth-equity firm TA Associates straight out of Harvard Business School, where he concentrated on the communications and media sectors. He subsequently served as an Investment Officer and Vice President at Massachusetts Capital Corporation, and in 1984 became President of MCC Corp., with a focus on technology and broadcasting. In 1985 he co-founded Ascent, carrying forward the fundamentals of venture investing he had developed at TA.

Across his career he has led investments in a series of market-leading companies that reached the public markets or were acquired, including Hologic (Nasdaq: HOLX), ViewLogic (Nasdaq: VLGC, acquired by Summit Design), Vivid Technologies (Nasdaq: VVID, acquired by EG&G/PerkinElmer), MicroTouch Systems (Nasdaq: MSTI), VenturCom (acquired by Citrix), and Voicetek (acquired by Aspect Telecom). In more recent years his attention shifted toward software and internet-services businesses, with investments such as ZoomInfo and Bizo.

Lynch holds a BS in Political Science from Colgate University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Outside of investing he is an avid outdoorsman (skiing, biking, hiking, and running in Vermont) and a blues/jazz guitarist, and he supports disability-awareness initiatives and Boston Children's Hospital, including through KATIE'S RACES.

• Invests in enterprise / B2B technology — Ascent's stated identity is to "live and breathe enterprise tech," concentrating on companies selling to businesses rather than consumers.
• Lynch's personal focus in recent years has been software and internet-services opportunities (e.g., ZoomInfo, Bizo).
• Backs early-stage, emerging companies positioned to become market leaders in their category; the firm has historically guided portfolio companies through to IPO or strategic acquisition.
• Stage and check size reflect the firm's early-stage mandate (pre-seed through Series A; initial checks commonly in the ~$2M–$5M range, with smaller seed checks also possible).
• Sector breadth across the Ascent platform includes SaaS, data analytics, cybersecurity/security, business intelligence, IT, and broader TMT.