Bill Gurley
VCGeneral Partner, Benchmark
Benchmark legend; backed Uber, Zillow, Grubhub
Background
Bill Gurley served as a General Partner at Benchmark for twenty-one years before stepping back from active investing in 2020, though he remains a partner of prior funds and holds multiple board seats. Before Benchmark, he was a research analyst at CS First Boston and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, known for pioneering internet equity research. He is widely recognized for Benchmark's Series A investment in Uber at a roughly $4 million pre-money valuation, one of venture capital's most celebrated bets. He writes the influential blog Above the Crowd and co-hosts the BG2Pod podcast with Brad Gerstner. As of 2026, Gurley is no longer leading new investments but remains active as a commentator and board director.
Investment Thesis
Seeks market leaders in large, fragmented industries where network effects create defensible moats; prioritizes companies disrupting incumbent industries with innovative technology and strong unit economics.
Investment Focus
Stages
Typical check: $5M–$25M (Series A)
Sectors
Based in: United States (North America)
Notable Investments
Uber
Benchmark Series A; transformative return; NYSE: UBER
Zillow
Board member; NASDAQ: ZG
Grubhub
Board member; IPO; acquired by Just Eat
OpenTable
Acquired by Priceline (Booking Holdings) for $2.6B
Stitch Fix
Board member; NASDAQ: SFIX
Nextdoor
Board member; NYSE: KIND
HackerOne
Bug bounty and security platform
Instawork
Hourly workforce marketplace; board member