Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan is a seasoned investor and former Chief Operating Officer of Venmo, specializing in early-stage fintech ventures. He co-founded Vera Equity, a venture capital firm focusing on payments, insurance, SaaS, and fintech investments at the pre-seed and seed stages. Vera Equity's first fund, launched in 2023, raised $20 million and has invested in 20 businesses, including StellarFi and Tandym. In addition to his role at Vera Equity, Vaughan serves as an Operating Partner at Stripes, a growth equity firm. He has also been a Venture Partner at Oak HC/FT, a healthcare and fintech venture capital fund, since 2019. Prior to his venture capital career, Vaughan was the Chief Operating Officer at Venmo from 2011 to 2019, where he played a pivotal role in scaling the company to 40 million active users and a $300 million revenue run rate by 2019. Vaughan's investment focus includes fintech sectors such as payments, insurance, SaaS, and financial services. His portfolio companies include Kick, Nomad, Maplerad, and Remagine.

Experienced entrepreneurs, B2B businesses