Justin Overdorff

As a Fintech junkie with a product-focused passion for tech, Justin understands the true value of innovation and how it can serve as a major impetus for change. A common theme throughout his career is an appetite for risk and taking on challenges, so it’s no surprise that venture capital comes naturally to him. 

Entering VC from a broad background in business development and operating roles across Marketplaces, SaaS, and Fintech, Justin joined Lightspeed in 2021, based in our New York City office, to help lead the team’s Fintech practice and build on its portfolio investments in iconic companies like Affirm and Carta. He brings deep conviction to partnering with those who are building new products that create entirely new markets. His strategic thinking, founder-first lens, tenacity, and willingness to ask difficult questions bridge what is often a gap between the product development and go-to-market sides of a company.

“Venture investing is about risk appetite and risk based decision making with imperfect information,” says Justin. “I enjoy dealing in risk everyday.”

As a business development executive at Stripe, Justin catalyzed some of the company’s most impressive partnerships, including WooCommerce, Xero, Amazon, and Facebook. His experience at Stripe stoked Justin’s passion for Fintech and the constraints of creative problem-solving in a regulated industry. His product-first strategic thinking helped him lead a small team that incubated Stripe Capital from what began as an internal memo to the initial product launch. In his final tour of duty at Stripe, he deployed balance sheet capital for acquisitions and investments in technology companies, which brought him closer to the early-stage investing world. 

After Stripe, Justin began investing his own time and money into seed-stage startups, such as Lithic, Alloy, Orum, Moov, Stir, and Puzzle. He brings a unique combination of skills to founders. He specializes in taking on the big hairy problems no one else is willing to tackle. He has the rare ability to understand technical and regulatory constraints early, and help identify and fill gaps – this can be everything from helping with customer positioning, all the way to problem discovery and helping find and close key early hires.

Justin earned his bachelor’s degree from The College of William and Mary and his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. When he’s not working, you can find him spending time with his wife, two young sons, and his dog, Ruby. He also enjoys Twitter snark, mountain climbing, rooting for Pittsburgh pro sports teams, and distance running.