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Josh’s career as an entrepreneur began with the unconventional idea of turning sports wagering into an efficient financial transaction by using an online exchange to execute bets. In 1999, he co-founded Betfair.com and revolutionized the gaming industry by building the world’s first online marketplace for sports betting.

Today, Betfair is publicly-traded on the London Stock Exchange (BET.L) and manages more than $50 billion in transactions each year, is licensed in the UK and Australia, and operates legally in dozens of countries around the globe. Josh played a myriad of roles in the evolution of the company, from CEO during the start-up and chaotic early years, to hiring the right chief executive for the company’s growth phase, which included building a team of more than 1,000 employees around the globe.

Josh returned to the States in 2004, and served as an EIR at Benchmark Capital.  Soon after, he and a partner purchased eHow, an ailing, Web 1.0, how-to directory. “When I told people what I was doing, they thought I was crazy. Conventional wisdom said content was dead, and there was no way to make money on it. We had a different view. In my experience, the foundation of a great business depends on having a different idea from conventional wisdom and pursuing it in spite of a skeptical market.” says Josh.

Josh and his partner restructured eHow by outsourcing content creation to the community and employing then-new advertising and search engine optimization techniques. In six weeks, they had earned enough from advertising to pay off the cost of the purchase. They increased revenue and traffic 30-fold before selling the company to Demand Media in 2006 for a 400X return.

Josh joined Matrix Partners as a general partner in early 2009, and has invested in Huddle, Huddler, Inflection, JustFabulous, Klip, Koding, Quora and Taulia. He is looking to invest in entrepreneurs who are product and usability-obsessed and driven to create a magical customer experience. He is most excited about working with companies that make bold flanking attacks on big markets through vulnerable niches, and empower their customers.

When he’s not working with entrepreneurs or spending time with his young family, Josh can be found snowboarding at Sugar Bowl, cycling in the Oakland hills or playing basketball. Though he’s an alumnus of both Stanford and Cal, Josh proudly bleeds blue and gold.