James Lee

Inquirer
DISC Type : cd

Head of Finance at MarqVision (YC S21)

San Francisco, California, United States

Overview

James is a finance executive with deep experience in scaling high-growth B2B software companies. He has built and led foundational finance and operations teams at startups like Productboard, Wonderschool, and GitHub, guiding them from early-stage funding through to a major M&A exit. He holds a B. S. from the University of California, Berkeley.

He was a key M&A deal team member for the sale of GitHub to Microsoft.

Personality Overview

Hard To Convince

ROI Conscious

Demanding

They don’t always try to control the conversation but neither do they like yielding it fully.  They respond well to confident salespeople. They focus on objectivity in a pitch and pay little attention to bells and whistles.

Topics They Care About

Scaling Finance Teams
He has repeatedly joined startups at Series A or B to build their entire finance and operations functions from the ground up, including at Productboard, Wonderschool, and GitHub.
AI-powered IP Protection
His current company, MarqVision, uses an "AI-native operating system" to help companies protect their brands and intellectual property, a mission he highlighted when joining.
M&A Strategy
He was a key member of the deal team for GitHub's acquisition by Microsoft and previously evaluated investments and M&A for portfolio companies while at Accel-KKR.

Media Appearances

James has no verified media appearances

Work History

9-2025
Head of Finance at MarqVision (YC S21)
3-2020 - 4-2025
SVP of Finance & Operations at Productboard
11-2018 - 3-2020
Head of Finance at Wonderschool
2-2016 - 11-2018
Director, Strategic Finance & Business Operations at GitHub
Private Equity at Accel-KKR

Education

B.S. from University of California, Berkeley

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 9 Location : San Francisco, California, United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Head of Finance at MarqVision (YC S21)
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Insights For Selling To James

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Refer to testimonials from others in similar positions
  • Get to the point quickly instead of spending too much time on pleasantries
  • Make sure that you you respond to any queries from them quickly

DONT's

  • Do not give up if they are not convinced, try again with a different approach
  • Don't try too hard to get friendly, let it happen with time
  • Don’t try to be an alpha salesperson, give them equal space

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with James is

  • Confidence in the product plays an important role, followed by powerful testimonials.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from James

  • They might hesitate a little, but they will say no if they are not convinced.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will James move?

  • Their decision making speed is somewhere in the middle.
  • Can James take some risk or not?

  • Once they have analyzed the pros and cons, they can take some risks.

You And James

Personality Compatibility


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