Roger Sippl, Angel Investor

Roger Sippl is a veteran entrepreneur and investor whose work has significantly shaped the software industry. He founded Informix Software in 1980 at age 24, led it as CEO for a decade, and took it public in 1986. He later co-founded The Vantive Corporation and founded Visigenic Software, both of which went public and became early leaders in CRM and distributed computing. In the mid-1990s, he launched Sippl Macdonald Ventures, an early-stage venture firm that backed companies such as Illustra (acquired by Informix), Broadvision (IPO), Support.com (IPO), and Red Pepper (acquired by PeopleSoft). Other investments included Talarian, TimesTen, and Cloudscape—each of which contributed to foundational advances in database and messaging technologies. Sippl continues to invest in innovative software and infrastructure startups, with recent investments including Particle.News, Splice Machine, and IFTTT. Over his career, he has served on more than twenty corporate boards, including Informix, Vantive, SolarWinds, Interwoven, and Imperva, reflecting his enduring influence across enterprise software, data systems, and network computing.