Thomas Layton, Angel Investor

Thomas Layton is an entrepreneur and Chairman of Upwork, where he has served since 2011. He is also Co‑Founder of The Guild Theater in Menlo Park and previously lectured at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Earlier, he was CEO of OpenTable, leading the company through its growth phase, and held director roles at Ancestry.com and other technology ventures. His career reflects a consistent focus on scaling consumer internet platforms and supporting entrepreneurial ecosystems, blending leadership in public companies with community‑driven initiatives. As an angel investor, Thomas has made about 10 investments across consumer, SaaS, and education technology. His portfolio includes Hostie, PipeDreams, Yassir, Novi Connect, NextLesson, and Hearsay Systems, highlighting his interest in startups that connect people, services, and information in transformative ways.