# John Connaughton

> John Connaughton is a seed investor at Bain Capital Private Equity (Boston) backing SMS and SaaS. See 2 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Bain Capital Private Equity](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bain-capital-private-equity)
- Location: Boston, United States
- Total investments: 2
- Last investment: Apr 2021
- Lead investor: 50%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-connaughton/
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/jp_connaughton
- Website: https://www.baincapital.com/people/john-connaughton

John Connaughton is a seed investor at Bain Capital Private Equity in Boston focused on SMS and SaaS. John Connaughton is Co-Managing Partner of Bain Capital, a leading private investment firm with offices on four continents and approximately $185 billion in assets under management. He has over three decades of experience at Bain Capital as a private equity investor and has played a leading role in a wide range of prominent healthcare andtechnology/media investments. He started his career as a consultant at Bain & Company before joining Bain Capital in 1989.Connaughton is an active supporter of several charitable and civic activities both individually and through Bain Capital Community Partnership. He serves as a member of the Berklee College of Music Board of Trustees, Brigham & Women’s Board of Trustees, the GreenLight Fund Board of Directors, the Harvard Business School Board of Dean's Advisors and the Roxbury Latin School. He also serves as a member of the Boston Celtics’ investor group and Board of Directors and the Baltimore Orioles Advisory Board Ownership and Leadership Group.Mr. Connaughton and his wife, Stephanie, invest much of their time into the betterment of education. The couple launched the Connaughton Alternative Investing Professorship Fund at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, where Mr. Connaughton serves on the Foundation Board. He also serves on the board of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO).In 2016, the Connaughton’s created the Dr. James P. Connaughton Professorship to honor his late father’s many contributions to Johns Hopkins University. Additionally, the couple made a sizable gift to Brigham & Women’s Hospital, where they have been longtime supporters. This donation supported the NICU, women’s health and trauma innovation areas.The Connaughtons are also dedicated supporters of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston.Mr. Connaughton received a B.S. in Commerce with Distinction from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SMS | 1 | 50% |
| SaaS | 1 | 50% |
| Mobile | 1 | 50% |
| Social | 1 | 50% |
| Software | 1 | 50% |

8 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 1 | 50% |
| Private Equity | 1 | 50% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Lean Agile Transformation | GreenLight Fund is a non-profit organization that helps transform the lives of children, youth and families in high-poverty urban areas. | $4M | Private Equity | Apr 20, 2021 |  |
| Pluto | Pluto is a SaaS company that uses assistive ai to help businesses deepen and sustain relationships with their customers over SMS. They're known for creating light-touch participatory moments that connect the offline and online experience, measurably increasing retention and revenue with an approach of authenticity, respect, and fun. Thefounders are ex-Googlers who met while at MIT, sharing a vision to build software that revives true human connection and facilitates moments of delight in novel ways. Pluto is a Techstars Boston 2019 and MIT Delta V 2018 company.The company was founded on 2018 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. |  | Seed | Jan 01, 2020 |  |

2 of 2 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Bantam Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bantam-group) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Underscore VC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/underscore-vc) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Bain Capital Private Equity

VC Fund · London, United Kingdom

Bain Capital Private Equity is a private equity firm that focuses on a value-added investment approach. Their globally integrated teams leverage deep vertical expertise and partner with management teams around the world to accelerate growth.

3 contacts available at Bain Capital Private Equity.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Adam Koppel | Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/adam-koppel |
| Chris Gordon | Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/chris-gordon-60b4 |
| John Connaughton | Global Head | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/john-p-connaughton |

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### Similar stage
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- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does John Connaughton invest in?

John Connaughton invests primarily in SMS, SaaS and Mobile startups, most often at Seed and Private Equity stage. Most of the 2 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did John Connaughton last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for John Connaughton closed in Apr 2021. Shizune tracks 2 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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