# Stephen Russell

> Stephen Russell is a seed investor at Prism Insights Fund backing Software and Travel. See 4 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Prism Insights Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/prism-insights-fund)
- Location: San Francisco, United States
- Total investments: 4
- Last investment: Nov 2018
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesteverussell
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/thesteverussell
- Website: http://www.PrismSkylabs.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/prism

Stephen Russell is a seed investor at Prism Insights Fund in San Francisco focused on Software and Travel. Steve Russell is a Silicon Valley veteran with 15 years of experience in building and managing disruptive content networking, video search, and video intelligence technology companies. Steve is CEO and Founder of Prism Skylabs, the global leader in visually understanding and optimizing offline commerce. Its unique cloud service transforms anyvideo camera into a visual merchandising, auditing, and business intelligence tool that can be accessed from any device. Prior to Prism Skylabs, Steve served as the CEO and Chairman of 3VR, the world's leading video intelligence company, which he founded in 2002. In less than 10 years, Steve took 3VR from a small group of engineers working in his basement to an industry leader serving global customers including Wells Fargo, T-Mobile, GAP, Hilton, and many more of the world's leading brands. Before 3VR, Steve was VP and GM of the Content Networking group at Internet search giant Inktomi. In 2000, Inktomi Acquired eScene Networks, a consumer video management platform company he founded.In addition, he also served as managing partner at USWeb/CKS (later marchFIRST) and President of a pioneering Silicon Valley ISP.Steve is an early investor and advisor to a number of companies across the video intelligence, social media and analytics spaces, including StumbleUpon, LongTail Video, MesmoTV, Qumu, OpenDNS and UberCab, among others. He also sits on the Board of the Center for Secure Information Technologies and is an active speaker and writer, posting frequently on his blog, InHardFocus.com, which explores the many intersections of technology and society. Steve holds 11 patents and was named #8 in the American Venture's Top 40 under 40™ list. He Studied Economics and Computer Science at Stanford University, where he graduated with honors and distinction and was the recipient of the university's Anna Laura Meyers prize for outstanding research.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 2 | 50% |
| Travel | 1 | 25% |
| FinTech | 1 | 25% |
| Consumer | 1 | 25% |
| Security | 1 | 25% |

9 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 1 | 25% |
| Pre-Seed | 1 | 25% |
| Series A | 1 | 25% |
| Funding Round | 1 | 25% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 2 | 50% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 25% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Guardian | Guardian protects and secures privacy and data while using apps and browsing the web on an iOS device. Guardian was founded on their belief that personal privacy and transparency into network-connected devices are fundamental consumer rights. It is based in San Francisco, California. | $850K | Pre-Seed | Nov 01, 2018 |  |
| Globacap | Change the way you think about capital. Private capital markets have been in the technological dark ages. Through our ground breaking technology and deep regulatory knowledge, we’ve changed that. By digitising the security itself, we created automation throughout the entire securities lifecycle from private placement, to register and investormanagement, and secondary liquidity. The Globacap ecosystem doesn’t just keep things in order, it fundamentally changes capital itself. | $800K | Seed | Jun 06, 2018 |  |
| Ring | Ring is an outdoor home security company that provides homeowners a line of preventative outdoor security doorbells and cameras. It is on a mission to reduce crime in neighborhoods and empower consumers by creating a Ring of Security around homes and communities with its suite of smart home security products: Ring Video Doorbell, Ring VideoDoorbell Pro, Ring Stick Up Cam, and the new Ring Floodlight Cam. With these security devices, Ring has created the neighborhood watch for the digital age and continues to prevent burglaries and keep homes around the world safe.The company was established in 2012 and is based in Santa Monica, California. | $4.5M | Series A | Jul 02, 2014 |  |
| BlackJet | BlackJet allows consumers to book seats on private jets in 10 seconds. Guaranteed seat availability. The most affordable private jet solution.BlackJet will have two primary routes available: New York to Los Angeles and New York to South Florida. But soon it will be connecting San Francisco with Los Angeles, New York, and Las Vegas. Otheradditional routes will primarily be based on user demand, Camp told me. | $2.1M |  | Oct 26, 2012 |  |

4 of 4 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [First Round Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/first-round-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [QueensBridge Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/queensbridge-venture-partners) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Acequia Capital (AceCap)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/acequia-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [A-Grade Investments](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/a-grade-investments) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Base Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/base-vc) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Emagen Investment Group Inc.](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/emagen-investment-group-inc) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Prism Insights Fund

VC Fund



1 contacts available at Prism Insights Fund.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stephen Russell | Founder | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/stephen-russell |

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## FAQ

### What does Stephen Russell invest in?

Stephen Russell invests primarily in Software, Travel and FinTech startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 4 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 Stephen Russell last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Stephen Russell closed in Nov 2018. Shizune tracks 4 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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