John Thornton, Co-Founder

Co-Founder & Partner
Elsewhere Partners

John Thornton has spent his career supporting entrepreneurs. In 1991, John joined Austin Ventures, which became the largest regional capital firm in the United States. He served for four years as the firm’s managing partner and led nearly 50 investments in young software companies that ultimately created over $20 billion in value for investors. In 2017, he co-founded Elsewhere Partners, a growth equity firm focused serving software entrepreneurs who have built their companies without institutional capital. 

In 2008, John founded the Texas Tribune, one of the largest local news organizations established anywhere in the world during the 21st century. In 2018, John co-founded the American Journalism Project, a first-of-its-kind venture philanthropy firm dedicated to starting and growing local nonprofit news organizations. 

John serves on the boards of several private software companies as well as The Texas Tribune and The 19th, a nonprofit news organization reporting at the intersection of gender, politics, and policy. He received his MBA from Stanford and his BA from Trinity University, where he graduated first in his class, was named Distinguished Alumnus of 2015, and is a former trustee. He lives in Austin with his wife and two boys.