Sam Thompson



Sam is an investor and advisor to innovative technology companies. He is a partner at Progress Ventures, an early-stage venture fund that invests in media and marketing technology companies, and a Senior Managing Director at Progress Partners, a boutique investment bank providing guidance to growth stage companies in Media, Marketing, and Enterprise software and technology. 

Previously, Sam has been an entrepreneurial manager with a twelve-year history in media sales, business development and leadership.

Prior to joining Progress Partners, Sam held positions in management of design at Pod Consulting and Procter & Gamble, finance and sales at the Phoenix Media/Communications Group, and client relations at IGN Entertainment, Inc., and Snowball.com. Sam began his career in commercial photography after graduating with a BA from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR, and more recently earned his MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, Magna Cum Laude.

Sam regularly coaches leadership to undergraduate students and guest lectures in classes at the F.W. Olin School at Babson College. He also serves on judge’s panels for venture and business plan competitions at Babson and MIT. When not involved with business matters, Sam enjoys road and mountain biking, tennis, nordic and alpine skiing, stand-up-paddle and surf boarding, as well as photography. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his wife and two children.