Chris Gardner is a partner at Underscore VC, focusing on investing in and building companies. He previously co-founded Paydiant, which was acquired by PayPal, and held executive roles at several other firms.
What Chris can write
Underscore VC writes $500K to $3M checks, larger than 71% of firms in the atlas.
Bars: how many firms report each check band. Highlighted: Underscore VC.Career
- edocs, Inc. · VP of Products and Marketinguntil 2004
- m-Qube · SVP of Products and Marketinguntil 2006
- ExtendMedia · CMO and head of productsuntil 2010
- Paydiant · co-founderuntil 2015
- PayPal · executive2015-?
- Underscore VC · PartnerNow
- Paydiant
Companies founded
Investments named in public bios
Focus
Education
Also at Underscore VC
Partners like Chris
At firms with a similar stage, sector and check size.
Alert me when Underscore VC is active
One email when Chris's firm raises a fund, adds a partner or shows new activity.
Send Mode VC your deck
Raising a pre-seed or seed round? We write $1M to $5M first checks and help founders with distribution. A partner reads every deck.
Send your deckQuestions
Who is Chris Gardner?
Chris Gardner is a partner at Underscore VC, focusing on investing in and building companies. He previously co-founded Paydiant, which was acquired by PayPal, and held executive roles at several other firms.
How much does Chris Gardner invest?
Chris Gardner invests through Underscore VC, which writes checks of $500K to $3M at pre-seed, seed.
How do I pitch Chris Gardner?
Email [email protected], the firm's inbox for founders, and name Chris in the subject. A warm intro from a founder Underscore VC backed works better.
What did Chris Gardner do before Underscore VC?
VP of Products and Marketing at edocs, Inc.; SVP of Products and Marketing at m-Qube; CMO and head of products at ExtendMedia; co-founder at Paydiant; executive at PayPal; Paydiant.
Last updated 2026-10-15. Is this you? Ask for a correction.