James is a seasoned entrepreneur and startup advisor in Silicon Valley. He is the co-founder and CEO of Evergrow, the world’s first dedicated carbon project finance company. James was previously the founder & CEO of Teleborder, an HR SaaS company for international workers. At Teleborder, James raised $3.5MM from top tier venture capitalists including Khosla Ventures and Y Combinator and later sold the company to TriNet, a publicly traded multi-billion dollar HR company.
At TriNet, James served as Executive Director of Corporate Development, where he led strategic partnerships, special projects, and had P&L responsibility for its Canadian & International business lines.
James began his career as a corporate lawyer with Davis Polk. In 2015, he was named to the Forbes 30 under 30. James obtained a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School and passed the NY Bar at age 20.
James lives with his wife Nancy and dog Alfie in San Francisco, CA.
James Richards
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Connect with James
He’s Done Very Cool Stuff
Successfully founded & exited a venture backed startup to a public company
Part of Y Combinator Summer ’13 cohort
Raised multiple rounds of venture capital from top-tier venture capitalists & angel investors
Advisor, Y Combinator Startup School
Forbes 30 under 30
Started first company at age 22
Some Things You Might Not Know
Reviewed over 500 Y Combinator applications
Lived on 4 continents
On some type of visa for over 20 years
Finished high school at age 16, undergrad at 18, and law school at 20
