ShawSpring seeks to invest globally in high-quality businesses with durable competitive advantages

About Us

ShawSpring Partners is a Boston-based investment firm founded in 2014.

We manage capital on behalf of a select group of global institutions including university and hospital endowments, charitable foundations, family investment offices, and high-net-worth individuals.

ShawSpring is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investment Philosophy

ShawSpring pursues a single, long-term investment approach with the objective of generating high absolute returns and meaningful outperformance of market indices.

Our team focuses its efforts on studying business models globally in the technology, internet, and consumer sectors. We are typically attracted to industry leaders with defensible competitive advantages, resulting in durable unit economics and attractive free cash flow generation.

Given our long-term approach, we place a premium on exceptional managerial character and strong management team alignment with shareholder interests.

Our research efforts culminate in a concentrated portfolio of 5-10 high-growth businesses that we believe can compound capital over a multi-year investment horizon

Team

Dennis Hong

Founder & CEO

Dennis began his investment career at the Yale University Investments Office after graduating from Yale with a B.A. in Ethics, Politics & Economics in 2005. Prior to founding ShawSpring, Dennis worked at Altimeter Capital Management and Matrix Capital Management. Dennis attended Harvard Business School’s MBA Program, but departed after completing his first year to launch ShawSpring.

Paul Lashway

COO & CFO, Partner

Paul spent the majority of his career at Deloitte & Touche LLP in Boston before joining ShawSpring in 2014. A Certified Public Accountant, Paul earned a B.A. in Accounting/Economics from The College of the Holy Cross in 2001.

Michael Lamothe

Head of Research, Partner

Prior to joining ShawSpring in 2014, Mike was an Associate at WindSail Capital Group, an investment firm focused on credit investments within the clean technology sector. Mike received a B.A. from Clark University and graduated cum laude with honors in Economics.

Jay Thorpe

CCO & Director of Operations, Partner

Jay joined ShawSpring Partners in April 2021 after spending the majority of his career at Partners Capital. Jay was most recently a Senior Principal and responsible for the oversight of Partners Capital products and pooled vehicle operations. Prior to Partners Capital, he worked in various operations roles at State Street Bank and Trust and State Street Global Advisors. Jay holds an MBA from Boston College.

John Zhang

Investment Associate

John has served as an intern with the ShawSpring team since June 2018 and joined full-time in July 2019. John graduated from Northeastern University with a double major in Mathematics and Business Administration (concentrating in Finance) and has passed Level 1 of the CFA exam.

Content

Letters

Three-Year Check-In (2017-07-17)

ShawSpring Idea Generation: Online Marketplaces (2017-11-06)

Investment Case Study: Online Marketplaces and Hybrid Internet Business Models (2018-02-09)

A Closer Look at Cognitive Referents (2018-05-15)

Ecosystem Control Part I: Consumer Value Creation (2018-08-31)

Ecosystem Control Part II: Producer Value Creation (2018-11-30)

Ecosystem Control Part III: Value Capture (2019-02-22)

Ecosystem Control Part IV: Ecosystem Opportunities and Threats (2019-05-31)

Five-Year Check-In (2019-08-30)

Network Effects Theory (2019-12-13)

Reflections on Investing During a Crisis (2020-05-15)

A Framework for Understanding Optionality (2020-11-20)

Portfolio Update | Acquiring Ro (2021-03-23)

A Framework for Understanding Optionality—Part II (2021-05-13)

Portfolio Update | Match Group, Square, and IAC / InterActiveCorp, November 2021 (2021-11-23)

Portfolio Update | Ro Series D-1, February 2022 (2022-02-15)

Performance & Portfolio Update | Coupang and Blend Labs, May 2022 (2022-05-06)

Staying the Course, December 2022 (2022-12-02)