Our Team
Blue Ocean Equity Partners brings together a well capitalized group of entrepreneurs, operating executives, advisors and investors with significant experience working with privately held companies. We are passionate about growing businesses and creating value for all stakeholders through an investment of our capital, our time, and our expertise.
Managing Partner
Paul Tu
Paul is the Managing Partner and founder of Blue Ocean Equity Partners and leads the firm's acquisition activities. Paul has over 20 years of operational, entrepreneurial and investment experience. He founded BGI Americas Corporation, a genomics sequencing service provider, grew the company to over $15 million in revenue and a full staff within a year, and collaborated with leading pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, Pfizer, Novartis and Eli Lilly etc., making BGI one of the world's largest genome sequencing service providers.
Prior to BGI Americas, Paul was a Principal at MassVentures, a Boston-based venture capital firm. Over his 10 years at MassVentures, Paul was involved in all aspects of investing and managing investments in privately held companies, including serving on their boards of directors and working closely with their executives to develop strategies, recruit senior management and secure follow-on financing. Paul's previous investments included uTest, the world's largest marketplace for software testing services and winner of the "Most Innovative Company of the Year" by American Business Awards in 2011; Inceptor Inc., a search engine marketing software company acquired by SuperMedia (NASDAQ: SPMD); and Profile Systems, a supply chain management software and service provider acquired by Comergent Technologies Inc. and subsequently acquired by Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T).
Before MassVentures, Paul was Vice President at Eastern Bank Commercial Lending Group and Assistant Vice President at Bank of America (formerly Fleet Bank/Shawmut Bank) Business Banking Group. During his 7 years as a commercial lender, Paul financed and worked closely with a significant number of family owned or privately held businesses. Paul holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.S. from Boston University.
Prior to BGI Americas, Paul was a Principal at MassVentures, a Boston-based venture capital firm. Over his 10 years at MassVentures, Paul was involved in all aspects of investing and managing investments in privately held companies, including serving on their boards of directors and working closely with their executives to develop strategies, recruit senior management and secure follow-on financing. Paul's previous investments included uTest, the world's largest marketplace for software testing services and winner of the "Most Innovative Company of the Year" by American Business Awards in 2011; Inceptor Inc., a search engine marketing software company acquired by SuperMedia (NASDAQ: SPMD); and Profile Systems, a supply chain management software and service provider acquired by Comergent Technologies Inc. and subsequently acquired by Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T).
Before MassVentures, Paul was Vice President at Eastern Bank Commercial Lending Group and Assistant Vice President at Bank of America (formerly Fleet Bank/Shawmut Bank) Business Banking Group. During his 7 years as a commercial lender, Paul financed and worked closely with a significant number of family owned or privately held businesses. Paul holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.S. from Boston University.
