Max Levchin is the founder and CEO of HVF Labs (Hard, Valuable, Fun). See portfolio and contact routes.
Max Levchin is the founder and CEO of HVF Labs (Hard, Valuable, Fun), a San Francisco-based tech incubator he launched in 2011 to solve problems where data offers solutions, following his earlier roles as PayPal’s co-founder and CTO and Google’s VP of Engineering [1][3][5]. His investment thesis, executed primarily through his venture firm SciFi VC, targets fintech, marketplaces, and technical or heavily regulated sectors that demand serious engineering and regulatory navigation, with a focus on data-driven automation of manual processes [3][8]. Levchin typically invests in early-stage companies, often leading rounds, and backs ventures that avoid lifestyle apps or social clones in favor of complex, algorithmic solutions [8]. Notable portfolio companies include Yelp (where he served as early investor and chairman), Affirm (his own buy-now-pay-later company), Opendoor, Wise (formerly TransferWise), and Brex [7][8]. A distinctive point of view in his public writing is the “Hard, Valuable, Fun” framework, which prioritizes businesses tackling difficult, meaningful problems with enjoyable execution, as seen in his 2025 investment in Bland AI to automate phone calls algorithmically [5][
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