Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top New York based Founder operating in the Venture Capital space. If you think a Founder is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Fabrice Grinda
Co-Founder of FJ Labs
Fabrice Grinda is among the world’s leading Internet entrepreneurs and investors. He has over $300 million in exits and 150 angel investments. Fabrice has served as CEO for three multinational companies and has an impressive track record as an early investor in Alibaba, Lending Club, Delivery Hero and Brightroll. Fabrice is currently investing in startups and building companies through FJ Labs, which he cofounded with business partner Jose Marin. Fabrice is also co-founder and executive chairman of Beepi, a next generation used car marketplace. Beepi recently raised $60 million in series B funding. Prior to FJ Labs and Beepi, Fabrice was co-founder and co-CEO of OLX, one of the largest websites in the world with over 200 million unique visitors per month. The company operates in 40 countries and has over 1,200 employees. OLX is the largest classifieds site in India, Brazil, Pakistan, Poland, Ukraine, Portugal and many other emerging markets. Before OLX, Fabrice was co-founder and CEO of Zingy, one of the largest wireless media companies in the Americas. Fabrice successfully grew the business to $200 million in sales in four years. Fabrice started his entrepreneurial journey in 1998, at 23, when he co-founded and was CEO of Aucland. Soon after, Aucland grew into one of the largest auction sites in Europe. Before his entrepreneurial endeavors, Fabrice worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. Fabrice holds a BA in Economics from Princeton University. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1996, and was awarded the Halbert White prize, given to the most distinguished economics student, as well as The Wolfe Balleisen memorial prize, awarded for best thesis. In his free time, Fabrice likes to travel the world, kitesurf, play tennis, and blog about his personal and professional life at www.fabricegrinda.com.
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About FJ Labs: FJ Labs is a stage-agnostic investment firm that focuses on marketplaces and consumer facing startups.
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Nasir Jones
Partner and Co-Founder of QueensBridge Venture Partners
Nas, byname of Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, also called Nasty Nas, (born September 14, 1973, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.), American rapper and songwriter who became a dominant voice in 1990s East Coast hip-hop. Nas built a reputation as an expressive chronicler of inner-city street life. Nasir Jones, the son of a jazz musician, grew up in public housing in Queens, New York. He dropped out of school in the eighth grade and searched for a creative outlet, finally settling on hip-hop. His breakthrough came in 1992, when his song “Half Time” (credited to Nasty Nas) appeared on the sound track to the film Zebrahead. Columbia Records soon signed him to a contract. His debut recording as Nas, Illmatic (1994), drew widespread acclaim for its poetic narration of hard-edged inner-city life. The more pop-oriented approach of It Was Written (1996) helped that album reach an even wider audience than its predecessor but ignited a recurring tension in Nas’s career between the appetite of the pop audience and the demands of hip-hop purists. He maintained his commercial appeal with I Am… (1999), although by that time he had also become embroiled in a public feud with fellow rapper Jay-Z over which of the two was the preeminent voice in East Coast hip-hop. The schism inspired Stillmatic (2001), which many fans considered a return to form. The two rappers publicly settled their differences in 2005, and shortly thereafter Nas signed with Def Jam, of which Jay-Z was president at the time. Nas’s penchant for provocation marked Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and an untitled follow-up (2008), while Life Is Good (2012) struck an introspective tone. He also notably collaborated with reggae musician Damian Marley (the youngest son of Bob Marley) on the album Distant Relatives (2010). Nas also made occasional film appearances, notably in Belly (1998), a crime drama in which he starred opposite rapper DMX, and Black Nativity (2013), an adaptation of Langston Hughes’s gospel play.
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About Emagen Investment Group, Inc., QueensBridge Venture Partners, Uncle Sam Loves Me, LLC: QueensBridge Venture Partners invests in technology companies in highly competitive and visible markets.
Lee Fixel
Founder of Addition
Lee Fixel is the founder of Addition, an investment firm focused on early and growth stage companies. Fixel was previously a Partner at Tiger Global Management, LLC, where he was head of the firm’s private equity business. He has backed companies including Flipkart, Stripe, Freshworks, Warby Parker, Peloton, MercadoLibre, Facebook, Spotify and LinkedIn. Fixel earned a B.S. in business administration, finance and accounting from Washington University in St. Louis and is a CFA charterholder. He serves on the board of trustees of his alma mater and is a director of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Fixel was raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
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About Addition: Addition is a venture capital firm that invests in early and growth-stage tech companies.
Robert Nelsen
Co-Founder & Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners
Robert Nelsen is a co-founder and a Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners. He joined ARCH at its founding and played a significant role in the early sourcing, financing and development of more than 100 companies, including nineteen which have reached valuations exceeding $1 billion. His seed and early-stage investments include Illumina (ILMN); Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY); Juno Therapeutics (JUNO); Unity Biotechnology (UBX); Sienna Biopharmaceuticals (SNNA); Vir Biotechnology, Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO); Sage Therapeutics (SAGE); GRAIL, Ikaria; Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (KYTH), Receptos (RCPT); Aviron (AVIR); Denali Therapeutics (DNLI); Rubius Therapeutics, KSQ Therapeutics, Beam Therapeutics, NetBot; Bluebird Bio (BLUE); R2 Technology; XenoPort (XNPT); Caliper Life Sciences (CALP); Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN); Adolor (ADLR); deCODE Genetics; Array BioPharma (ARRY); Editas (EDIT), IDUN Pharmaceuticals; Classmates.com; Hua Medicine; Fate Therapeutics (FATE); WuxiNextCODE; and Everyday Learning Corporation. Mr. Nelsen is a director of Vir Bio, GRAIL, Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Beam Therapeutics, Unity Biotechnology, Denali Therapeutics, Arivale, Syros Pharmaceuticals, and serves as Chairman of Hua Medicine, among others. He previously served as a Trustee of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, the Institute for Systems Biology, and was a director of the National Venture Capital Association. Mr. Nelsen holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.S. from the University of Puget Sound with majors in Economics and Biology.
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About ARCH Venture Partners: ARCH is an early-stage venture firm that focuses on life science discoveries to prevent, detect, and cure disease.
Philippe Laffont
Founder & Portfolio Manager of Coatue
Philippe Laffont is the founder and portfolio manager of Coatue Management. Mr. Laffont graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991 with a B.S. and M.Sc. in Computer Science. He worked as an analyst in management consulting for McKinsey & Co. from 1992 to 1994 in Madrid, Spain. After working as an independent consultant for several years, Mr. Laffont joined Tiger Management LLC as a research analyst in 1996. He focused on telecommunications stocks while at Tiger until he left to found Coatue in 1999.
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About Coatue: Coatue invests in public and private equity markets focusing on the technology, media, and telecommunications industries.
Andrew Adams
Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Oak HC/FT
Andrew joined Oak Investment Partners in 2003. He currently serves as General Partner of Oak Investment Partners, and General Partner of Oak HC/FT. Andrew currently serves on the Boards of Limeade, Maestro Healthcare Technologies, One Medical Group, Radisphere National Radiology Group, and xG Health Solutions. Andrew is also actively involved with Benefitfocus, Independent Living Systems, and Precision for Medicine Holdings. Prior investment activity includes American Esoteric Laboratories (acquired by Sonic Healthcare Limited), Argus Information & Advisory Services (acquired by Verisk Analytics), CareMedic Systems (acquired by Ingenix), CLARiENT (acquired by GE Healthcare), Harbor Payments (acquired by American Express), Health Dialog (acquired by British United Provident Association), iHealth Technologies (merged with Connolly), NetSpend Corporation (acquired by TSYS), PayFlex Systems (acquired by Aetna), PharMEDium Healthcare (acquired by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice) and United BioSource (acquired by Medco Health Solutions). Prior to joining Oak Investment Partners, Andrew was a Senior Associate with Capital Resource Partners, a mezzanine capital firm, where he focused on investments in healthcare and business services companies. Andrew was also a Financial Analyst in the media and communications group of Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. Andrew graduated from Princeton University with a BA in History.
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About Oak HC/FT: Oak HC/FT is a venture and growth equity investment firm that focuses on healthcare information services and financial service technology.
Henry Kravis
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Henry Kravis (New York) co-founded KKR in 1976 and is Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer. He is actively involved in managing the Firm and serves on regional Private Equity Investment and Portfolio Management Committees. Henry Kravis currently serves on the boards of First Data Corporation and ICONIQ Capital, LLC. He also serves as a director, chairman emeritus or trustee of several cultural, professional, and educational institutions, including The Business Council, Claremont McKenna College, Columbia Business School, Mount Sinai Hospital, Partnership for New York City, Partnership Fund for New York City, Rockefeller University, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management. He earned a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College in 1967 and an M.B.A. from the Columbia Business School in 1969. Henry Kravis has more than four decades of experience financing, analyzing, and investing in public and private companies, as well as serving on the boards of a number of KKR portfolio companies.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Partnership Fund for New York City: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Girish Reddy
Member, KKR and Co-Founder, Hedge Funds of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Girish Reddy (New York) is a Member at KKR and Co-Founder of KKR Prisma, which previously conducted business as Prisma Capital Partners LP, and is currently KKR’s customized hedge fund solutions business. Mr. Reddy also oversees the KKR Prisma Investment Committee. Before starting KKR Prisma, Mr. Reddy was a partner and co-head of equity derivatives at Goldman Sachs & Co, based in Europe. Prior to this role, he was the chief investment officer of LOR Associates in Los Angeles. Earlier in his career, he was a senior vice president of portfolio construction and asset allocation at Travelers Investment Management Company, where he specialized in various overlay strategies for the firm using listed futures and options. Mr. Reddy serves on the executive board of the Indian School of Business, on the investment committee of the Cornell University endowment, and is also a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Mr. Reddy holds a B. Technology degree from I.I.T., Madras, as well as an M.Eng and an M.B.A. from Cornell University. He is also a CFA Charterholder.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Joshua Kushner
Founder and Managing Partner of Thrive Capital
Joshua Kushner (June 12, 1985) is an American entrepreneur and businessman. He is a co-founder of Vostu, the largest social gaming company in Brazil, where he serves as Chief Strategic Officer. He is also the founder and Managing Partner of Thrive Capital, an early stage venture capital fund. Kushner also serves as a Principal of Kushner Companies, a diversified real estate investment company, whose holdings include The New York Observer, a weekly Manhattan newspaper. Kushner sits on the board of the Observer Media Group. He is the son of businessman Charles Kushner and brother of businessman Jared Kushner.
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About Oscar Health, Thrive Capital: Thrive Capital is a venture capital investment firm that focuses on building and investing in the software and technology-enabled companies.
Fady Yacoub
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of HOF Capital
Fady Yacoub is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at HOF Capital, where he focuses on companies leveraging frontier technologies to reshape massive industries. At HOF, he led investments in Headspin, Flutterwave, Terra, and others across sectors and stages. Prior to HOF Capital, Fady worked at Digital World Capital, a technology- focused hedge fund, helping the firm expand its investment portfolio in Asia by overseeing the firm’s investment in Baidu and Qihoo 360. Prior to that, he was a Data Analyst at Switch (NYSE:SWCH), which builds and operates the highest-rated colocation data centers in the world. After DWC, Fady syndicated an SPV that invested into the Alibaba IPO (NYSE:BABA). Fady earned both a BS and BA in Business Administration & Psychology from the University of Southern California.
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About HOF Capital: HOF Capital is a global multistage VC firm with $1 billion in AUM that partners with ambitious entrepreneurs from idea to IPO.
Hisham Elhaddad
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of HOF Capital
Hisham Elhaddad is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at HOF Capital, where he focuses on machine learning, deep tech and enterprise software. Hisham works closely with many of HOF’s portfolio companies, including ASAPP, insitro, Myome and Starship Technologies. He also led the firm’s growth-stage investments in UiPath and Uber. Prior to HOF, Hisham was an investor at ERA, an early stage fund and technology accelerator based in New York. He began his career as an EIR at Switch (NYSE:SWCH), which owns and operates the highest rated colocation data centers in the world. Hisham holds a BSc in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Boston University. He is fluent in English, German, and Arabic with a working proficiency in French.
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About HOF Capital: HOF Capital is a global multistage VC firm with $1 billion in AUM that partners with ambitious entrepreneurs from idea to IPO.
Harley Miller
Founder and Managing Partner of Left Lane Capital
Harley Miller joined Insight in 2011. He previously worked as an analyst at Lubert Adler Real Estate Funds in Philadelphia, focusing on acquisitions and asset management. Harley graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business with a BS in Economics, with concentrations in both ‘International Venture Capital & Consumer-Facing Industries’ and ‘Information Management’. During his time at Wharton, Harley launched his first startup, MobileEatz – a mobile food ordering portal targeted at college campuses. Harley is fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese.
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About Left Lane Capital, MobileEatz: Left Lane Capital is a venture capital and early-growth equity firm that invests in high-growth internet and consumer technology businesses.
Alexa von Tobel
Founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital Partners
Alexa von Tobel, CFP is founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital and a New York Times-Bestselling author. Prior to Inspired Capital, Alexa founded LearnVest in 2008 with the goal of helping people make progress on their money. After raising nearly $75 million in venture capital, LearnVest was acquired by Northwestern Mutual in May 2015 in one of the biggest fintech acquisitions of the decade. Following the acquisition, von Tobel joined the management team of Northwestern Mutual as the company’s first-ever Chief Digital Officer, overseeing digital strategy. She later assumed the role of Chief Innovation Officer through which she oversaw Northwestern Mutual’s venture arm. Alexa has appeared on the cover of Forbes Magazine, been interviewed on NPR’s How I Built This and been featured in a wide variety of publications from The New York Times to Vogue. She is a member of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows and an inaugural member of President Obama’s Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship. Alexa has been honored with numerous recognitions including: Fortune’s 40 Under 40, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women, Forbes’ 30 Under 30, Inc. Magazine’s 30 Under 30 and World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader. Originally from Florida, Alexa attended Harvard College and Harvard Business School before settling in New York City where she currently resides with her husband, Cliff Ryan, and their three children.
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About Inspired Capital Partners: Inspired Capital Partners is an early-stage technology venture fund focused on supporting the next wave of exceptional entrepreneurs.
Kevin Ryan
Founder & CEO of AlleyCorp
Kevin Ryan is the chairman and founder of MongoDB, Zola, Workframe, Nomad Health, CoEdition, and Truebird. He is one of the leading Internet entrepreneurs in New York, having founded and is Chairman of several businesses, including MongoDB, Zola, Workframe and Nomad Health. Previously he founded and was Chairman of Business Insider and GILT. Combined, these companies have raised more than $700 million in venture capital funding and currently employ almost 2,000 people. Previously, Kevin helped build DoubleClick from 1996 to 2005, first as President and later as CEO. He led DoubleClick’s growth from a 20-person startup to a publicly-traded global leader with over 1,500 employees. In 2013, Kevin was named one of “The 100 Most Influential New Yorkers of the Past 25 Years” by the Observer. Kevin is currently founder and Chairman of AlleyCorp, a venture studio and fund based in New York City. Aside from his professional responsibilities, Kevin serves on the board of Mercy Corps, is Vice Chairman of The Partnership for New York City, Chairman of the Partnership for New York City’s Innovation Council, is a member of the CFR Committee on Foreign Affairs, is on the Board of TECH:NYC and in Director Emeritus for Human Right Watch. He previously served on the boards of Yale Corporation, INSEAD, The Trust for Governors Island, the Direct Marketing Association, The Ad Council, HotJobs and the advisory board of Doctors Without Borders. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from INSEAD.
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About AlleyCorp, CoEdition, Department Studios, Gilt City, Kontor Inc, Nomad Health, Workframe, Zola: AlleyCorp is an early stage venture fund and incubator that founds and funds transformative companies, primarily in New York.
Jordan Nof
Co-Founder, Managing Partner of Tusk Venture Partners
Jordan Nof is a Co-founder and Managing Partner at Tusk Venture Partners L.P. and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. He has led many of the firm’s investments including Lemonade, Bird, Coinbase, Alma, Sunday, and Wheel. He currently serves on the board of directors of Wheel, Alma, and Sunday. Prior to Tusk Venture Partners, Jordan was a Director at Blackstone, where he focused on the development of the firm’s corporate venture capital portfolio. During that time, Jordan focused on investing in early-stage technology companies that could accelerate operations across Blackstone and the firm’s underlying portfolio companies. Before joining Blackstone, Jordan was part of the institutional investment management division at AllianceBernstein. During that time, he worked with many of the firm’s largest global institutional sub-advisory relationships. Jordan received an M.B.A. from Rollins Graduate School of Business and is a graduate of Florida State University where he received a B.S. in Finance. He is based out of the firm’s New York office.
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About Tusk Venture Partners: Tusk Venture Partners invests in early-stage technology startups operating in highly-regulated markets.
Alex Zubillaga
Founder of 14W
Alex Zubillaga is the founder of 14W, a New York-based, venture capital firm focused on consumer Mobile, Web, E-commerce, CPG, and Media. Previously, Alex was Executive Vice President, Digital Strategy and Business Development at Warner Music Group (WMG). Prior to WMG, Alex founded Net Uno, a leading Venezuelan cable television and broadband operator where he served as CEO and Chairman.
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About 14W: 14W is a venture capital firm specializing in consumer internet, marketplace, ecommerce, CPG, and media.
Michael Chetrit
Co-Founder of Chetrit Ventures
Michael Chetrit is the Co-Founder at Chetrit Ventures.
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About Chetrit Ventures, ChetritGroup: is a family operated venture firm focused on early and growth-stage investments.
Andrew Hunt
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Elephant
Andrew Hunt is a Co-Founder and Director at Warby Parker. He is also Co-Founder and Partner at Elephant, a venture capital firm focused on the enterprise software, consumer internet and mobile markets. Andy has studied eyewear design in more than 40 countries. Rumors that he conceived the idea for Warby Parker while fasting at a temple in the jungle city of Angkor Wat are only somewhat misleading. After working in finance and healthcare, Andy was convinced that there had to be a way to deliver top-quality eyewear for less.
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About Elephant, Warby Parker: Elephant is a venture capital firm focused on the enterprise software, consumer internet, and mobile markets.
Wes Edens
Co-Founder & Chairman of Fortress Investment Group
Chairman and Founder at Fortress Investment Group.
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About Aston Villa, Fortress Investment Group, Milwaukee Bucks Inc., New Fortress Energy: Fortress is an investment management firm that manages alternative assets in private equity, liquid hedge funds, and credit funds.
Howard Morgan
Co-Founder & Special Advisor of First Round Capital
Howard Morgan is currently the Chairman of B Capital. He co-founded First Round Capital with Josh Kopelman as the first professional Seed Stage Fund, where he remains Senior Advisor. Prior to First Round, Howard helped found Idealab with Bill Gross, and served as President of Renaissance Technologies, which he co-founded with Jim Simons. Prior to his move into the business of technology, Howard served as a professor at the Wharton School and the Moore School, both at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as at Cornell University. He is also an Executive Fellow at UC Berkeley. Howard’s research on user interface technology and the optimization of computer networks was critical to bringing the ARPAnet to Philadelphia in the 1970s. Through this early internet participation, he helped corporate and government agencies use technology to improve the efficiency of both large and small organizations. He also has deep experience with very large databases, and served as the first Editor of the ACM Transactions on Database Systems Journal. Throughout his career, Howard has sought out great people and nurtured them so that they could realize their dreams. His mentees have included both PhD students researching a key topic, and early stage entrepreneurs building companies and taking them from seed stage through initial public offerings. He currently serves as a Director of Idealab, and he is on the board of several non-profits including Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories and Math For America. He has also served on a number of public company Boards, including Franklin Electronic Publishers and Internet Brands, Inc. He was CEO of Kentek and Franklin during various turnover or transitional periods and in 1997 he was named Delaware Valley Entrepreneur of the Year. Howard is a respected author and a frequent speaker at major industry conferences. Howard received a PhD in Operations Research from Cornell University in 1968, and a BS in Physics from City College of the City University of New York in 1965.
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About Arca Group Inc, Arca Group Inc, B Capital Group, First Round Capital, Gust, Nacre Capital: First Round is a venture capital firm that specializes in providing seed-stage funding to technology companies.
Steve Sarracino
Founder and Partner of Activant Capital
Steven Sarracino is the founder of Activant Capital. He has been investing in exciting growth businesses for over a decade. Over his career, Steve has invested more than $2 billion of equity across a broad range of technology companies. Prior to founding Activant, Steve founded a consulting firm focused on commerce technology, where he advised, invested in, and was a member of the board of directors of some of the world’s leading commerce technology companies including hybris and iCongo. Previously Steve helped open the technology investing office at American Capital, Ltd. in Palo Alto, CA. Steve also worked at McKinsey & Co. in their Hong Kong office. He began his career in mergers and acquisitions at Robertson Stephens in San Francisco, CA. Steve has an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He attended Southern Methodist University for his undergraduate degree, where he received a BBA in Finance with a minor in History.
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About Activant Capital: Activant is a global investment firm that partners with high-growth companies that are transforming commerce.
Chris Burch
Founder & CEO of Burch Creative Capital
Christopher Burch is Founder and CEO of Burch Creative Capital. Mr. Burch is an active investor in a variety of businesses spanning a wide range of industries and is the co-founder of the luxury fashion brand, Tory Burch. Mr. Burch has always been devoted to the power of branding, and currently applies his keen sense of marketing and sales to business interests spanning apparel, financial services, hospitality, technology and consumer products.
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About Burch Creative Capital, Nihi Sumba Island: Burch Creative Capital is a Creative Capital Firm with a decidedly different approach to creating value.
Paul Sethi
Co-Founder & Managing Partner of 2048 Ventures
Paul Sethi is a co-founder and Managing Partner at [2048 Ventures](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/2048-ventures). For 7+ years prior to 2048 Ventures, Paul was CEO of [Redbooks](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/redbooks), leading sales data and intelligence platform for the marketing industry (acq. by List Partners – May 2018). He also co-founded [Robuzz](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/robuzz-news), an advanced ML/NLP practice, with a real-time alerts and data extraction engine built for enterprise. Paul has been a first-check angel for over a decade, including in Flexport, SeatGeek, Transfix, Knotel and LearnVest. He serves as Advisor to Transfix and OpenFortune, and graduated with honors from Wharton (UPenn) and Columbia. Early in his career, he was a public company investor focused on the tech sector.
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About 2048 Ventures: 2048 Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm.
Alex Iskold
Co-Founder & Managing Partner of 2048 Ventures
Alex Iskold is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at [2048 Ventures](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/2048-ventures). Prior to 2048, Alex spent 5 years at [Techstars](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/techstars) as the Managing Director of its NYC program, where he invested in and helped over 100 startups. Alex was previously the founder and CEO of Info Lab (acquired by IBM), founder and CEO of GetGlue (backed by [Union Square Ventures](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/union-square-ventures), [RRE Ventures](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/rre-ventures), [TimeWarner Investments](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/time-warner-investments)), Chief Architect of distributed computing startup DataSynapse, and a software engineer at Goldman Sachs, D.E. Shaw and Thinkmap. Alex also taught an award-winning undergraduate computer science class at NYU. He holds a B.S. in Math with Honors from Lehigh University and M.S. in Computer Science from NYU. Alex writes one of the top startup blogs called Startup Hacks.
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About 2048 Ventures: 2048 Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm.
Colin Beirne
Founder and Partner of Two Sigma Ventures
Colin Beirne is the founder and partner at Two Sigma. He joined Two Sigma in 2005 to focus on corporate strategy and business development and helped orchestrate the growth of the company’s primary business lines and manage key corporate partnerships. In 2007, he began leading orthogonal investments for the company, in areas including renewable energy, real estate, and real assets. In 2012, Colin, along with the rest of the Two Sigma Ventures leadership and Two Sigma founders, began conceptualizing and building the initiative that became Two Sigma Ventures. A Bay Area native, Colin fondly recalls summer internships in the late 90s dot-com boom, and first was drawn to New York City to work at Doubleclick. He also did a short stint as a technology-focused investment banker. Colin graduated with a dual B.A. in Economics and Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought from Amherst College. He is on the Board of Directors of Harlem Prep Charter School.
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About Two Sigma, Two Sigma Ventures: Two Sigma Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in companies run by highly driven people.
Pierre F. Lapeyre, Jr.
Founder & Senior Managing Director of Riverstone Holdings
Prior to founding Riverstone, Mr. Lapeyre was a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs in its Global Energy & Power Group. Mr. Lapeyre joined Goldman Sachs in 1986 and spent his 14-year investment banking career exclusively focused on energy and power, particularly the midstream/pipeline and oil service sectors. Mr. Lapeyre’s responsibilities included client coverage and leading the execution of a wide variety of M&A, IPO, strategic advisory and capital markets financings for clients across all sectors of the industry. Mr. Lapeyre received his B.S. in finance/economics from the University of Kentucky and his M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Lapeyre serves on the Boards of Directors of Dynamic Industries, Enduro, Enduro II, EP Energy, Fieldwood, Legend, Meritage II, Quorum Business Solutions, Sage Midstream, Three Rivers II, and Venado. He also serves on the Board of Visitors of the MD Anderson Cancer Center and is a Trustee of The Convent of The Sacred Heart.
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About Riverstone Holdings: River Stone is a private investment firm founded in 2000.
David Leuschen
Founder of Riverstone Holdings
David Leuschen serves as the Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Riverstone Holdings. Before Riverstone, Leuschen was a Partner and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and the founder and head of the Goldman Sachs Global Energy and Power Group. Leuschen was named one of the Top 50 Dealmakers by Forbes in 2013. Leuschen also owns Switchback Ranch, a ranching business that has a top commercial beef business and a dude ranching company. Leuschen spends as much time as possible on the ranch, which is nestled between the North Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and Montana. Leuschen is heavily involved in philanthropic endeavors. He founded the David M. Leuschen Charitable Foundation in 1998, which supports local ranching communities. Leuschen is also an active alumnus of his alma mater, Dartmouth College. He serves as a member of the executive committee and board of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation. Outside of business, Leuschen is passionate about skiing and sailing. Skiing has been a part of nearly all of his life. As a child, David learned how to ski; this later turned into one of the reasons he wanted to attend Dartmouth. David has continued with this passion as the co-owner of The Red Lodge International Summer Ski Race Camp, which provides skiing instruction ranging from high school to national team level skiers. In more recent years, Leuschen has grown a love for sailing and sailboat racing. David has won races at Block Island Race Week, Key West Race Week, the 2017 Rolex Maxi Worlds, and the Wally Championship, among many others. Much like skiing shaped him, David believes in the importance of sailing for children, as it builds character and community. David is looking to take a more active role in sailing community programs in the future.
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About Riverstone Holdings: River Stone is a private investment firm founded in 2000.
David Tisch
Founder & Managing Partner of BoxGroup
David Tisch is the Managing Partner of BoxGroup, a New York City-based early stage investment fund. BoxGroup is an investor in over 200 seed-stage companies, including Vine, Blue Apron, Sunrise, Warby Parker, Harry’s, Oscar, Behance, Handy and more. David is also the co-founder and Chairman of Spring, a mobile marketplace where customers shop directly within the app from a curated community of brands. Spring was named by Apple as one of the Best Apps of 2014. In 2014, David was named Head of Startup Studio at Cornell Tech, the University’s New York City-based graduate campus focused on digital technologies and the information economy. He is also Entrepreneur in Residence for Wharton’s Entrepreneurship Program. David is the co-founder of TechStars NYC and has served on numerous boards, including Mayor Bloomberg’s Advisory Council on Technology, the Investor Board of Venture for America, and the Entrepreneurship board at NYU. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and New York University School of Law, and currently lives in New York City
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About BoxGroup, Cornell Tech, Techstars: BoxGroup is an early-stage investment fund that invests in technology companies.
Amy Nauiokas
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Anthemis Group
Amy Nauiokas is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Anthemis Group.
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About Anthemis Group: Anthemis Group is a global platform that cultivates change in the financial system by investing in, growing, and sustaining businesses.
Ion Yadigaroglu
Co-Founder & Managing Principal of Direct Investments of Capricorn Investment Group
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About Capricorn Investment Group: Capricorn Investment Group invests in the public equity, fixed income, private equity, and real assets markets.
Benjamin Levin
Founder, Co-CEO of Level Equity Management
Ben Levin co-founded Level Equity and is a partner and the Co-CEO of Level Equity Management, LLC.
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About Level Equity Management: Level Equity Management is a growth equity firm that focuses on providing capital to software and internet companies.
Maisha Leek
Operating Partner and Head of Founder & Studio Ops of Human Ventures
Maisha Leek is chief of staff at United Masters and Translation. Prior to Translation, she served as the National Vice President, Government Relations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America where she led a team advocating for 4 million youth across the country, including on military installations and Native lands. Before BGCA, she served as senior advisor to the President of Howard University, and chief of staff to a senior member of Congress. She also led a team in establishing the Equity and Excellence Commission at the U.S. Department of Education . During the Bush Administration, she was appointed to serve as special assistant to the Vice Chair of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Maisha is a trustee of Trinity College – Washington DC and a member of the Corporate Advisory Council of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
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About Human Ventures: Human Ventures is a business creation platform, comprised of a venture fund, studio and enterprise agency.
Joe Marchese
Co-Founder of Human Ventures
Joe Marchese is the Executive Chairman and lead investor in Human Ventures. Joe serves as president of Advanced Advertising Products at Fox Networks Group, where he leads operations in non-linear advertising products and services for 21st Century Fox’s global portfolio of channels. Joe was appointed to his current position after the company he founded, true[X], was acquired by 21st Century Fox in 2015. true[X], the leader in engagement advertising technologies, is now a part of the Advanced Advertising Products division. Joe is also the co-founder and Chairman of the Human company, Reserve. Prior to true[X], Joe spent several years as a television executive at the cable network Fuse TV, where, as SVP of Digital and Advertising. Joe currently serves on the board of trustees of the Paley Center for Media and the Board of Directors of the Tribeca Film Institute. Mr. Marchese holds a B.A. in Economics and Finance from Bentley University. He lives in New York with his wife Christie and their dog
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About Attention Capital, Casa Komos Beverage Group, Human Ventures: Human Ventures is a business creation platform, comprised of a venture fund, studio and enterprise agency.
Amish Jani
Founder & Partner of FirstMark
Amish Jani is a founder and Managing Director of FirstMark and has been an active venture capitalist for nearly 20 years. He invests broadly across the cloud and Internet landscape, including SaaS applications, ecommerce, infrastructure and more. Amish has been recognized by CB Insights and the New York Times as a Top 100 Venture Capitalist globally. Amish has invested in industry-defining companies that include Shopify (NYSE: SHOP), InVision, Pendo, Starry, Tracelink, Frame.io, Guru, Bluecore, IMImobile (LSE: IMO), Schoology (acquired by PowerSchool), Boomi (acquired by Dell), Aveksa (acquired by EMC), and many more. Prior to founding FirstMark, Amish served as a Partner with Pequot Ventures. Amish holds both a B.S. and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
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About FirstMark: FirstMark Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with exceptional entrepreneurs.
Rick Heitzmann
Founder, Partner, and Managing Director of FirstMark
Rick Heitzmann is a Founder and Managing Director at FirstMark Capital. Mr. Heitzmann focuses on investments in emerging media, advertising, data, and information services. Rick has led or co-led many investments in market leaders in commerce (StubHub, acquired by eBay), gaming (Riot Games, acquired by Tencent), data services (First Advantage, NASDAQ: FADV; acquired by First American), advertising technology (Tapad), media (Pinterest), and more. Previously, Rick was a Managing Director at Pequot Ventures, and a founding member of the senior management team at First Advantage (NASDAQ: FADV). At US Search, Rick, as the Senior Vice President of corporate development and member of the Board of Directors, led the public company turnaround. Mr. Heitzmann graduated from Georgetown University with a B.S. in Business Administration and earned his M.B.A. from The Harvard Business School. Rick sits on the Board of Directors of Pinterest, Dashlane, Omaze, and Hubble Contacts among others. Rick is also on the Board of Directors of the New York Venture Capital Association.
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About FirstMark: FirstMark Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with exceptional entrepreneurs.
Daniel S. Loeb
Founder of Third Point Ventures
Daniel Loeb founded Third Point LLC, a $17 billion asset management firm headquartered in New York, in 1995. He leads portfolio management, risk management and research activities. Before founding Third Point, Daniel Loeb worked on both the buy and the sell sides for over a decade, gaining dedicated experience in distressed debt, high-yield bond sales, risk arbitrage and private investments. Immediately before starting Third Point, he was Vice-President of high-yield bond sales at Citigroup. Previously, Daniel Loeb was a Senior Vice-President in the distressed debt department at Jefferies & Co., where he worked as a bankruptcy analyst, bank loan trader and distressed securities salesman. Before Jefferies, Daniel was a risk arbitrage Analyst at Lafer Equity Investors. He began his career as an Associate in private equity at Warburg Pincus. Dan Loeb is a Trustee of the United States Olympic Committee, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Students First New York, and Mt Sinai Hospital, where he established the Ronald M. Loeb Center for the study of Alzheimer’s Disease in memory of his late father. He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Daniel Loeb is also the Chairman of the Board of Success Academies Charter Schools. Dan Loeb launched and has funded the Human Rights Campaign’s initiative to protect LGBT rights globally in the face of increasing discrimination. Daniel Loeb graduated from Columbia University with an A.B. in economics in 1983. He has endowed the Daniel S. Loeb Scholarship for undergraduate study there and received Columbia’s John Jay Award for distinguished professional achievement
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About Third Point Ventures: Third Point Ventures is an investment firm that focuses on enterprise, fintech, mobile, and healthcare innovation.
Aryeh Bourkoff
Founder & CEO of LionTree
Mr. Bourkoff is the founder and CEO of LionTree LLC, an independent investment bank. He previously served as Vice Chairman and Head of Americas Investment Banking at UBS, which he joined in 1999. He was also a member of the UBS Investment Banking Executive Committee. Other positions Mr. Bourkoff held within UBS include Joint Global Head of Telecom, Media, and Technology Investment Banking and Head of the Media and Communications Research Group. Before joining UBS, he served as a high-yield research analyst at CIBC World Markets from 1997-99 and Smith Barney from 1995-97. Mr. Bourkoff is a director on the boards of select private companies. He is also a chair of the entertainment, media, and communications division of the UJA-Federation of New York and a member of its digital media executive committee; a member of the New York Philanthropic Advisory Board of UNICEF; a trustee of the Foundation Fighting Blindness; and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. – See more at: http://www.tribecadisruptiveinnovationawards.com/aryeh-bourkoff-founder-and-ceo-liontree-llc/#sthash.YRJMs0Ws.dpuf
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About LionTree: LionTree Partners is a service provider and investment banking fund that invests in media, technology, and telecommunication.
Roger Ehrenberg
Founder & Managing Partner of IA Ventures
Roger Ehrenberg is the founder and Managing Partner of IA Ventures, a firm that invests in companies creating competitive advantage through data.
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About IA Ventures, Miami Marlins: IA Ventures is a venture capital firm that specializes in seed-stage and early-stage investments in the fintech sector.
David Drake
Founder and Chairman of LDJ Capital
David Drake is the Chairman of LDJ Capital, a multi-family office; Victoria Partners, a 300 family office network based in London; LDJ Real Estate Group and Drake Hospitality Group; and The Soho Loft Media Group with divisions Victoria Global Communications, Times Impact Publications, and The Soho Loft Conferences. Mr. Drake has been involved in TMT (technology, media, telecoms), realty, hospitality, clean tech, energy and social impact investments for more than 20 years. He is an advocate of innovative investing in early-stage equity, capital formation policies and developments globally, and the US JOBS Act which he lobbied for in the US Congress and the EU Commission. Because of his leading work in this space, he represented the US Commerce Department at the EU Commission in Brussels and Rome in 2012 and was invited to the White House Champions of Change ceremony in Washington, D.C. and as a speaker at the UK Parliament in 2013. His investment, The Soho Loft Media Group, produces and sponsors over 200 global conferences annually and his articles are syndicated in over 100 publications. One such event was April 2013 for the institutional media leader Thomson Reuters, with speakers from Nasdaq, NYSE, KKR and Carlyle Group. He advances financial innovation through his work as an international speaker and writer. He has spoken in top universities like Cambridge, NYU, Cornell, Columbia, and writes regularly for major publications like WSJ, Forbes, Huffington Post, Thomson Reuters. He is the co-author of the books Planet Entrepreneur and Crowdfunding and Other Animals and is the author of the upcoming books The Crowdfunding Economy and LIFEE: Life Instructions for Entrepreneurs and Executives. Previously, Mr. Drake has acted as general partner in fund-of-funds, realty funds, venture capital funds, seed funds and hedge funds. Mr. Drake’s holdings have media partnership with the European Business Angel Network, European Venture Philanthropy Association and Angel Capital Association of North America. He sits on 4 angel networks and has co-founded two angel networks. His focus today is to take on board advisory positions at companies, angel networks and venture funds, and to guide them on international regulations, corporate strategy and fund structures, with emphasis on the growing trend of online investment automation for retail and angel investors. Privately, Mr. Drake has hosted the Harvard Business Club of NY at his home, produced Carnegie Hall concerts and raised funds for the charities Trail Blazers and Best Buddies for many years. Today he is a board director for the New York City Opera Renaissance, London-based UBS Charity of the Year ARCHIVE Global, and a board advisor for The Washington Ballet. He is a board director also of the Carnegie Hall Einhorn Oratorio Project in honor of the Ukraine MH17 flight victims which allows him to work and advise US Ambassadors from, but not limited to, Dominica, Ukraine, Marshall Islands, Australia, Canada and Sweden. Born in Sweden and fluent in six languages, Mr. Drake has an MBA in Finance and an MA in International Law and Economics from George Washington University, where he was awarded the Wallenberg Scholarship for academic merit.
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About LDJ Capital, Wonder Transmedia: LDJ Capital multi-family office that primarily invests in social media engagements, content aggregation, and advertising platforms.
Nicholas Chirls
Founder & Partner of Notation Capital
Nick manages seed investing for betaworks. Previously, he worked at HappyFunCorp, lived in China, and briefly traded commercial jet engines at Lehman Brothers.
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About Notation Capital: Notation Capital is a pre-seed venture capital firm that work with technical founding teams.
Alex Lines
Founder & Partner of Notation Capital
Alex Lines Focuses on hard tech, infrastructure, and product at Notation. Alex is a software engineer with experience in distributed systems and scalability. He has been building products and companies in NY for over 10 years.
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About Notation Capital: Notation Capital is a pre-seed venture capital firm that work with technical founding teams.
Seth Harrison
Founder & Managing Partner of Apple Tree Partners
Seth Harrison is the managing partner of Apple Tree Partners and serves as Executive Chairman of Braeburn Pharmaceuticals. He has invested in life sciences since 1991. Seth has served as founding investor, acting CEO or chairman of numerous portfolio companies. He is currently also Chairman of Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Chairman of Aileron Therapeutics and Deputy Chairman of Heartware International, all companies he founded. Prior to founding ATP, Seth was a general partner at Oak Investment Partners and earlier was a venture partner at Sevin Rosen Funds. His prior investments include: ArQule, Coelacanth, Cyrano Sciences, Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, Informed Access, SGX Pharmaceuticals, Ultracision and ViroPharma. Seth received an A.B. from Princeton University, an MD and MBA both from Columbia University and completed a surgery internship at the Presbyterian Hospital in the City of New York. From 2002 – 2010 he served on the board of the International Partnership for Microbicides, a Rockefeller Foundation/Gates Foundation sponsored public-private partnership engaged in the development of anti-HIV microbicides.
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About Apple Tree Partners: Apple Tree Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in pharmaceuticals, biotech, medtech, and healthcare services.
Chip Meakem
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Tribeca Venture Partners
Chip Meakem is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Tribeca Venture Partners. Chip has been operating and investing in NYC companies since 1996 and has been a Founder, Operating Executive or Lead Investor of several leading NYC companies including 24/7 Media, N2K, Massive Inc. and AppNexus. Prior to co-founding Tribeca Venture Partners in October 2011, Chip was an active NYC VC at both Kodiak Venture Partners and DFJ Gotham. Chip serves on several Boards of Directors and manages investments including AppNexus, Live Gamer, Maxwell Health, LeadiD, BetterCloud, Backtrace I/O and Clypd. Chip’s previous investments include ideeli (acquired by Groupon); Ingenio (acquired by AT&T); Massive Inc. (acquired by Microsoft); Pantero (acquired by Progress Software) Q-Link Technologies (acquired by Adobe Systems); and TRA Global (acquired by Tivo). Chip was also a personal seed investor in FreeMarkets Inc., which made its IPO in December 1999 and peaked at $12B market cap. Before moving to the Venture side, Chip was a founding employee at Interactive Imaginations where he started the Commonwealth Network (launched in Q1, 1996), one of the Internet’s first advertising networks, building it from a concept to top 10 media property. Interactive Imaginations eventually became 24/7 Media and went public in 1998. Chip also worked at N2k and was responsible for strategic distribution partnerships for the leading music e-tailer. Chip holds a B.A. from Cornell University, where he was a member of the varsity basketball team, and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
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About Tribeca Venture Partners: TVP is a venture capital firm that invests in digital media, e-commerce, fintech, education, ad tech, and mobile apps sectors.
Robert F. Agostinelli
Founder & Partner of Agostinelli Capital
Robert Frank Agostinelli (born May 21, 1953) is an Italian American self-made billionaire investor who is the chairman and co-founder of private equity firm Rhone Group. According to Forbes Agostinelli has a net worth of $1.0 billion as of March 2012 ranking him at #416 among American billionaires. In correlation, The Sunday Times Rich List and Financial News reported Agostinelli’s net worth at £630 million as of 2012 ranking him at #124 among the richest people in the United Kingdom. Early Life and Education Agostinelli was born to Italian immigrant parents outside of Rochester, New York and attended the Aquinas Institute in suburban Rochester. He went on to obtain his BA from St. John Fisher College in 1976 and then attended Columbia University where he received his MBA and graduated in 1981 with highest honors and is on the Alumni Board. Agostinelli is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Career Agostinelli began his career in financial services at the Investment Bank Jacob Rothschild from 1981-1982 and then joined Goldman Sachs where he worked for five years and founded the firm’s international mergers and acquisitions business in London. Agostinelli then went on to become a senior partner at Lazard Freres in New York from 1987 to 1995. After which point Agostinelli together with partner Steven Langman then went on to start their own firm, the Rhone Group where he continues to work today. Politics and Philanthropy Agostinelli is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a major supporter of Zionist and neoconservative causes. He is one of the Founding Members of the Friends of Israel Initiative (FII). In 2008 Agostinelli provided substantial funding to the Presidential Campaigns of John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. Under pressure from the French media, president Nicolas Sarkozy admitted to Le Monde in 2007 that Agostinelli had paid the rent on a luxury villa for him during his controversial 2006 holiday to the United States. Agostinelli is often seen jogging with Sarkozy in various places around the world. He is also a senior member of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation led by The American Patriots Campaign Cabinet. He is also a Senior Board Director on the American Italian Cancer Foundation. Agostinelli is also known for regularly writing articles in the Wall Street Journal on various controversial political, economic and social issues. As well as supporting The American Jewish Committee Magazine. The Last Tycoons In William D. Cohan’s best selling book ‘The Last Tycoons’: The Secret History of Lazard Freres & Co. Agostinelli is described as: “A suave, sophisticated, energetic international financier with extravagant tastes and slicked-back jet-black hair, who pretended to speak Italian but could not.” Cohan mentions how Agostinelli played a pivotal role in building Lazard, for the most part Agostinelli is critiqued. In Chapter 14, entitled It’s A White Man’s World Agostinelli is further portrayed: “Bohner was also said to have dated the flamboyant Agostinelli, who had taken to having a gourmet chef prepare his meals for his overseas first-class flights and having Frette sheets FedExed to his hotel rooms in advance of his arrival. – His American Express bills were said to be on the order of $200,000 a month.”
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About Agostinelli Capital: Agostinelli Capital is a single family office.
Josh Cohen
Founder & Partner of City Light Capital
JOSH COHEN IS ON A MISSION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE VIA CAPITALISM. HE BELIEVES THAT HOW YOU MAKE MONEY (AND WHAT YOU DO WITH IT ONCE YOU HAVE IT) MATTERS AND WANTS TO HELP IMPROVE THE WORLD, NOW. When considering how he wanted to be remembered, Josh turned to impact investing before it had a name, combining his experience as a venture capitalist, technology company executive, and family office CIO with his values. Thus, the idea for City Light was born: partnering with experienced entrepreneurs using technology to generate significant financial returns while having a measurable social impact. As a father of three boys, Josh’s sense of urgency to address issues such as education for underserved communities, tackling the global climate crises and keeping families safe has only continued to grow. It is this commitment that makes his work more than a passion, but a calling. Prior to founding City Light, Josh led direct investments for a Greenwich CT-based family office, worked in venture capital for a family office based in St. Louis, was a Partner in a private debt fund, and was the Director of Business Development for Mobility Electronics (NASDAQ: IGOI). He began his career as an investment banker in the technology group of Deutsche Banc Alex Brown in San Francisco. Josh co-founded (and is a Board member of) The ImPact, a member network whose mission is to inspire families to make impact investments more effectively. In addition, he is on the investment committee for a family office based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Josh sits on the Board of Directors for Ready Responders and is an advisor to OhmConnect, Trilogy, and Straighterline. Josh previously held advisory roles with 2U (Nasdaq: TWOU), Shotspotter (Nasdaq: SSTI) and Practice (Acquired by Instructure: INST). He is a frequent speaker on the topic of impact investing.
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About City Light Capital: City Light is a venture capital firm that invest in impactful companies in the areas of education, safety and care, and the environment.
Joe Apprendi
Founder & General Partner of Revel Partners
Joe Apprendi is the Founder and General Partner of Revel Partners.
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About Revel Partners: Revel Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on B2B SaaS and marketplaces.
Chris Young
Co-Founder & General Partner of Revel Partners
Chris, a serial entrepreneur and 10-year veteran of the video advertising space, is the Chairman & CEO of Digital Broadcasting Group (DBG), one of the top online video distribution networks that also specializes in the production and distribution of original branded video content across the Web and other emerging platforms. As CEO, Chris oversees the strategic direction and management of DBG’s core business divisions. Under Chris’ leadership, The DBG Video Network has emerged as a comScore-rated top 10 video ad network with 83 million uniques accumulated across 2,600 web properties. Since 2007, DBG has been on the forefront of enabling big-name brands like Ford, Diet Coke, HP, Sprint, Wal-Mart Unilever and Kimberly-Clark among others to advance their brands through branded entertainment and custom video programming. Prior to starting DBG in 2007, Chris Young co-founded online video advertising and management solutions company Klipmart in 1999 and grew it into the nation’s largest video rich media vendor taking advertiser’s TV commercials and putting them online. In 2006, under Chris’ leadership, Klipmart was subsequently sold to now Google-owned DoubleClick. Chris assumed the role of Executive Vice President of Rich Media at DoubleClick, where he worked to accelerate innovation in digital video and emerging advertising formats. Chris began his career as an investment banker at Citibank before founding his first company.
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About Revel Partners, Wider Wake Networks: Revel Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on B2B SaaS and marketplaces.
Aaron Block
Co-Founder, Managing Partner of MetaProp
Aaron is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of MetaProp, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on the real estate technology (“PropTech”) industry. Founded in 2015, MetaProp’s investment team has invested in 100+ technology companies across the real estate value chain. The firm manages multiple investment funds for both financial and strategic real estate investors representing a pilot- and test-ready sandbox of 15+ billion square feet across every real estate asset type and global market. Aaron served as Chairman of Chicago-based BayRu, LLC, the US-Russia ecommerce shopping and shipping specialist and eBay.com’s exclusive drop shipping partner for Russia/CIS consumers. After Aaron joined the company in 2010 as an investor and CEO, BayRu grew to become the 8th largest international online retailer in Russia. In 2013, BayRu was #11 on the Inc5000 “Top 100 Retail Companies” list and was named “Exporter of the Year” by the official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Prior to BayRu, Aaron was a commercial real estate executive with Cushman & Wakefield and oversaw more than 270 professionals as leader of the Chicago region. Aaron received numerous honors and awards during his real estate career including Top Producer, Most Creative Deal, Agency of the Year and Most Promising Brokerage Professional. Aaron has a BA from the Univesity of Illinois and an MBA from DePaul University. He is co-author of PropTech 101 (proptech101.com) published by Advantage Media. He has also been featured in dozens of international publications and media including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, CBS Radio, The Moscow Times, RIA Novosti, RBK, Vedomosti, and Kommersant. Outside of work, Aaron served as a board member of numerous organizations including Young Presidents Organization (“YPO”), New York City Community Board Five, and Friends of the Chicago River. In addition to English, Aaron also enjoys speaking Spanish and Russian.
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About MetaProp: MetaProp is a venture capital firm focused on the real estate technology industry.
Zachary Aarons
Co-Founder and Partner of MetaProp
Zach Aarons currently works as the Co-Founder and Partner for MetaProp.VC. He previously worked at Millennium Partners as the Project Manager.
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About MetaProp: MetaProp is a venture capital firm focused on the real estate technology industry.
Kerem Ozmen
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 8090 Partners
Kerem is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 8090 Partners. Prior to that, he was the Junior Partner at Kairos and director of the K50. The K50 is an annual recognition of the 50 most innovative seed-stage companies founded by young entrepreneurs from around the world. Kerem is also the current managing director of Ozmen Ventures and has previously held program management roles in various areas including telemedicine and mechanical engineering. He currently advises projects in healthcare, aerospace, and aviation. Kerem graduated from the University of Nevada Reno in 2017 and is originally from Reno, Nevada.
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About 8090 Partners: 8090 Partners is a private partnership of industry-leading families and entrepreneurs focused on direct and opportunistic investments.
Stephen D Owens
Managing Director & Founder of Staple Street Capital
Steve is a co-founder and Managing Director at Staple Street Capital where he jointly oversees all aspects of the firm’s investment activities. Prior to founding Staple Street Capital, Mr. Owens was a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group where he was a member of the firm’s U.S. Buyout team. During his tenure at Carlyle, he co-founded the firm’s Global Consumer & Retail Group, was a senior member of the firm’s Global Communications & Media Group, and executed and oversaw investments in the business services and transportation sectors. Mr. Owens was responsible for sourcing, executing, overseeing and exiting investments across a variety of industries and served on the boards of a number of Carlyle portfolio companies. Mr. Owens received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and graduated with distinction from Emory University. Mr. Owens currently serves on the board of directors of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: SIX), Ironline Compression and Aaroma Holdings.
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About Staple Street Capital: Staple Street Capital invests in attractive middle market companies where we can partner with management to create value.
Soraya Darabi
Co-Founder and General Partner of TMV
Soraya is a General Partner and founder of TMV, an early-stage venture firm investing in purposeful startups reimagining the future. TMV backs start-up companies focused on ideas that will reshape industries or inspire new ones. Fund I and Fund II investments focus on: frontier health organizations, marketplaces and design-driven technologies. Soraya is also the host of “Business Schooled – a Podcast by Synchrony,” – a “Top 20 Business Podcast” on Apple – for which she travels the United States interviewing persevering founders who have made it past their startup days. Soraya began her career as Manager of Digital Partnerships & Social Media at The New York Times, where she positioned the global news leader on social networks such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, partnered with startups large and small, and established award-winning campaigns. She went on to co-found the application Foodspotting, named by Apple and Wired Magazine as an “App of the Year,” later acquired by OpenTable, then Priceline. Then Poly & Co, a digital growth marketing agency based in Boston and New York. For her work at The Times and startups, Soraya has been featured on the cover of Fast Company Magazine’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” issue and on the cover of Brand Week’s “Digital Best” issue. Soraya was named an Inc. Magazine “30 Under 30” (2012), Fortune Magazine “40 Under 40: Women to Watch” (2015). She sat on the first digital advisory board of General Electric. She is a World Economic Forum “Young Global Leader,” a six-time mentor to TechStars New York – three-times named a “Mentor of the Year.” Soraya graduated with honors from Georgetown University and completed the Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century module at Harvard Kennedy School. She is currently on the board of directors for the non-profit Yamba Malawi, her 12th year advising the organization.
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About TMV, Zady: TMV is an early-stage investment firm that focuses on the future of living well.
David Whelan
Co-Founder and General Partner of Town Hall Ventures
David runs Oxeon Ventures, the venture start-up studio and investment business at Oxeon Holdings. The ventures studio designs, provides initial capital, incubates, and builds de novo or purpose-built-from-scratch healthcare companies. Our team develops and hones concepts and business plans and then leverages Oxeon Holding’s service lines and vast network of relationships to bring founding leadership, product/market validation, enterprise clients and then secure additional capital for these early stage companies. We build these companies independently or in partnership with entrepreneurs-in-residence or co-developed with outside healthcare companies including leading health systems, health plans or technology or service companies. Companies developed inside of Oxeon Ventures include Docent Health, Risalto and Abaka. Oxeon Ventures also manages a series of Funds investing in growth stage healthcare technology and service companies. Oxeon Ventures has been an early-stage investor in over 70 companies including Evolent Health (NYSE: EVH), Privia (acq. by Brighton Holdings), Liazon (acq. by Towers Watson), Avalon, Bright, Capsule, CIOX, Imagine Health, Iora Health, Landmark, Oak Oncology, Oak Street Health, Pager, Privia, Quartet, VillageMD, WiserCare and others. David Whelan was previously a General Partner of Accretive LLC, a private investment firm with a distinctive track record of creating, funding and building disruptive technology enabled companies. David served as a director on the Accretive portfolio company boards of Arise Virtual Solutions and Insureon. Previously, David was the Chief Executive Officer of the Cloverleaf Group, a private investment group and prior to that Vice President of Corporate Development with the Virgin Group in the US and UK where he led the development and startup of Virgin America, the U.S. based low cost airline. David was also an investment banker in London, England and Sydney, Australia with Goldman Sachs & Company and before that Deutsche Bank. Starting his career at Price Waterhouse in the firm’s Corporate Finance division in Sydney, Australia, David qualified as a Chartered Accountant of Australia. David has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce from Bond University in Queensland, Australia. David also serves on the board of Friends of Hudson River Park Trust an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the completion, care, and enhancement of the HudsonRiver Park, and is the designated fundraising partner of the Hudson River Park Trust. FofHRP creates opportunities for public contributions to and participation in the Park’s operations and growth, to guarantee its future for generations of New Yorkers, Americans and visitors from around the world. David lives in Tribeca and with his wife, Melanie, and his two children, Lachlan and Charlotte.
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About Eleanor Health, Empiric Health, Oxeon Partners, Risalto Health, Strive Health, Town Hall Ventures: Town Hall Ventures is an investment firm aimed at transforming the woefully broken U.S. health care market through technology.
Trevor Price
Co-Founder & General Partner of Town Hall Ventures
Trevor Price is the Co-Founder and General Partner at Town Hall Ventures.
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About Oxeon Partners, Town Hall Ventures: Town Hall Ventures is an investment firm aimed at transforming the woefully broken U.S. health care market through technology.
Benjamin Sun
Co-Founder & General Partner of Primary Venture Partners
Benjamin Sun is the Co-Founder and General Partner at Primary Venture Partners.
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About Ollie, Primary Venture Partners: Primary Venture Partners is a seed stage VC firm focused on ecommerce and enterprise SaaS.
Brad Svrluga
General Partner & Co-Founder of Primary Venture Partners
Brad Svrluga is Founder and General Partner at Primary Venture Partners. He got his start in the venture business in time to see the last 12 months of the bubble, which was not early enough to lead to early retirement. Since then he has led over two-dozen investments across a range of software sectors. Brad co-founded High Peaks Venture Partners in 2004 and reinvented it 8 years later. Prior to his venture career, he was a strategy consultant with Monitor Group, leading projects out of the firm’s Cambridge, South Africa, and Brazil offices. Brad focuses his investing activities on SaaS and enterprise mobile applications, with a particular focus on vertical SaaS applications and the transformational impact of mobile computing on traditional business processes. He has led the firm’s investments in Divide (sold to Google), Savored (sold to Groupon), TxVia (sold to Google), Pump Audio (sold to Getty Images), Threadsmith (sold to Vistaprint), and Allworx (sold to PAETEC). Brad is a graduate of Williams College, where he captained the rugby team and majored in economics. He blogs not nearly enough at www.bradsvrluga.com.
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About Handshake, Healthify, Primary Venture Partners, PublicStuff, WhoSay: Primary Venture Partners is a seed stage VC firm focused on ecommerce and enterprise SaaS.
Dennis Purcell
Founder & Senior Advisor of Aisling Capital
Dennis Purcell has served as the Senior Managing Partner of Fund I and Fund II since February 2000 and is responsible for the management of the Partnership. Prior to joining Fund I, Dennis Purcell served as Managing Director of the Life Sciences Investment Banking Group at Chase H&Q (formerly Hambrecht & Quist, “H&Qâ€) for over five years, and served on the Executive Committee of Hambrecht & Quist. While at Hambrecht & Quist, he was directly involved with over two hundred completed transactions and supervised over $10 billion of financing and advisory assignments in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical products industries. During his tenure, BioWorld and other industry publications cited H&Q as the leading underwriter of life sciences securities. Dennis Purcell has also often been cited as one of the sector’s leaders. He was honored in the “Biotech Hall of Fame†by Genetic Engineering News and named to the Biotechnology All-Stars list by Forbes ASAP. Prior to joining H&Q, Dennis Purcell was a Managing Director in the Healthcare Group at PaineWebber, Inc. Dennis Purcell currently serves as a director of Dynova Laboratories, Inc. and Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously he served as a director of Aton Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cengent Therapeutics, Inc., and Valentis, Inc. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) – Emerging Companies Section. He has served as a member of the Advisory Council at Harvard Medical School.
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About Aisling Capital, bioWorld, Hambrecht & Quist, PaineWebber, Poliwogg Holdings: Aisling Capital believes the next decade will be marked by a revolution in healthcare driven by new therapeutics generated by
Henry Kauftheil
Founder and Chairman of H3 & Company
Mr. Kauftheil is the Founder, Partner and Chairman of H3 & Co. He has more than thirty years of experience in investment and asset management. He was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of International Commerce Exchange Systems, Inc., an internet ventures and technology holding company, which grew to a valuation of over $1 billion during his tenure. AT ICES Henry negotiated deals with two major North American trade show organizers, Miller Freeman and George Little Management, to extend their trade show activities to the Internet, guiding them to become a $50 million e-commerce solutions provider. Henry is the Founder and Chairman of ACG Equities, LLC, a New York based real estate investment firm; Founder and Chairman of Kosher Fortune, LLC, a food organization ownership in supermarkets and an online portal for kosher foods; and Founder and Chairman of Mishkan Yecheskel, a non-profit umbrella foundation for youth education, mentoring and services for the sick and needy. Mr. Kauftheil has been featured in over 20 trade journals, The New York Times, Forbes, and Business Week On-line, and interviewed by NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN and Bloomberg.
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About ACG Equities, Care to Care LLC, Dialyze Direct, H3 & Company, Segterra, Inc.: H3 & Company is an advisory and investment company.
Alexey Girin
Founder, Partner of Starta VC
Alexey Girin is a Founder and General Partner at Starta VC (www.starta.vc). He has 15 years of experience in audit and finance and 10 years in the venture capital industry. His introduction to investment started in 1996 when he was the Chief Financial Officer for the Investment Company Dominanta. His success at Dominanta led to a new CFO role at FMGC where he stayed for several years. As an Entrepreneur, Alexey was the Co-Founder and Partner in AFD Consulting. AFD is an audit and accounting firm. Advancing from AFD in 2004, he began his Angel Investing work. In this capacity, which he still serves, Alexey functioned as an advisor and fundraiser for innovators and venture capital entities. In 2010, Alexey became the Co-Founder and General Partner of Starta Ventures. Starta Capital’s portfolio now includes a number of deep tech startup companies. In 2015, together with Ekaterina Dorozhkina, Starta Capital’s Managing Partner, they launched Starta Accelerator. Starta Accelerator is New York City-based program that aims to empower startups with Eastern European roots and frontier technology. Alexey earned his Master in Economics from the Russian State University of Trade and Economics.
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About Starta Accelerator, Starta VC: Starta is a venture ecosystem to find, foster and fund early stage talent in tech. We help startups gain traction in USA and scale globally.
Erica Duignan Minnihan
Founder & Managing Partner of Reign Ventures
Erica Duignan Minnihan is a Managing Director for DreamIt Ventures focusing on Community Development in the New York City region. DreamIt Ventures runs programs in Austin, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia and Tel Aviv. In the last 5 years, DreamIt has helped 127 companies and over 400 entrepreneurs turn their ideas into business. She is also Managing Partner of seed-stage investment fund Fortuna Ventures, which invests in technology-enabled early stage companies. Prior to her work with DreamIt, Erica was Executive Director and a founder of STAR Angel Network, a membership organization for professional athletes and celebrities making investments in high growth potential, early-stage private companies. Erica was also the first Executive Director of Golden Seeds, a national early-stage investor group, where she managed deal sourcing and screening, due diligence, and investment processes for the group. Prior to joining Golden Seeds, Erica has held a variety of roles in the Investment Banking sector, working for firms including Cantor Fitzgerald, Citigroup and Credit Suisse.
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About One Thousand Angels, Onevest, Reign Ventures, Zairge: Reign Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on Seed and Series A stage investment opportunities.
Jeremy Abelson
Co-Founder / Principal of Irving Investors
Jeremy Abelson founded Irving Investors in 2009. This came after two successful exits in the digital media space. Abelson combines his experience as an entrepreneur with institutional investing to find long-term sustainable investments in the public and private markets. He has contributed as an expert on Fox Business News, CNN, CNBC, The NYTimes, The WSJ and more. He also speaks at NYU, Columbia Business School and the NY Media Summit. Jeremy is originally from San Mateo, CA and graduated from The University of Michigan.
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About Irving Investors: Irving Investors focuses on disruptive technology and high growth opportunities.
Michael Caso
Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Rosecliff Ventures
Michael Caso is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Rosecliff. He was honored with being awarded 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 in Venture Capital. At Rosecliff, oversees the entire investment team responsible for sourcing, reviewing, researching and structuring new deal flow and investment opportunities for the firm. Michael also manages the fundraising and capital raising efforts for the firm. Prior to launching Rosecliff, Michael worked for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Michael also worked as an investment banking associate for Rosecliff Capital, where he focused on technology, consumer and software deals. Aside from work, Michael is an avid face in the health and fitness industry. He dedicates a lot of his free time trying to inspire people to live a healthier life through diet, exercise, and cardio vascular activities. Michael is active in the startup community. Michael graduated from Fordham University with a degree in Economics. While attending Fordham, he received multiple academic honors. Michael was honored with a four year academic scholarship. Michael currently resides in NYC’s Battery Park City.
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About Rosecliff Ventures: Rosecliff invests in companies that are making life better, brighter, bolder, and more efficient.
Mike Murphy
Founder and Managing Partner of Rosecliff Ventures
Michael Murphy is Founder and CEO of Rosecliff Ventures. Mr. Murphys career as a financial services entrepreneur began over 20 years ago. Throughout his time in the financial services industry, he has developed insight into fundamental investing, private equity, long/short strategies and macro global economic trends. His past successes include; operating a long/short Hedge Fund, successfully growing a wealth management business, running a broker dealer, and working on various investment banking deals. Mr. Murphys experiences led him to launch the Investment firm, Rosecliff Capital, and most recently the Venture Capital Fund, Rosecliff Ventures. He serves as Founder and CEO of both institutions. Mr. Murphy has been a successful angel investor for the past 7 years. He has played an active role in the success of many startups. It was his experience as an angel investor that lead to the launch of Rosecliff Ventures. Mr. Murphy was a CNBC contributor and has regularly appeared on the networks FastMoney segment, commenting on global macroeconomic trends, equities in the news and the latest market news. Currently, Mr. Murphy appears on FoxBusiness. A native of New York, Mr. Murphy graduated from Hofstra University and the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. He currently lives in NYC with his wife and five children. Causes close to his heart include; The Frances Pope Memorial Foundation, the American Heart Association, and NYPD Boxing.
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About Fox Business Network, Rosecliff Ventures: Rosecliff invests in companies that are making life better, brighter, bolder, and more efficient.
Francisco Alvarez-Demalde
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Riverwood Capital
Francisco Alvarez-Demalde has been a member of the board since 2007. He is a founder and general partner of Riverwood Capital, a leading growth-capital private equity firm focused on the global technology industry, and one of the largest early investors in Globant. From 2005 to 2007, he was an investment executive at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., where he focused on leveraged buyouts in the technology industry and other sectors. Francisco was also an investment professional at Eton Park Capital Management and with Goldman Sachs & Co. Francisco earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Universidad de San Andrés, Argentina, which included an exchange program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is director of Globant (NYSE: GLOB), GoIntegro , LAVCA, Navent, Netshoes, and VTEX, and a board advisor and former director of several other companies, including Alog Data Centers do Brasil, Conductor, CloudBlue, Mandic, Pixeon, among others. He is also involved in non-profit projects related to education. We believe that Francisco is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his considerable business experience in the technology industry and his experience serving as a director of other companies.
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About Riverwood Capital: Riverwood Capital invests in technology companies in need of financial and intellectual capital to scale.
Matt Melymuka
Co-Founder and Partner of PeakSpan Capital
Matt Melymuka has joined Greycroft Partners as a Senior Associate. Matt’s responsibilities will include evaluating investment opportunities, sourcing new deals, and working with existing portfolio companies with a focus on the Greycroft Growth Fund. Prior to Greycroft, Matt worked for Investor Growth Capital, a $1.5 billion growth-stage venture capital firm, where he focused on investments in the software and technology-enabled services sectors. At IGC, Matt worked on many investments including: Aternity, BillFloat, CallFire, Conductor, HireVue, Mattersight, Maxymiser, PulsePoint, and others.
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About Cordial, PeakSpan Capital: PeakSpan Capital is a growth stage investment firm partnering exclusively with disruptive B2B software companies.
Brian Mulvey
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of PeakSpan Capital
Brian Mulvey is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at PeakSpan Capital.
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About PeakSpan Capital: PeakSpan Capital is a growth stage investment firm partnering exclusively with disruptive B2B software companies.
Ron Rofe
Founder & General Partner of Rainfall Ventures
Ron Rofe is an entrepreneur and investor. He is the head of U.S. operations for Vaizra Investments and early co-founder at Plarium.com, a social gaming company, with millions of daily active users.
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About Rainfall Ventures: Rainfall Ventures is a founder-focused venture capital fund based in NY and LA, that partners with teams to change industries worldwide.
Alexandre Mars
Founder & CEO of blisce/
Alexandre Mars is a serial entrepreneur and an engaged philanthropist. Over the last 15 years, he has successfully launched and sold several companies in Europe and the US across diverse business sectors, including venture capital, Internet, mobile marketing, social media and advertising. His two latest startups, Phonevalley (the world’s largest mobile agency) and ScrOOn (a social media management system) were recently sold to Publicis Groupe and Blackberry, respectively. Alexandre’s passion for entrepreneurship blossomed early. At 17, he started his first venture: a concert promotion firm. At 21, he founded one of Europe’s first web agencies while continuing his studies at the HEC Paris business school and Paris Dauphine University. He ran his own venture fund, Mars Capital, from 1998-2001. In 2001, Alexandre created Phonevalley and within just a few years, he drove the company to become the largest mobile marketing agency in Europe. Publicis Groupe, the third largest communications group in the world, acquired Phonevalley in 2007 and established the firm as its official worldwide mobile marketing and advertising entity. Mars was appointed Head of Mobile at Publicis, thereby positioning it at the forefront of the mobile communications era. In the same year, Alexandre seized another emerging communications opportunity: the social media revolution. Recognizing its potential, Alexandre launched ScrOOn. ScrOOn was acquired by Blackberry in 2013 to be used as the underlying technology for monetizing its popular BBM product. Alexandre is passionate about fighting inequalities. In 2014, he founded Epic Foundation to bridge the gap between a new generation of individual and corporate donors and organizations supporting children and youth globally. Epic is developing new tools focused on enhancing how donors select, monitor and experience their impact. His vision is to disrupt the philanthropic industry by combining passion and expertise with game- changing technology and partnerships. Alexandre is regularly quoted by the New York Times, Le Monde and Wall Street Journal. He has been invited to share his mobile/digital and philanthropic vision at a variety of events including the Global Philanthropy Forum, Consumer Electronics Show, Advertising Week, AdTech, Mobile World Congress and NEXUS Youth Summit. He is a regular guest speaker on BFMTV, France’s most watched news network. In 2015, Alexandre was named one of New York City’s top 20 philanthropists under 40 by the New York Observer. Alexandre lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three children, whom he adores traveling with. Passionate about music and sports, Alexandre enjoys jazz music and watching Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Saints, and New York Yankees games. He ran both the Paris and New York City Marathons and practices mixed martial arts.
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About blisce/, Epic Foundation: Growth stage venture investment firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build mission-driven global consumer technology companies.
John Nordin
Co-Founder of J Ventures
John Nordin is the co-founder of J Ventures.
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About J Ventures: Early stage technology fund in NYC
Stuart Ellman
Co-Founder & General Partner of RRE Ventures
Stuart Ellman is Co-Founder & Managing Partner of RRE Ventures. He has been immersed in information technology since the early 1980s when he taught himself computer programming and sold computer hardware and software. Since co-founding RRE in 1994, Stuart has been responsible for over forty technology investments, ranging from incubation-stage to post-revenue companies. He has invested in sectors across information technology, from security to green IT, from consumer-facing web companies to enterprise software. He believes that he is not a technologist but is a business person who utilizes technology to drive competitive advantage. He looks for big markets and superior management and has little interest in “me too” companies or following what is “hot” in the marketplace. He currently serves as a Board Director of Betaworks, Business Insider, Kroll Bond Ratings, Payfone, RecycleBank, SideTour and Tippr. Stuart began his career as a management consultant with McKinsey and Company in Australia. Later, he was a Financial Analyst at Dillon, Read & Co. where he focused on leveraged buyouts and restructurings and an Associate at Morgan Stanley & Co., specializing in fixed income capital markets. After graduating from business school in 1992, Stuart changed his life forever and became an entrepreneur. Stuart was the junior co-founder and Vice President at Advisory Capital Partners, a principal investment and advisory firm. Working nights and weekends, Stuart co-founded InterVideo Response with Jim in early 1994, which attempted to build in-stadium touchscreen ordering systems. They were ten years too early. After deciding against launching a second business plan involving pets and vets, the two decided to start their own investment firm late in 1994. In addition to his work as a venture investor, Stuart has served as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia Business School since 2002, where he teaches a popular Venture Capital Seminar to MBA students. In 2011, he delivered the Keynote address at the Columbia Business School Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference. In 2009, he taught a graduate seminar at the CDTM in Munich, Germany, a joint program with Technical University and Ludwig Maximilians Universityb. He is the Treasurer/Chairman of the Finance Committee of the 92nd Street Y where he has been on the board since 2001. He is also on the board of The Browning School. Also, Stuart is a member of the New York City Investment Fund’s Clean Tech Sector Group, the VC Advisory Group of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Economic Club of New York, and the NYC 2020 CEO Roundtable. He is also a TechStars mentor. Stuart holds an MBA with Distinction from Harvard University and a BA in Economics from Wesleyan University where he was a Gilbert Clee Scholar and a Horace White Fellow. Stuart resides in Manhattan with his wife of two decades, two kids and a spoiled black cat.
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About 92nd Street Y, RRE Ventures: RRE Ventures is a venture capital firm that offers early-stage funding to software, internet, and communications companies.
James Robinson
Founder & General Partner of RRE Ventures
Jim serves as a Board Director at On Deck Capital, PrimeRevenue and SkyGrid. Additionally, Jim serves as President, J. D. Robinson, Inc. and was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Express Company from 1977 to 1993. Prior to that, Jim held several executive positions within American Express, was a general partner with White Weld & Co., and served as Assistant to the Chairman and President of Morgan Guaranty Trust Company. Jim is a former Director of of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. He is a Director of Coca-Cola Company and Novell, Inc. Jim is a member of the Business Council, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Committee for Economic Development. He is Honorary Chairman of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; an Honorary Trustee of the Brookings Institution; and Chairman Emeritus of the Partnership for New York City and the World Travel and Tourism Council. Jim served as Co-Chairman of the Business Roundtable and as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations. Jim has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS from Georgia Institute of Technology.
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About J. D. Robinson, Inc., RRE Ventures: RRE Ventures is a venture capital firm that offers early-stage funding to software, internet, and communications companies.
Jim Robinson
Founder & General Partner of RRE Ventures
Jim Robinson is a Founder and Managing Partner at RRE Ventures. He has been active within the technology community for 30 years as an investor, entrepreneur, banker, and futurist. Since becoming a venture capitalist in 1992, Jim has led investments in and served on the boards of more than forty companies, with a focus on the internet, data analysis, and financial services. He often invests in companies that leverage network effects or crowd-intelligence. Jim is currently a Director of Netsertive, Noom, OLO.com, OpenPeak and Quirky, and a board observer at Bitpay. He also advises several seed companies, including Admittedly, Culinary Agents, Gem, itBit, TheSkimm, and Vaurum. Jim has been recognized on the Forbes Midas List Top 100 VC’s. Prior investments include Broadsoft (BSFT), GoldPocket/Wireless (Tandberg/Motricity), iCrossing (Hearst), Metapath (Marconi), Mixed Signals (Tektronix), Orchestria (Computer Associates), Red Brick (REDB), RevolutionMoney (American Express), Rubric (Broadbase), SmartPay (Ping An), SmarterKids (SKDS), Telocity (Hughes), Vastera (VAST), Vocera (VCRA), WeddingChannel (TheKnot.com), and Wisdomtree (WETF). Jim was previously with H&Q Venture Capital in San Francisco, focused on software and communications. In 1994, along with Stuart Ellman, he co-founded InterVideo Response, building in-stadium touchscreen ordering systems. Before that Jim was with JP Morgan, initially developing global risk-management systems, and later as an investment banker. Jim earned an MBA from Harvard in 1992. While earning a double degree in Computer Science and Business Administration at Antioch College during the early 1980’s, Jim worked as an engineering intern in the solar power division at General Electric; as a programmer for Illinois state government; and later as an analyst for the 1984 Reagan-Bush Campaign in Washington, DC. During his third year in college he founded IV Systems, a builder of unix-based applications on Fortune Systems workstations. He also spent six months driving the nightshift in a NYC Taxi during 1982. Jim is a Director of the New York City Partnership Investment Fund, the HBS Alumni Angels VC Advisory Board, and the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership. Jim has been in YPO since 1998. He is also an inventor, a father of four, a CERT first-responder, and a dog person.
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About RRE Ventures: RRE Ventures is a venture capital firm that offers early-stage funding to software, internet, and communications companies.
Mark Lotke
Founder & Managing Partner of Harmony Partners
Mark Lotke Is The Founder & Managing Partner At Harmony Partners.
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About Alation, Anaplan, Axonify, Axonius, Drift, Harmony Partners, Maven Clinic, Smartling, UiPath: Harmony Partners is a New York-based venture capital firm that invests in expansion stage tech companies
David Beisel
Co-Founder & Partner of NextView Ventures
David Beisel is a co-founder and Partner at NextView Ventures, a seed stage venture capital firm with offices in New York and Boston. The NextView Ventures team are high conviction, hands-on seed investors, championing founders who want to redesign the Everyday Economy. David’s investments include Attentive, TripleLift, Code Climate, Parsec, BookBub, thredUP, MealPal, The Nudge, Hatch, and TapCommerce (acquired by Twitter for $100M). Prior to NextView, David served as a Vice President at Venrock (early stage VC firm originally established as the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family). Previously, David co-founded Sombasa Media, an e-mail marketing company best known for its flagship property BargainDog.com, which he grew to 5M registered members. Sombasa was successfully acquired by About.com, which was soon after acquired by Primedia (NYSE: PRM), where he was Vice President of Marketing. David’s educational background includes an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an AB in Economics, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Duke University.
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About NextView Ventures: NextView Ventures invests in companies that use technology to drive a brighter collective future.
Seamon Chan
Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Palm Drive Capital
Seamon Chan is Managing Partner of Palm Drive Capital. Previously, he was at Insight Venture Partners, a $13 billion venture capital firm with investments in JD.com and Alibaba. Seamon brings entrepreneurship and operating experience through various startup roles in US and China. Earlier in his career, he has worked at enterprises such as Hitachi Data Systems and Citigroup, as well as research labs such as Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab and Center for Integrated Systems. A Stanford alum, Seamon was on the founding teams of Stanford Chinese Entrepreneurs Organization (Stanford CEO) and NYC Chinese Entrepreneurs Organization (NYCCEO), both organizations with thousands of members and alumni across US and China.
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About Lair East Labs, Palm Drive Capital: Palm Drive Capital is built on the fundamental belief that innovators are everywhere.
Brooks Gibbins
Co-Founder & Managing Partner of FinTech Collective
Brooks is a repeat entrepreneur who has helped to build and sell three category-leading businesses: *Multex > Reuters *FAST > Microsoft *Serverside > Gemalto His first job out of college was as an enterprise software engineer, and he’s spent the last 15+ years specializing in “FinTech” across capital markets, banking, insurance, and payments. He’s spent more than half of his career living in or working for a European-based firm. In 2012, Brooks founded the fintech venture capital platform, FinTech Collective, with his long-time partner, Gareth Jones.
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About FinTech Collective: FinTech Collective is a New York-based venture capital fund, focused exclusively on financial services technology companies.
Jeff Sine
Co-Founder / Partner of Raine Ventures
Jeff is a Co-Founder and Partner of Raine.Prior to founding Raine, Jeff was Vice Chairman and Global Head of Technology, Media & Telecom Investment Banking at UBS Investment Bank. He joined UBS in April 2001 and was a board member starting in 2003. Before that time, Jeff was Global Head of Media Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley since 1991. Jeff’s clients have included many of the leading global media, technology and communications companies, including Viacom, Google, Time Warner, News Corporation, Sony, Bertelsmann, Comcast, Cox Communications, Thomson, Softbank, Microsoft, AT&T, Disney and many others. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Jeff was an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York and London. Jeff is a current or past board member of The Manhattan Theatre Club, The International Radio and Television Society, The Museum of Television and Radio Media Center, The USC Annenberg School of Communication / Law Center Joint Venture and is Chair of the Board of Trustees of American University in Washington, D.C. He has also produced many plays and musicals over the past two decades on Broadway and in London’s West End, and is a three-time Tony Award Winner. Jeff has a B.A. from American University and a J.D. from the University of Southern California.
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About Raine Ventures: Raine Ventures is The Rain Group’s early stage fund.
Mark Peter Davis
Founder & Managing Partner of Interplay
Mark is a venture capitalist and serial founder. As the Managing Partner of Interplay Ventures he has cofounded, incubated and invested in more than 50 companies. Prior, Mark was a VC at High Peaks Venture Partners and DFJ Gotham Ventures. He’s also the * Author of The Fundraising Rules (http://mpd.vc/tfrkindle) and the * Founder of the Columbia Venture Community (http://columbia.vc), the Duke Venture Community and the New York Venture Community.
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About AcedUp, AlphaRoot, Awl & Sundry, Boston Venture Community (BVC), Bristol Palmer, Columbia Venture Community (CVC), Common Legal, Dex Academy, Evolution News, Founder Shield, Fulton Waters, Gone, Harvey Blake, Innovation with Mark Peter Davis, Interplay, Piper Crane, Spark Digital, The Fundraising Rules, Truman James, TwentyPine, Venwise: Interplay is an ecosystem where ideas scale.
Angela Lee
Founder of 37 Angels
Angela Lee is an educator, entrepreneur, and angel investor. She is passionate about education, and has started several companies in that space. Currently she is the Executive Director of Academic Integration at Columbia Business School and an Adjunct Assistant Professor teaching Strategy and Leadership courses. She also has 15 years of experience in marketing strategy, both as a product manager and as a consultant at McKinsey. Angela has a BA from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
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About 37 Angels, Columbia University in the City of New York: 37 Angels activates the untapped capital and experience women can bring investing in female and male led startups
Michael Mann
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Anchor Capital
Michael Mann is the co-founder and managing partner of Anchor Capital GP.
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About Anchor Capital: Co-investment platform
Christian Leone
Founder of Luxor Capital Group
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About Luxor Capital Group: Luxor Capital Group is a New York-based hedge fund focused on equity and fixed income investments across the globe.
Mo Koyfman
Founder & Managing Partner of Shine Capital
Investor
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About MOKO Brands, MOKO Brands, Shine Capital: Shine partners with relentless, creative, convincing entrepreneurs from the early stages of company, protocol, and network building.
Andrew Boszhardt, Jr.
Founder & Managing Partner of Great Oaks Venture Capital
Andy is Managing Partner of Great Oaks Venture Capital, LLC (GOVC). Prior to forming Great Oaks, Andy was a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Neuberger Berman; previously he provided wealth management services at Goldman Sachs from 1980 to 1996, serving as a Vice President starting in 1985. Andy holds an Accounting degree and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Andy is also the Founder and President of Great Oaks Capital Management, which previously managed a long/short equity hedge fund and continues to manage long-only equity portfolios and alternative equity products for high-net-worth individuals, families and institutions since 2003.
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About Great Oaks Venture Capital: Great Oaks is an early-stage venture investment firm that invests in seed and series a investments in tech-based startups.
Ken Fox
Founder & Partner of Stripes
Ken Fox is the Founder and a Managing Partner at Stripes Group, LLC. Ken is actively involved with Stripes Group partners Snooze, Blue Apron, Flatiron Health, Udemy, GoFundMe, Stella & Chewy’s, TurtleBeach, The Black Tux, Kareo, Ketra, Sandata and formerly SilverSky (acquired by BAE Systems), Seamless/Grubhub (IPO), and eMarketer (acquired by Axel Springer SE). Ken has been a successful entrepreneur, operator and investor in internet and branded consumer product companies for over 15 years. Ken has started six companies (Internet Capital Group, ICG Asia, Stripes Group, Syndero, A10 Capital and the Sentinel Fund), led investments in over 35 companies and taken two companies he started public. Prior to forming Stripes, Ken was a Managing Director of Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ:ICGE), which he co-founded in 1995. Five years after founding ICG, the company had a market capitalization in excess of $50 billion and included companies such as IBM, General Electric, Comcast and Ford among its numerous strategic investors. In his role as a Managing Director of ICG, Ken was instrumental in building the business: he led many of ICG’s most successful investments, including Matchlogic, SMART Technologies and TradeX. Additionally, he founded and acted as Chairman of ICG Asia, a Hong Kong listed joint venture with Hutchison-Whampoa, recruited many of ICG’s key executives, and was active in ICG’s fund raising efforts. Ken’s role as a leader, operating executive and/or investor of ICG’s high growth companies during one of the most volatile periods in the history of the technology market (1995 to 2002) helped to shape his views of risk management and company operations. These experiences were critical in the development of Stripes’ unique business which is designed to provide an edge to profitable growing companies by helping them maximize their value while limiting operating risk. Prior to forming ICG, Ken was the director of West Coast operations for both Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE), a $2 billion public corporation, and TL Ventures, a venture capital partnership with more than $500 million under management. Ken is a co-founder and Chairman of Syndero, a co-founder of A-10 Capital and a co-founder of Sentinel Fund. Ken served as Executive Chairman of SmartWool and was the point person for NetQuote during Stripes’ ownership. Ken was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 and was a recipient of the “Golden Plate Award” from the American Academy of Achievement, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and inspiring young people. He led the formation of The Fox Challenge, a program designed to introduce entrepreneurship to students at his alma mater. Ken earned his B.S. in Economics from The Pennsylvania State University. He lives in NYC and enjoys skiing, golf, surfing, mountain biking and spending time with family and friends. He is also a passionate fan of all the Philadelphia sports teams. His philanthropic interests are focused upon charities that try to improve the opportunities available to children in the United States.
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About Stripes, Syndero: Stripes is a growth equity firm that invests in software and consumer businesses.
William McClelland
Co-Founder & Partner of Elizabeth Street Ventures
Co-founder & Partner at Elizabeth Street Ventures, an early stage investment firm focused on the digital consumer and next generation brands Co-founder of Bambike, a bamboo bicycle manufacturer and tour operator with an environmental & social mission based in the Philippines Prior to founding Elizabeth Street, I was a Partner at Grace Beauty Capital, a Managing Director/Portfolio Manager at Ironwood Capital Management and a Tech-Investment Banking Analyst at Lehman Brothers Investor @ Bambike, Birchbox, Costa Brazil, Current, Eloquii, Events.com, Glamsquad, High Court, MM. LaFleur, Parachute Home, Perch Interactive, Pixlee, Primary.com, Ringly, Rothy’s, SKU IQ, Sourceeasy, Supergoop!, ThirdLove, Trendalytics, Vengo. Graduated from Yale University with a BA double major in Economics and Anthropology.
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About Elizabeth Street Ventures: We are an early stage investment firm focused on the digital consumer and next generation brands that improve daily life
Barry Volpert
Founder & CEO of Crestview Partners
Barry Volpert is the Co-Founder and CEO at Crestview Partners.
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About Crestview Partners, Oxbow Corporation: Crestview Partners, a private equity firm, focuses on middle-market contrarian and distressed investments, and special situations.
Addie Lerner
Founder & Managing Partner of Avid Ventures
Addie Lerner is the Founder & Managing Partner of Avid Ventures. Avid is an early stage venture firm based in New York City making Series A and B investments into the next generation of transformative consumer internet, fintech, and software companies.
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About Avid Ventures: Avid Ventures is an early-stage venture firm investing in Series A and B consumer internet, fintech, and software companies.
Dave Lerner
Founder & Host of Venture Studio
Dave Lerner is an entrepreneur, angel investor, and Director of Entrepreneurship @ Columbia University. He is also the host of @venturestudio where he engages with entrepreneurs, investors, founders and other vibrant members of the New York entrepreneurial ecosystem and beyond. One of his latest projects is @startupgenome, where, in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation and Endeavor Global, they are mapping the entire world’s entire early-stage investment and entrepreneurial ecosystems. He’s also Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School and was the Director of Columbia’s Venture Lab for seven years where he spun-out 70+ technology start-ups.His personal blog, www.davelerner.com/blog, explores the worlds of university entrepreneurship, angel/venture investing, and startups and he’s a frequent contributor to Amex OPENForum, Forbes, and Business Insider, whose SAI group recently named him one of the “top 100 most influential New Yorkers in the digital business community” and “one of NYC’s top 100 early stage investors”. He serves on the Board of New York Tech Meetup, as Board Member the Entrepreneurship Center at Columbia Business School, and as a Board Member of both the New York Venture Community and Columbia Venture Community.
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About Columbia University, Columbia University, Columbia University in the City of New York, Knotable, RTP Ventures, Rugged Ventures, Venture Studio: Venture capital and angel investor interviews with host Dave Lerner
Richard Seewald
Founder and Managing Partner of Evolution Equity Partners
Richard is a Founder and Managing Partner at Evolution Equity Partners and is responsible for all aspects of the firm’s global activities and strategic direction. He leads investments in cybersecurity, enterprise software and data analytics and brings over three decades of investment, operational and entrepreneurial experience to his role. Richard is a member of the firm’s investment committee. Prior to establishing Evolution, Richard was a Partner at Alpha Associates, a venture capital and private equity firm where he led investments in software, media and infrastructure companies and was a member of the investment committee overseeing a multi-billion dollar investment program. Previously, he was a founding investor in Sixty-K and NejTV where he held various executive and non-executive roles. He is an investor and board member in category-defining software companies like AVG Technologies, OpenDNS, Cognitive Security, Carbon Black, Security Scorecard, Onapsis, LogPoint, DFLabs, Fortscale and Panaseer. Richard holds an MBA from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business, a Juris Doctor from the New York Law School and a B.A. from Pace University. He was awarded a Kauffman Fellowship by the Palo Alto based Society of Kauffman Fellows. He sits on the global advisory board of the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business.
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About Evolution Equity Partners: Evolution Equity Partners is a venture capital investor helping sector expertise to help entrepreneurs develop market-leading companies.
Hunter Newby
Founder & Owner of Newby Ventures
Hunter Newby is an entrepreneur with a highly successful, 15-year track record in creating new, network-neutral interconnection businesses that treat communications infrastructure as real estate. He is the Founder, CEO and a Director of Allied Fiber, the nation’s first integrated, network-neutral colocation and dark fiber infrastructure provider. Prior to founding Allied Fiber, he was a Founder, Chief Strategy Officer and a Director of The Telx Group, Inc., one of the leading carrier hotel interconnection facility operators in the U.S. Mr. Newby is a recognized authority in the industry, has served on several Advisory Boards, is a published author, public speaker and the recipient of numerous awards including being named to the Global Telecoms Business Top 40 Under 40 in 2010. Mr. Newby earned a B.S. in Communications from Drexel University.
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About Newby Ventures: Newby Ventures is an investment and holding company that offers capital, creative intelligence solutions, and value creation services.
Gayle Jennings O’Byrne
Founder and CEO of iNTENT Manifesto
20+ years of finance, investment banking, philanthropy and lobbying experience. Previously, executive positions in Mergers and Acquisitions, Global Philanthropy, International Government Relations at JPMorgan Chase. Media Manager at Sun Microsystems. Developed and managed investment strategy and corporate relationships. Enjoys valuation, modeling, due diligence and championing founders and startups. Graduate of Wharton School of Business and the University of Michigan School of Business. Attended National University of Singapore and City of London Polytechnic. Conducted academic consulting project in Israel.
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About iNTENT Manifesto, The Prometheus Exchange, WOCstar Fund: iNTENT Manifesto IS an educational and investment platform.
R. Adam Smith
Founder & CEO of Family Office Private Advisors
Founder at Family Office Private Advisors. R. Adam Smith, combines his twenty years of experience in venture capital and private equity with a lifelong passion for unique brands. Adam held principal roles at leading private equity firms based in New York City, Caxton-Iseman Capital LLC and Castle Harlan, Inc., each with over $2 billion in managed equity capital, as well as tenures at Lehman Brothers and Salomon Brothers Inc. In 2002, he founded Circle Peak Capital (CPC), a private investment partnership. In 2010, he formed investment company Design Holdings Co LLC (DHC) to invest in a leading online global source for unique vintage furniture, antiques, art, jewelry, fashion and design. Adam graduated from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University with an MBA with honors and from Boston University cum laude with a BA in International Relations and Economics. He is an active alumnus of Columbia Business School, a founding board member of Columbia’s Private Equity Advisory Board, and a founder of the Investment Management Conference. He is a member of hedge fund advisory company, Stride Capital. Involved in @ 20 principal investments since 1998 with over $300 million of private capital and over $2B in sales. Board member of, or Board advisor to, ten private companies. Philanthropic and non-profit ventures involving cancer, education, music, and world peace. He is one of the founders of the Friends of Leukemia Fighters, an oncology non-profit associated with the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital of New York City; chairman, Inaugural Piece for Peace Concert of the Tanenbaum Center in New York City; mentor to the Founders Institute.
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About Big Sky Partners LLC, Circle Peak Capital, Family Office Private Advisors, Leukemia Fighters: Family Office Private Advisors is an advisory and merchant-banking resource that focuses on private equity portfolios.
Jeffrey Keswin
Founder, Chairman, and Managing Partner of Lytical Ventures
Jeffrey Keswin co-founded Lyrical Asset Management and serves as the firm’s Managing Partner. Mr. Keswin also founded and serves as Managing Partner of Lyrical Partners, L.P., which, with affiliates, invests in and manages private equity, real estate, traditional equity, and hedge funds. Previously, he co‐founded and served as co-President of Greenlight Capital, Inc. Mr. Keswin worked as an associate at Siegler, Collery & Co. and as an analyst at Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s Management & Technology Program, earning both a Bachelor of Science from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Applied Science from the School of Engineering.
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About Lytical Ventures: Lytical Ventures is an venture fund based in New York.
Gene Lockhart
Chairman, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of MissionOG
Gene is a seasoned investor and accomplished senior executive with a passion for team and company building. At MissionOG, he focuses on deal flow, management and leadership strategy, and market analysis. Gene is also a Special Advisor at General Atlantic. Formerly, he was a venture partner at Oak Investment Partners focused on financial services technology opportunities. He led the development of the Oak FinTech portfolio and built it into a premier growth equity portfolio. Gene has served in a variety of senior executive roles, including president and CEO of MasterCard International, CEO of Midland Bank PLC, president of the Global Retail Bank of BankAmerica Corporation, and president of consumer services at AT&T.Gene has chaired or served as a board member of many successful growth companies, including NetSpend, Argus International, Community Choice Financial, Metro Bank PLC, Vesta, Progressive Finance, and others. Gene serves as a board member of portfolio companies Pay4Later and Accurate Group. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from The Darden School at the University of Virginia.
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About MissionOG: MissionOG provides capital to early and growth stage B2B technology companies.
Jay Levy
Co – Founder & Partner of Zelkova Ventures
Jay Levy is the Investor at Alloy.
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About Alloy, Altruik, Appbistro, Automox, Crimson Hexagon, Encoding.com, Foodspotting, GreatHorn, Jibe, klout, LendKey Technologies, Livefyre, My Damn Channel, Rapportive, Techstars, Uproot Wines, Zelkova Ventures: Zelkova Ventures is a venture capital firm committed to helping entrepreneurs build companies.
Larry Scheinfeld
Co-Founder & Partner of Zelkova Ventures
Larry Scheinfeld is a partner and co-founder at Zelkova Ventures in New York, NY. Larry works with Zelkova’s portfolio companies to create efficient and effective funding strategies and customer acquisition plans. Prior to co-founding Zelkova, Larry Scheinfeld was a principal and financial advisor for the Quellos Group, a group which specialized in hedge, private equity and real asset fund of funds, along with hybrid and specialty offerings. Larry Scheinfeld founded Quellos’ New York office and was a member of its Board of Directors until the company was purchased by Blackrock in October of 2007. Larry is currently on the Board of Directors for the Starlight Foundation, an organization that supplies quality of life programs for terminally and severely ill children. Larry Scheinfeld also sits on the board of the Forman School and has made personal contributions to such nonprofit organizations as the Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia and Parkinsons Foundation, the Eagle Hill School and Cornell University. Outside of his professional career, Larry Scheinfeld enjoys the Arts, golfing, and fitness training. Larry Scheinfeld currently resides in New York with his wife and three children.
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About Zelkova Ventures: Zelkova Ventures is a venture capital firm committed to helping entrepreneurs build companies.
Samuel L. Schwerin
Co-Founder, Managing Partner of Millennium Technology Value Partners
Sam Schwerin is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Millennium Technology Value Partners. He is a seasoned executive with significant experience in private equity, investment banking, restructuring, turnarounds, and operational management in prior roles at The Blackstone Group, Salomon Brothers, StorageApps Inc. and OpenPeak Inc. In total, he has completed more than 200 transactions involving $50 billion of principal investments, mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, and debt and equity financings. Sam is a frequent speaker and commentator on the need for innovation within the private equity ecosystem. Under his leadership, Millennium has become a recognized leader and pioneer of the secondary market for venture capital and growth equity assets. Since 2001, Sam has served as a trusted partner and advisor to many of the world’s leading technology companies and their shareholders as they have considered growth financings, venture debt and alternate liquidity solutions. Sam is responsible for current investments in Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), Chegg (NYSE: CHGG), Good Technology, Lookout, BeachMint, Inspirato, Alibaba and iPass (NASDAQ: IPAS), where he is a member of the Board of Directors. In addition, Sam was responsible for prior realizations that include Agility Communications (acquired by JDS Uniphase), Aventail (acquired by SonicWALL), Axsun Technologies (acquired by Volcano Corporation), Datapipe (acquired), First Virtual Communications (acquired by RADVISION), HauteLook (acquired by Nordstrom), Indus (NASDAQ: IINT), ID Analytics (acquired by LifeLock), NetSpend (NASDAQ: NTSP, acquired by TSYS), Ning (acquired by Glam Media), Phobos (acquired by SonicWALL), PlaySpan (acquired by Visa), Requisite Technology (acquired by Click Commerce), StorageApps (acquired by Hewlett-Packard), Tellme Networks (acquired by Microsoft), Wayport (acquired by AT&T) and Zappos (acquired by Amazon). Sam was previously with The Blackstone Group where he focused on a combination of venture capital investments and multi-billion dollar merger and acquisitions advisory assignments. He also worked at Salomon Brothers in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Leveraged Finance groups, in addition to executing corporate and municipal restructurings, and the firm’s own principal and bridge loan investments. Sam has been involved in the founding and management of several successful companies. Most recently, he co-founded and served as CFO and Vice President, Corporate Development at OpenPeak, a leading mobile enterprise management company. Prior to OpenPeak, Sam served as Vice President of Finance and Strategy at StorageApps, a pioneering storage virtualization and network management company acquired by Hewlett-Packard in a transaction valued at $350 million. Sam earned his Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science from Lehigh University. He has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Lehigh Leadership Council.
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About Millennium Technology Value Partners: Millennium Technology Value Partners is a growth equity firm focused on investing in the world’s best technology companies
Brent R. Nicklas
Founder of Lexington Partners
Brent Nicklas is the Founder and non-executive Chairman of Lexington, which he founded in 1994. Prior to becoming Chairman in 2018, Mr. Nicklas, as Founder and Managing Partner of Lexington, primarily managed the Firm’s investment operations and oversaw Lexington’s secondary and co-investment funds.
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About Lexington Partners: Lexington Partners is an independent manager of secondary private equity and co-investment funds.
Rami Rahal
Founder & Managing Partner of Blue Cloud Ventures
Rami Rahal is a Co-Founder and General Partner of Blue Cloud Ventures. At Blue Cloud Ventures, Rami focuses on early and growth stage investments and his areas of sector focus include: enterprise mobile, PaaS, SaaS, new media and infrastructure. Prior to Blue Cloud Ventures, Rami was an investment banker at Madison Park Group where he worked with a range of software and tech-enabled services companies on M&A and fundraising transactions. Previously, Rami was at Accenture in their IT Strategy Group where he advised Fortune 50 companies including Pfizer, Verizon, Walgreens, AT&T, TransUnion and State Street. Rami co-founded Jot Messenger, a NY-based multi-platform mobile and web instant messaging company. Rami is a graduate from the American University of Beirut (B.Eng. Mechanical Engineering) and Columbia University (M.S. Operations Research).
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About Blue Cloud Ventures, Symphony Commerce: BCV is a venture capital firm that invests in growth-stage software companies.
Mir Arif
Founder & Managing Partner of Blue Cloud Ventures
Mir Arif is a Co-Founder and General Partner of Blue Cloud Ventures. At Blue Cloud Ventures, Mir focuses on growth and late stage investments and his areas of sector focus include: healthcare IT, 3D and engineering, financial technology and business application software. Mir is a seasoned technology investment banker with more than 20 years of Wall Street experience. He has executed over 150 transactions worth over $5.0 billion for a range of enterprise software, SaaS, e-commerce, new media, and IT/BPO services companies. Mir is also the Founder and Managing Partner of Madison Park Group (MPG), the leading boutique tech-focused investment bank in New York City. Prior to starting MPG, Mir was the youngest Vice President in the Technology Investment Banking Group of Bear Stearns & Co. Earlier, at the age of 25, he helped start the Equity Private Placement Group At Peregrine Capital, Asia’s largest investment bank, managing a team in the United States and Hong Kong. Mir is a Columbia University graduate (B.S. Electrical Engineering & M.S. Operations Research), Chartered Financial Analyst and a Charter Member of TiE Boston.
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About Blue Cloud Ventures: BCV is a venture capital firm that invests in growth-stage software companies.
Thomas A. Rizk
Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Rizk Ventures
Thomas A. Rizk has three decades of experience building diverse companies, managing a variety of investments, and investing in special opportunities. He currently serves as CEO and Chairmen of Rizk Ventures, a private investment firm. Mr. Rizk previous experience includes founding TractManager Inc. where he serves as Chairman and CEO until April 2013 and CEO and Director of Mack-Cali Realty Corporation. He led Cali Associates through its highly successful initial public offering as Cali Realty Corporation, a real estate investment trust (REIT) traded on the NYSE.
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About Rizk Ventures, Workspace Property Trust: Rizk Ventures is a privately-held investment firm. We focus on Venture Capital, Private Equity, Real Estate and Special Opportunities.
