Co-Founder and General Partner
- Ranked Top 100 Powerlist VC
- 10+ years of VC/PE Investing
- Former Managing Director of Investments at Cleveland Avenue (VC/PE Fund co-founded by Former CEO & President of McDonalds), focusing on food and beverage brands, food related technologies, and new restaurant concepts
- Founder, Head, & Former Managing Director of Simon Venture Group (investment arm of Simon Property Group, S&P 100, largest retail real estate company in the world), grew to top 5 corporate VC focused on commerce alongside Google Ventures, Intel Capital, and Comcast Ventures
- Adjunct Professor at New York University teaching Venture Capital Intensive
- Creator of Multiple Top Ranked Entrepreneur Resources: #1 Startup Investor Pitch Deck Template (viewed & downloaded 500,000+ times, used by leading business schools and accelerators)
- Co-Founder of the #1 Startup Board Game: The Next Big Thing: The Game of Entrepreneurship, backed by over 25+ of the top accelerators and VC investors
Andrew Zalasin
General Partner
- 25+ years of venture capital and private equity investment and operational experience with entrepreneurial growth companies
- Former General Partner for 17 years at RRE Ventures, a leading technology venture capital firm with $1.5B across seven funds
- Involved in nearly 200 investments and has served on more than 30 boards in the US, Europe and Asia, and has been instrumental in generating industry-leading returns and providing experience and resources to help companies build teams, attack new market opportunities, identify and secure strategic initiatives / partnerships and achieve profitable growth in all phases of development
Aakash Jain
Senior Associate
- VU Cohort 2 Alum
- Venture Fellow, Jump Capital
- Co-Founder, Booth Bay Area Angel Network (Booth BAAN)
- Technology Investment Banking (Growth Equity), Financial Technology Partners
- Fixed Income Quant Trading, Morgan Stanley
- University of Chicago Booth School of Business, MBA
- Cornell University, MEng (Computer Science)
- Jacobs University, BA (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science)
Michael Siegel
Analyst
- Member of the Marketplace and Consumer investment teams in Venture University's First Cohort
- Venture Fellow, VentureSouth
- Clemson University, MBA, Entrepreneurship
- Wofford College, BA, Business Economics
Jenna Fernandes
Co-Founder, Operating Partner, & Head of Human Resources
- Venture Backed Serial Entrepreneur
- Co-Founder & CEO of The Next Big Thing: The Game of Entrepreneurship, backed by over 25+ of the top accelerators and VC investors
- Ranked Top 10 Female Tech CEO by Women 2.0
- Former CEO of Largest Student Run Business in The Country (Tufts Student Resources)
Consumer Team
Taylor Bozarth
- Founder & Fund Manager for ADA Real Estate Investment Fund
- Raised & Placed $500,000+ in real estate investments to yield a 1.5x return within 3 years
- Real Estate Broker at a team ranked in the top 100 teams in America by The Wall Street Journal
Said Mia
- Founder of Sweat Equity, prominent blog and early-stage advisory firm
- Investment Banking Vice President focused on Technology
- CFA Charterholder; MBA from Cornell University
- Frequent guest lecturer for the Silicon Valley Innovation Center
- Interested in young consumer brands disrupting the retail and health & wellness sectors
Brent Breslau
- Private Wealth Management @ Goldman Sachs
- Interested in solutions that radically disrupt the food & beverage industries or shake up the age-old restaurant supply chain processes. Other areas of focus include health & wellness as well as longevity
- B.A. Finance @ University of Notre Dame
Alberta Tete-Lartey
- Wharton MBA in Finance and Strategic Management
- Strategic thought-partner for C-suite executives in identifying growth opportunities, optimizing resources and enhancing operational efficiency
- Financial Services experience in shaping next generation growth strategies, ensuring superior customer experience and sourcing M&A targets
- Ex-McKinsey consultant
- Previous investment banking analyst
Grayson Helm
- Bucknell University - Business Analytics, Captain of Division 1 Men's Lacrosse team
- Energy Analyst @ American PowerNet; Contributions to drafting blockchain tool for sustainable power buyers and sellers
- Investment Banking Summer Analyst @ RBC Capital Markets
- Passionate about innovation & entrepreneurship within consumer products, energy, sports, food, & technology
FinTech Team
Peter Arethas
- MBA: DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. Graduated "With Distinction". Top 10% of class. Degree in Financial Analysis
- B.S.: Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Degree in Business Economics
- President - American Trust Investment Services, broker-dealer founded in 1968
- Vice President - JPMorgan Securities - Chase Private Client. Led team of Private Client Advisors in Chicago
Michael Son
- MBA Candidate, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- CPA, CMA interested in Enterprise, Fin Tech, Ed Tech, and Consumer markets
- Experienced commercial banker with track record in business development, financial analysis, and risk management
- Pre-MBA Internship at Ora Graphene Audio Inc., an innovative start up based in Montreal, Canada
- Worked at Scotiabank, HSBC Bank Canada, and BMO Bank of Montreal
Juan Arias
- Independent thinker who has never been afraid to make contrarian bets
- Recovering hedge fund Sr. Equity Analyst & Portfolio Mgr. Invested in Financials sector stocks. Previous employers include Millennium Management, PioneerPath Capital (a Citadel Co), Merrill Lynch and Fidelity Investments
- Lynch and Fidelity Investments
- Excited by the opportunity to help early stage entrepreneurs reach the next level of their journey
- Passionate about financial inclusion and capital accessibility for underrepresented entrepreneurs, VC investors and underserved markets
NYU Stern (MBA); Boston U. (MS); Northeastern U. (BS)
David Tsang
- Worked in Engineering, Sales, Marketing leadership at start-ups that had positive outcomes
- Started up a few small businesses
- Enjoys diving deep and learning about business models
Andrew Stockstill
- Helped manage a $5M+ portfolio of venture capital and private equity client relationships at the Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG)
- Previous wealth management experience
- Holds B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Interests include FinTech, Sports Business and Consumer verticals
Frontier Tech Team
Sebastian Pulido
- Led market transition at Goldman Sachs, implemented solutions to sales & trading market structure changes
- Managing Director at Golden Seeds, angel investing in in early-stage companies built by women
- Created an online tool for entrepreneurs to quantify product/market fit throughout customer discovery
- Attained a BA in Economics and International Studies at the University of Miami
Benoit Foulon
- Previously an investment banking and consulting analyst in Paris
- Worked as Financial officer in a mobile learning app
- Studied in Paris @ESCP Europe Business School
- Sports and AI enthusiast
Dan Gonzales
- Investment Blog: bahiaverge.com
- Completed a project for Google’s Sales Team
- Age Verification in Juul Labs’ Compliance Dept.
- Partner @cubewealth leverages a 3-Dimensional model of Learn, Discuss, Invest to help subscribers better manage their money
- University of California, Riverside - English Literature
Tristan Jennings
- Micro-PE investing in Los Angeles
- Mezzanine debt placements in FinTech and Consumer
- Interested in Frontier and Mobility
- London School of Economics
Healthcare Team
Noreen Brar
- UC Davis B.S. Pharmaceutical Chemistry (Highest Honors), B.A. Political Science (Minor) from UC Davis.
- Completed thesis on “Exploring Anionic-Binding and Hydrogen-Bonding Catalysts Amide for the Selective Synthesis of Chiral Silanols"
- Over two years of research experience in organic chemistry lab focusing on silicon catalysts as well as political science department focusing on the impact of the media on American politics
- Spearheaded market research for two biotechnology startups focusing on product development and market penetration
- Interested in being a catalyst for visionary founders to acheive the unthinkable
Brian Yen
- Former analyst at Riverbend Growth Partners
- Quadlingual (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese)
- World Traveler (25+ countries)
- Southern Methodist University
- www.ThePetTie.com
Jeanose Lexima
Tri-sector athlete, ready to win investors to give hope to 63 million children in need of education globally
Cross-Sector Fellow + White House Fellow - Regional Finalist
Womentor to Women on Change (WoC) girls + 3D solutions seeker + global traveler
Decade in IT, HIT, management + Presidential campaign organizer
MPH Administration in Informatics + BS in Computer Information Systems
Sherman Williams
- Former military officer
- Former investment banker (Director) with a medical technology and digital health focus
- Passionate about medical technology, defense tech and space tech companies as well as funding underrepresented founders
- Angel Investor
- MBA from Chicago Booth
- Naval Academy graduate
Venture Fellows
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