Meet the VP7s
2021 has been a transformational year in finance. The year kicked off with a never before seen subreddit-driven short squeeze of Gamestop stock. NBA Top Shot brought NFTs into the mainstream, and tech industry leaders like Facebook -- ahem, Meta -- and Microsoft are taking serious forays into the metaverse. Our own Republic Realm made a record NFT sale in the Sandbox.
You can’t really call these moments a flash in the pan when you hear that NFT trading exceeded $10B in Q3. So what’s driven these monumental shifts in the way people are investing their hard earned money? Of course it’s community.
Yes -- community -- the hottest buzzword of 2021. What does it mean, anyways? For us, being in community means being amongst others that share our values. They know our struggles and celebrate our wins, and they’re the first people to raise their hand when we ask for help.
Venture Partners are Republic’s global network of mission-driven venture investors and leaders. They join our community to learn the ins and outs of Republic and the many tools we offer for early stage financing, and help us source amazing companies. With the VP7 cohort, the Republic Venture Partner community is now 200 strong.
When we say strong, we mean it. Since you last heard from us, we got together to learn about the basics of NFTs and crypto. We celebrated the launch of five companies sourced by Venture Partners. And best of all, we met IRL on several occasions in at least five different cities.
With each additional cohort we welcome new friends, thought leaders, and experts into our inner circle of trusted partners. With each new year, we welcome new challenges and ambitious goals to achieve.
Looking to 2022, we feel confident that this cohort will help us continue to grow our ability to support founders within and outside of the Republic ecosystem, especially as we welcome new colleagues from Seedrs and leverage our $150M Series B to continue to push us into the future of finance.
Amora Miller and Maria Pope will be leading the charge guiding the Venture Partner community through this coming year. If you believe in the power of community, visit republic.co/venture-programs to apply to the next cohort. VP8 applications close on January 14th, 2022.
Alaxandria Foreman
An ecosystem builder and champion of the community, Alaxandria works to bridge the gap between underrepresented founders, fund managers, and academia. Currently, she volunteers on the Supervisory Committee of the only standing African American-operated credit union in Illinois, The South Side Community Federal Credit Union. The self-proclaimed "Carmen San Diego of Startups & Tech" currently lives as a digital nomad, immersing herself in the culture of the communities she visits; connecting with founders over smoothies, and searching for cool consumer packaged goods to invest in.
Allie Esch
Allie Esch is an investor at Dundee VC, a lead seed-stage investment firm based in Omaha with offices in Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. Dundee has made 60 investments since 2010, and Allie has been at the firm for 30 of those investments after joining the team in 2016. Dundee focuses on five core investment themes: companies in ag and food, commerce, construction, fintech, and supply chain and logistics. Allie led the firm’s investments in Dapix, TeleVet, Linus, Suppli, and BuildWithin. Allie graduated Summa Cum Laude from Creighton University’s Heider College of Business with degrees in financial analysis and business analytics. Outside of work, her passions include painting, cooking, gardening, and wine, in no specific order.
Allie Mullen
Allie has spent most of her career in the startup and innovation ecosystem, working to empower women and advance equity. She currently leads partnerships at digitalundivided, catalyzing growth for Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs and innovators. She was employee #1 and Head of Community at Ladies Get Paid, working to close the gender wage gap. She has also worked with Mogul, PepTalkHer, and inLieu. A voice for social change, she addressed Yale’s Women in Leadership Conference and was named a 2018 Forbes Fellow.
Andrew Clapp
Andy is a Managing Partner of Brightside Venture Capital. Previously he co-founded Arctaris (a revenue/royalty fund); Brook Venture I (early-stage equity fund); and Brook Venture II, an SBIC mezzanine fund. Before that, he was a Partner of Downer & Co. (Boston & Paris), President of Equifax Research, and Manager of the Corporate Development Unit at Arthur D. Little. He began his career at General Electric. He is a graduate of Amos Tuck at Dartmouth (MBA) and Clarkson University (B.S.).
Aysha Tegally
An entrepreneur, consultant, and business coach with experience in establishing, supporting, and growing organizations and social enterprises that bridge the public, private and third sectors; alongside extensive experience in consultancy and health. Aysha is committed to ensuring that capital flows to businesses that make the planet a better place to live and solve the world’s biggest problems. A connector, problem solver, relationship builder, and collaborator that believes in creating partnerships, leveraging skills and networks, she has worked with leading public, private and multilateral organizations - including the UN to create entrepreneurship initiatives in the UK and Africa. Aysha has worked with funds to source deal-flow for under-represented founders in growth sectors.
Bernard Moon
Bernard Moon is a Co-founder & Partner at SparkLabs Group, a network of accelerators and venture capital funds that has invested in over 300 companies across 6 continents since 2013. Previously, he was a Managing Director at the Lunsford Group, a private investment firm with holdings in real estate, healthcare, and other industries. He serves on the advisory boards to Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Data Science and Nanyang Technological University’s EcoLabs (Centre of Innovation for Energy).
Chris Bell
Chris Bell is currently an Investment Associate for Rockhill Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rockpoint Group, a $13B real estate private equity firm. At Rockhill, Chris is responsible for investments and asset management across property types (multifamily, office, retail, industrial, healthcare/MOB/senior housing, self-storage), including asset management oversight (i.e. asset strategy, repositioning, renovations, lease-up, budgeting, operations) of assets with a focus on value-creation initiatives. Previously, he completed over $600 million of acquisitions, dispositions, financing activity, and leases representing approximately 3 million SF of commercial assets and 700 apartment units. Chris is also an active angel investor, advisor, and consultant to various early-stage startups.
Chris Chung
Chris Chung is a strategy and venture advisor at Genesis Block, a digital asset-focused financial services platform. In addition to his strategic advisory portfolio at Genesis Block, Chris is an advisor to three other firms in the investment and fintech spaces. Chris has also earned the following certifications: Wharton School (MBA), UCSF (DDS), UC Davis (BS), Fire Fighter I Certificate, & POST Basic Certificate. He is a veteran of the United States Navy, where he was recognized as the top officer of his class.
Christopher Chan
Christopher Chan is a seasoned strategic and operational leader with more than 15 years of experience at the intersection of markets and technology. For the last 6 years, he has focused on building one of the premier global marketplaces for luxury products, which was recently acquired. Christopher has a successful track record and deep domain expertise in strategy and scaling operational excellence in marketplaces, capital markets, and next-gen consumer-focused businesses. He is deeply passionate about helping build and invest in a better tomorrow.
Chukwudi N. Kanu
Chukwudi N. Kanu is a Nigerian-American entrepreneur, community builder, and investor. He's been recognized for his leadership and outstanding achievements by the United Nations, LinkedIn, EY, Venture For America, and the United States Senate. Educated in both the United States and Nigeria, Chukwudi was exposed at an early age to the disparities between people living in developed and developing nations. Upon learning about those differences he sought out to level the playing field. He's served as a UN Youth Representative, participated in the founding and development of three education-related startups, scouted for early-stage venture capital funds, angel syndicates, a family office, and built communities that have helped founders raise more than $250 million. Today, Chukwudi is the Co-founder & CEO of Humblebrag, a tool for investors to find overlooked pre-seed founders in emerging tech hubs while giving scouts interest in the investment.
Craig Zingerline
Craig Zingerline is a 6-time founder who has helped dozens of companies scale their growth. He's the current Co-founder and CEO of Growth University, an EdTech platform and community that provides training, tools, and support for founders and marketing teams looking to grow their startup faster, and more holistically. Prior to Growth University, Craig was the Chief Product Officer @ Sandboxx, Head of Growth at Upside Travel, CEO of Votion, Head of Growth at Red Tricycle, and VP at New Signature. In addition, Craig has mentored, consulted with, and invested in dozens of high-growth startups. He’s an award-winning product strategist whose mission is to help startups succeed long-term.
Deanna Brown
A seasoned digital and content visionary, recognized for delivering extraordinary growth and innovation - including scale via new properties and content types, Deanna is a driven culture architect that builds proactive, dynamic teams necessary to respond to business changes and opportunities. She joins the Austin, TX community as a mentor, investor, and managing director or a new (soon to be announced) fund.
Elsa Givan
Elsa Givan is an Associate at Silicon Foundry, a membership-based innovation advisory firm in San Francisco. At Silicon Foundry, Elsa leads engagements with government clients like the State of Michigan's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification. She is passionate about creating impact at the intersection of economic development and innovation, particularly in the mobility, infrastructure, and agriculture spaces. Previously, Elsa was a speechwriter and freelance journalist. She holds a BS from Georgetown University.
Gesche Haas
Gesche Haas is an entrepreneur, investor, mentor, and advisor who is the Founder/CEO of Dreamers & Doers, an award-winning community and diverse ecosystem that amplifies extraordinary entrepreneurial women through PR opportunities, authentic connection, and high-impact resources. Dreamers & Doers has built a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem of over 35,000 women globally. Gesche was awarded “Forbes Next 1000”, “VOTY 100 Community Builder” by BlogHer, “Empowered Woman of the Year” by WWD/Variety/Ciroc, “The Buildies Profitability Award” by Calm Company Fund, “Best Remote CEO” by RemoteRated, “New York Talent Cultivators” by Techweek, and “Best of Tech” on Twitter by CB Insights. Prior to founding Dreamers & Doers, Gesche held senior positions at venture-backed startups in roles covering growth, strategy, finance, operations, and business development. She also spent five years as an investor at a healthcare-focused hedge fund (~$3bn AUM, SAC spin-off). Gesche is half German, half Chinese-Malaysian, and was born in Africa.
Jahn Karsybaev
Jahn Karsybaev is a Technology Executive who has led IT teams for Fortune 500 companies. He is currently a Co-Founder and CIO at myBasePay. Jahn has co-founded, launched, and successfully sold as well as successfully failed several start-ups. He is an Angel Investor and sits on boards of several tech startups. He loves teaching angel investing, growth hacking & fundraising for startups. Fund-raising is one of Jahn's strengths and passions. Cumulatively, he has successfully raised close to $70MM for the startups he has launched or advised on.
Jason Best
Jason is Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Vectr Fintech Partners, a Hong Kong & San Francisco-based VC firm that invests in early-stage founders globally. He co-authored the policy framework used in Title III of the JOBS Act to legalize securities-based crowdfunding and co-led the 460-day campaign to change 80-year-old securities laws in the US. He provided US Congressional testimony twice and attended the White House, Rose Garden ceremony for President Obama to sign The JOBS Act into law. Over $1B has been invested in over 4,000 startups using Title III. He has worked in 45 countries to both invest in fintech founders and create fintech regulation with The World Bank, US State Department, and country governments/regulators. He co-authored the World Bank’s research “Crowdfunding’s Potential in the Developing World”. He has spoken at The White House, TEDx, South by Southwest, Aspen Institute, Brookings Institute, Global Entrepreneurship Summit.
Julie Markham
Julie Markham believes that if we harness the power of business, policy, and technology to build our future we can solve some of the world’s greatest challenges. Julie has worked at and built mission-driven organizations in venture capital, consulting, microfinance, media, and technology across +20 countries. As a serial entrepreneur, she has a wealth of experience launching new product lines, building operational systems, and facilitating best-in-class toolkits for innovation. She has strategically supported +240 growth stage companies who have collectively raised $4.5B in financing and generated $3.9B in revenue as the former COO at Unreasonable Group, a venture fund and accelerator program. Julie holds a triple masters, including an MBA and an MSc in Technology Entrepreneurship as a Fulbright Scholar. Her dream is to be on the Amazing Race so she is always open to talking to casting directors.
Kathleen Hale
Kathleen Hale is an entrepreneur, investor, and venture fund manager focused on technologies that disrupt to democratize our digital future. As a founding team member of Builders + Backers, Kathleen has helped to shape a new way to find and fund ideas, including co-developing the Idea Accelerator program that gives builders up to $5,000 in non-dilutive funding to test their ideas to a distributed venture studio that makes venture investments. Kathleen also is the Director of Operations at 1776 Ventures, a venture capital fund with some of the world's most promising startups, including Twiga, Guild Education, MPOWER Financing, and HopSkipDrive.
Kelly Lei
Kelly Lei is one of the Founding General Partners of Finclusive Ventures and the Founder of Glocal Network, initially investing in REI and later expanding to venture investing and advising. Her current investment focus includes the Future of Work, Future of Education, FinTech, and ClimateTech. She also recently joined Backstage Capital as closing the funding gap is her personal mission. Kelly had a prolific career in STEM as an engineer, a program manager, and a sustainability lead at Raytheon, while also serving as a competitive Math coach in Doral Academy. She founded ERG groups and served on the diversity council. Born in Macau, Kelly immigrated to Miami at the age of 12 and moved over 10 times for her career. Kelly is leveraging her life, work, and investing experience to create diversity and equity in the startup ecosystem amongst founders as well as investors and LPs.
Greg Soh
Greg is a technology entrepreneur and angel investor, who enjoys building world-class technology teams and companies. Outside of work, Greg actively contributes to the startup ecosystem. He graduated from Stanford with a B.S. in Computer Science and M.S. in Management Science & Engineering. While at Stanford, he was course assistant and head course assistant for several entrepreneurship, product management and computer science classes.
Kyra Barker
Having spent the past decade driving consumer demand and growth for international brands, Kyra is now answering the call for greater diversity in VC. She leverages her marketing prowess and multicultural background to support founders who are building solutions that positively impact our quality of life. As a pioneering Caribbean woman in venture capital, she is on a mission to not only provide access to growth-inducing funding and resources; but also to empower members of diaspora communities to become leading investors of the future. It's not uncommon to hear her mention the terms IRR and Carnival in the same conversation since she takes every opportunity to proudly represent her home, Trinidad and Tobago.
Nathaniel Harding
Nathaniel Harding is Managing Partner of Cortado Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in growth-driven technology companies. Previously, he and his partner exited their energy company for $120M. Nathaniel was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and a Most Admired CEO in Oklahoma by the Journal Record. Nathaniel is a decorated Air Force Captain and veteran of Afghanistan and has published in multiple energy industry publications in the US and China. The Governor of Oklahoma appointed Nathaniel Chair of the Council on Workforce and Economic Development, and the Oklahoma City Mayor appointed him to oversee $777M in city infrastructure and quality-of-life projects. He has been a Miss Oklahoma judge, track national champion, Russian orphanage translator, political party National Vice Chairman, and local TV talk show host.
Paulina Anna Szyzdek
Paulina is a VC at How Women Invest, a venture fund that invests in female founders across industries. In particular, she is interested in Future of Life, Climate Tech, Industrial Automations, Logistics, and Robotics and Mobility. Paulina is an angel investor and diversity advocate that is on the advisory board of Airblock Technologies and Lumus Invest. Previously, Paulina worked with Global Millennial Capital, Blissity Ventures, Zane VC, Ground Up Ventures, State Street Bank, Euroclear Bank, Deutsche Bank, and Chatham Financial. She has lived in Poland, Belgium, UK, Switzerland, and the US. Paulina has 3 Master's Degrees in Finance, Disruptive Innovations, and an MBA. She is passionate about neuroscience and longevity as well as art and philosophy.
Prithvi Kumar Thathachari
Prithvi currently leads Business Development & Partnerships at Cyndx, a B2B SaaS platform focused on AI-driven identification of equity and M&A opportunities for financial institutions and growth-stage startups. As an early member of the founding team, he was responsible for creating and implementing comprehensive go-to-market and partnership strategies that continue to help build and drive C-level relationships with leading global investment banks, private equity firms, venture capital firms, and corporates. He is also a crypto enthusiast and has provided strategic guidance around product roadmaps, business model frameworks, and KPIs to startups in media and technology. Prior to Cyndx, he was an investment banker with CDX Advisors and has worked on several capital raises and M&A transactions in the TMT sector. He holds a Bachelors's in Commerce from the University of Madras and a Master's from New York University (NYU).
Sameen Jalal
Engineering Director at Wayve AI and AI & Industry 4.0 investor, Sameen is an entrepreneur and engineer at heart. While working to enable scale from 1B to 3B users as a Facebook Engineering Lead for 7 years, Sameen led a large Security, Integrity, and Privacy organization during some of Facebook's most trying times. He was one of the top-performing global employees at Facebook in 2018 and 2019. Formerly at Google and successfully pivoting SinglePlatform to acquisition, he now spends his free time with his family and advising and investing in companies through his angel syndicate.
Shaquille Gould
Shaquille Gould is a General Manager at Workrise (formerly RigUp), a workforce management solution for the skilled trades. As a GM, Shaq oversees all market operations for Houston, TX. Before joining Workrise, Shaq spent several years investing in early-stage startups at Quake Capital where he led the investments in 20+ startups. Prior to Quake, he held several roles at Google and PepsiCo and founded several companies. Shaq is a strong believer in Equity Crowdfunding, investing in 16 startups on Republic over the last 15 months. Originally from Antigua, he received his BBA in Supply Chain Management from Texas A&M University.
Shaun Johnson
Shaun Johnson graduated from Georgetown University with a double major in Computer Science and Sociology and graduated from The Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Science in Information Systems and Leadership Development. He is one of the most well-connected and well-respected technologists and innovators in NYC, and he has helped to build its tech ecosystem.
Tahira Dosani
Tahira’s career spans venture capital and private equity investing, operating roles and management consulting. She holds an MBA from INSEAD and BAs in International Relations, Computer Science, and Education from Brown University. Tahira has lived and worked across markets ranging from Afghanistan to Australia and wants to see more venture capital flowing to emerging and frontier markets. Tahira is innately curious and persistently optimistic. She is particularly interested in investing in founders that bring a diversity of perspective and experience and leverage technology to solve complex problems, create powerful customer experiences, and build resilience.
Terell Sterling
Terell is the Founder and CEO of Go Paladin, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping underrepresented entrepreneurs navigate the tech ecosystem. In the past year alone Go Paladin has assisted founders in raising over $60M. Terell has a long history in the tech ecosystem in Silicon Valley and has made his mark as an operator and individual contributor at top companies such as Apple, Tesla, Oracle, and a16z. Terell believes in an abundance first mentality and often thrives off of the uncertain. He focuses his time on being his founders trusted advisor and helping them navigate the complexities of business and life. Terell holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Psychology from Palo Alto University. In his off days, Terell dedicates his time to uplifting his community, advocating the importance of DEI in technology, and investing in the ambitious entrepreneurs of the future.
Vijay Rajendran
Vijay has been serving technology founders and helping them grow for more than two decades. He is an innovation leader and technology investor with a history of advising global companies, coaching startups, developing new markets, and creating innovative products and services at 500 Global. Previously, a founder in fintech (Azlo) and e-commerce (Hungry Globetrotter). He is experienced in investing in founders with empathy for their customers and helping founders with business development, product strategy, and customer development. Vijay grew up in 5 different countries and his passion for entrepreneurship has always been cross-border whether in the Peace Corps in Cameroon or working at global organizations like Kearney and BBVA. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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