Meet Our Core Team

Our Gen Z-led team of operators, investors, and advisors across every age bracket have over a century of combined experience in scaling startups in a variety of leadership and advisory roles, helping raise/invest hundreds of millions of dollars with a 10x+ return on investment and successfully growing or exiting over 20 companies as founders or VC’s.

Brandon Maier
General Partner

Co-Founder of Quake Capital, highlighted by CrunchBase for making the second-most investments in female-led startups (2018).

250+ Startup Investments, with 84% still active, 9 previous exits. 10X+ return on portfolio of active investments within last 6 years.

Extensive network of over 1,000 investors.

Frequent collegiate guest lecturer & startup judge.

Aaron Golbin
Founding Partner And Head of NextUp

Four-time startup founder, founding his first venture at the age of 8 and creating industry-leading enterprises like DebateIsland.com and The American Post.

9+ years of operating experience across VC-and-non-VC-backed startups and a multi-billion-dollar company in the Media, AI, FinTech, and Government Consulting industries.

Strategically advised and invested in dozens of companies.

Frequent Conference and Podcast participant.

Jacob Ringel
Investor and chief of staff to the head of nextup

Determined Gen Z leader with experience in finance, strategy, marketing, and operations, assisting in investment analysis and decision-making through his roles at Guidepoint and Armstrong Capital.

Active startup mentor and coach.

Angel Gambino
Strategic Advisor

Entrepreneur and venture builder who served as the Principal of Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Startups.

WIRED Top 100 founder, CEO, & BRITS & BAFTA-winning Senior Executive of five startups across four continents and Viacom and the BBC, selling companies with a combined value of over $2BB.

Invested in and mentored hundreds of startups, building a portfolio valued at over $8BB and provided fractional leadership to Fortune 500 companies.

Phan Dao
Associate

Gen Z Startup, accelerator, and incubator expert with experience founding and managing a top Asian accelerator.

Expertise in finance, GTM, marketing, M&A, financial modeling, research, and operations.

Matthew Jedwab
Associate

Venture Capitalist with experience leading initiatives in early-stage firms.

Managing Director of Community at UMich Private Equity and Venture Capital.

Christina Zerka
Associate

Early-stage Venture Capital and growth-equity professional experienced in market research, startup and investment analysis, and due diligence.

Ex-Battery Ventures and Long Ridge Equity Partners Analyst.

Terry Yuan
Associate

Skilled startup and market trends analyst with experience in Venture Capital and Private Equity.

Former Director at Midway VC.

Highlighted Venture Partners, Mentors, and LPs

Daniel Idzkowski
Venture Partner
Sanjeev Rao
Venture Partner
Kurt Akers
LP & MENTOR
Sam Palazzolo
LP & MENTOR
Jason Manasse
LP & MENTOR
Anthony Tijerino
Venture Partner
GAR LEE
LP & Mentor
KYLE JAMES
MENTOR
Zac Delvecchio
Venture Partner
Tom Zheng
Venture Partner
Wendy Diamond
LP
Jules Arthur
LP
Michele Arthur
LP