thumbnail image
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Join VU
  • Home
  • Investor Accelerator
    • Investor Accelerator Overview
    • VC/PE Investment Apprenticeship
    • Profit Sharing Agreement
    • Career Development & Networking
    • The VU Experience
    • REVERSE DEMO DAY
  • Education
    • Education Programs Overview
    • The VC/PE Masterclass
    • Advanced VC/PE Modules
    • Global Market Modules
    • Global Investor Trip
    • Pre-College Summer Program
  • Admissions
    • Admissions
    • Apply To VU
    • Reviews & Testimonials
    • After VU
    • FAQ
    • Resources
      • The VU Blog
      • Startup Resources
      • The Ultimate VC Podcast List
      • The Ultimate VC Blog List
      • The Ultimate VC Book List
      • The Ultimate VC Movie List
  • Team
    • Management Team
    • Speakers, Instructors, Advisors
    • 2021: Cohort 11
    • 2020: Cohorts 7-10
    • 2019: Cohorts 3-6
    • 2018: Cohorts 1-2
    • Hire VU
  • Investments
    • Portfolio
    • Pitch VU
    • Strategy & Value Add
    • Join VU's Investor Syndicate
  • Contact
    •  

       

       

      The VU Team

       

       

       

    • Management Team

      J. Skyler Fernandes

      Co-Founder & General Partner

      • Ranked Top 100 Powerlist VC
      • 10+ years of VC/PE Investing, 80+ Portfolio Companies
      • Select Prior Portfolio Companies: Beyond Meat (IPO'd), Sensity (Acquired by Verizon), ShopKick (Acquired by SK Telecom), FabFitFun, MeUndies, Le Tote, Helix Sleep, ZeroCater, Deliv
      • 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 (Corporate 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

       

      LinkedIn

      Andrew Zalasin

      General Partner

      • 25+ years of venture capital and private equity investment and operational experience with entrepreneurial growth companies
      • Early investor in Facebook, Uber, Twitter, Venmo, Wisdom Tree, MakerBot, Magnolia Cupcakes, Concur, Massive
      • 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

      LinkedIn

      James Zhang

      Partner

      • Partner at GRC Fund, a $300M+ technology fund, focused on Energy & Resource Efficiency and Health & Wellness in the US & China
      • Adjunct Professor of Venture Capital & Entrepreneurship at HKUST (Hong Kong University of Science & Technology) Business School
      • Co-Founder & General Partner at Formation 8, a Silicon Valley based venture capital fund with over $1B+ under management and early backer of unicorns like Oculus VR, Wish.com, and Oscar.  Other notable team members of the fund included Joe Lonsdale (Co-Founder of Palantir Technologies) and Gideon Yu (CFO of Facebook and YouTube, Partner at Sequoia and Khosla Ventures)
      • Venture Partner at SoftBank China Venture Capital 
      • Entrepreneur in Residence & Venture Partner at Khosla Ventures, where he took Khosla's portfolio company LanzaTech to China by brokering deals between LanzaTech and Chinese steel-makers
      • As a biotechnologist, Dr. Zhang was a co-founder of BioConsortia and founding member of Mendel Biotechnology. He led Mendel Biotechnology’s business development and its agricultural collaboration with Monsanto and biofuel collaboration with BP. 
      • Dr. Zhang has a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California Davis and completed his post-doctoral and business training at Stanford University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, respectively
      LinkedIn

      David Lee

      Operating Partner

      • Manages VU’s Hong Kong office, focuses on deal sourcing within Asia and investor relations
      • Strong network of family offices and institutional investors
      • 7+ years living and working in Asia
      • Senior Director of Corporate Ventures and Strategy at Axcelis, Inc., a semiconductor company
      • Director of International Business Development at Blackboard, Inc., one of the world’s largest education technology companies
      • Manager of Corporate Strategy and M&A at MAXIMUS, Inc., a consulting and operations firm
      • University of Southern California, MPP (International Policy and Economic Development)
      • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, BA

      LinkedIn

      Aakash Jain

      Principal

      • 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)
      LinkedIn

      Faraz Khan

      Principal

      • Angel Investor for 7+ yrs & Serial

      • Entrepreneur, Co-Founder of Freebie, a 'social currency' app

      • Founder of a Managed Services Provider with national clientele

      • Operations and Leadership at University of Chicago, AOL, MusicNow.com

      • Consultant - Accenture, Avanade

      • VU Cohort 8, 9 Alum

      LinkedIn

      Arpan Ajmera

      Associate

      • VU Cohort 7 Alum
      • Previously at ZX Ventures (CVC arm of AB InBev)
      • B.S. in Mechanical Engineering From Purdue University

      LinkedIn

      Kip Stringfellow

      Principal, Corporate Innovation & Investments

      • Initial team member and Director of Partnerships of Singularity University, an exponential tech organization that grew to 30,000+ alumni over 10 years through startup and executive education programs
      • Led partnerships with impact-focused organizations like the World Bank Group, Inter-American Development Bank, numerous global NGOs, foundations, and nonprofits
      • Extensive experience working and living internationally: entrepreneur in China, a startup accelerator in Brazil, volunteer projects in Ethiopia, language student in Argentina
      LinkedIn

       

      Derek Barnett

      Venture Partner, Corporate Innovation & Investments

      • Previously Vice President, Pietas Capital, Venture Capital (Studio Model Portfolio)
      • Private Equity Associate, Kensington Capital Partners
      • Risk Analyst, OMERS
      • Portfolio Analysis & Investment Risk Analyst, Franklin Templeton Investments 

      LinkedIn

      Johan Richards

      Venture Partner, VU Africa

      • Manages VU Africa - Synergos Venture Partners, a fund focused on investing across the african continent

      • Passionate about the entrepreneurial and economic development of Africa
      • Serial entrepreneur and Angel Investor in many entrepreneurial startups
      • Former Strategic Management Consultant focusing on entrepreneurial development
      • MBA form Wits Graduate School of Business (WBS) in South Africa
      • Served as Chairman of the WBS Alumni Association and member of the WBS Advisory Board
      • Certified Leadership Coach, Mentor, Mediator and part time lecturer at leading South African Business school
      • Consultant on the Stanford University’s Seed Transformation Program for entrepreneurs in developing economies
      • Angel investor & involved with the startup of Africa’s biggest Snow Ski & Adventure Mountain Resort in Lesotho (www.afriski.net)
      LinkedIn

       

      Jagruti (Jags) Bhikha​

      Venture Partner, Angel Investor Program

      • Super Angel Investor, 50+ portfolio companies
      • Senior Innovation Consultant, Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)
      • Founding Partner, Wingpact
      • Tech Mentor, Singularity University
      • Global Account Manager, Cisco
      • MS, Project Management, George Washington University
      • NYU - Polytechnic School of Engineering & Computer Science

       

      LinkedIn

      Irina Lanin

      Venture Partner, VU Europe

      • Mentor at German Accelerator
      • Mid-Atlantic Bio Angels
      • Merk, Ass. Director of Strategic Planning
      • Sanofi, Ass. Director Global Market Research & Analytics

      LinkedIn

      Venkat Bussa

      Venture Partner

      • 20 Years Experience, Engineering, Marketing and Entrepreneurship
      • Worked at Cisco, Lead Technical Marketing and Engineering functions for $1B High-End Routing and Optical Product Lines
      • Market Expertise: Telecommunication, Cloud, Networking, Agriculture, Education, Commercial & Newspaper Print & Packaging Industries
      • BSc. from College of Engineering Osmanabad, Harvard University -  Alternative Investments, Stanford GSB - Mergers & Acquisitions, Berkeley Haas - Venture Capital Executive Program

      LinkedIn

      Jenna Fernandes

      Co-Founder, Operating Partner, Head of Admissions & HR

      • 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)

      LinkedIn

      Julie Zimmerman

      Head of University Partnerships and New Programs

      • Significant expertise in the areas of higher education and educational technology, specifically in university relations, admissions, strategic partnerships and program development, and consults startups on scaling in the higher ed sector. 
      • Former Associate Director of Admissions & University Partnerships, St. George's University of London
      • Former Vice President, Head of Campus Recruitment & Programs, J.P. Morgan
      • Former Assistant Director of Admissions, New York University, where she launched a new graduate school.
      • While at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she managed partnerships with the Departments of State, U.S. Congress and the White House. 
      • Has extensive knowledge and relations in APAC, EMEA and LATAM educational markets
      • BA in psychology from the University of Michigan and a M.S. Ed from the University of Pennsylvania in Higher Education Management.

      LinkedIn

      Apply Now
    All Posts
    ×
    Cookie Use
    We use cookies to ensure a smooth browsing experience. By continuing we assume you accept the use of cookies.
    Learn More