Santo Politi is a Co-Founder and serves as General Partner at Spark Capital. He has led Spark's investments in eToro, Convert Media, Genie, Oculus, Orchard, Qriously, Storenvy, Triggit and Zazma. He also led Spark's previous investments in Adap.TV (acquired by AOL), Admeld (acquired by Google), CT-100/CNET (acquired by CBS), IPWireless (acquired by General Dynamics), KickApps (acquired by KIT Digital), Lexity (acquired by Yahoo!) and OneRiot (acquired by Walmart). He served as a board member of 5Min (acquired by AOL) and thePlatform (acquired by Comcast). He was previously a Partner at Charles River Ventures (CRV) where he led investments in BigBand Networks (NASDAQ: BBND), Broadbus Technologies (acquired by Motorola) and Groove Mobile (acquired by LiveWire). Prior to Charles River Ventures, he served as President of New Media for Blockbuster Entertainment (NYSE: BBI). He also previously co-founded BT Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm affiliated with Bankers Trust where he led successful investments in Aether Systems (NASDAQ: AETH), DigitalThink (NASDAQ: DTHK) and Novatel Wireless (NASDAQ: NVTL). He previously held various engineering and management positions at Matsushita Electric Industrial, Panasonic and Weston Instruments. He holds an MBA in finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from NJIT and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. He serves as a Board member at Qriously, PreVeil, Uncommon and Lightmatter.
Businesses Solutions • FinTech (& Financials services) • Retail (& E-Commerce) • A.I. (& Big Data) • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Future Of Work • Medical Devices (& Hospital Services) • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Mobility
Description
Partner at Index Ventures
Martin Mignot serves as a Partner at Index Ventures. He also serves as Advisory Board Member at TheFamily. He specialises in SaaS, marketplaces, bitcoin and mobile. He worked on 50+ transactions to date, including Assistly, Auxmoney, BaseCRM, Cloud.com, Codecademy, DimDim, Factual, Farfetch, Flipboard, Funding Circle, Gluster, HouseTrip, Just Eat, Lookout, Nasty Gal, Notonthehighstreet, onefinestay, PeoplePerHour, TrustPilot, Soluto and SoundCloud. He is actively looking after Index's investments in Algolia, Capitaine Train, Drivy, Rad and Swiftkey. Prior to joining Index, Martin was in the TMT team at UBS Investment Bank and cofounded the beauty subscription business Boudoir Prive (acquired by Joliebox/Birchbox) and a student web radio service.
Partner, Investment Committee at TCG (The Chernin Group) | Kauffman Fellow
Series A VC (and beyond)
Marco DeMeireles serves as Principal & Head of Private Investments at Balyasny Asset Management. He is focused on public and private technology investments across Consumer Internet, Digital Media, Enterprise Software, HCIT and IT Infrastructure businesses globally. He attended Williams College where he graduated with a degree in Economics and Leadership studies. At BAM, Marco's investment experience spans Venture Capital, Growth Equity, Public Equities (equity long/short) and personal LP investments into leading fund managers. He has sourced and led the Firm's investments in Avant, Cuebiq, Orbital Insight, Outcome Health (fka ContextMedia), and Peloton where he serves as Balyasny's shareholder representative. Prior to joining BAM, Marco was with Technology Crossover Ventures, focused on growth stage investments, and began his career in Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Division advising Technology clients based in Menlo Park. While at Morgan Stanley, Marco worked with companies in the storage, hardware, software, security, digital media and consumer internet sectors on a variety of transactions including public equity offerings (Palo Alto Networks), debt financings (Rovi, HP), leveraged buyouts (Dell/Quest) and strategic M&A assignments (Cisco/Meraki).
Eric Ver Ploeg
Investing in Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) &b...
Menlo Park - California, U.S.A.
Previous Investments
• Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners:
(mid stage)
• Ver Ploeg Venture Syndicate:
• Metric Ventures:
• AdKnowledge:
(early stage)
• ENPICOM BV:
(mid stage)
• Arches Capital:
(early stage)
• REXai:
(early stage)
• EclecticIQ:
(early stage)
• Cybersecurity Investment Fund:
• Iristrace - turning business risks into business values:
(early stage)
For my personal angel investing: category creators with defensible business models.
For my DTCP investing: Enterprise SaaS and recurring revenue businesses who are past $10m ARR and interested in doing more business in Europe.
Not Interested In
Whatever category the venture echo chamber has declared "hot" right now.
Eric Ver Ploeg serves as a Managing Director at DTCP. He serves as a Board Member/Observer at Anomali, CipherCloud, Innovid, Inuitive, Pinger, Ranovus, and ShareThis. Prior to DTCP, Eric was a Managing Director at VantagePoint Venture Partners, where he headed the mobile practice, leading rounds of funding at Spatial Wireless, OZ Communications, and many others. Eric has personally invested in numerous startups and has also run a quant hedge fund. Before beginning his investing career, Eric co-founded two venture-backed startups, where he raised five rounds of venture capital. Eric earned a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, as well as an MBA and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Founder & Managing Partner at Cherubic Ventures; Fellow at Edmund Hillary Fellowship(EHF)
Founding Partner @cherubic-ventures . China's top 40 under 40 early-stage investor by @Cyzone. Early Investor/CSO @TianGe(1980:HK), @chineseall(300364:SZ).
Omar El-Ayat
Investing in Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) &b...
How to connect with Angel Investors in the Retail industry?
In the Retail & E-Commerce industry, angel investors such as Chris Sacca, Alexis Ohanian, and Peter Thiel are prominent figures. These investors focus on startups offering innovative solutions in online retail, e-commerce platforms, and digital marketplaces. Chris Sacca, known for his early investments in Twitter and Uber, looks for disruptive retail solutions with strong growth potential. Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, invests in startups that leverage technology to improve the retail experience. Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies, seeks out companies that provide scalable and efficient e-commerce solutions. To connect with these investors, attend retail tech conferences, e-commerce expos, and networking events such as Shoptalk, Retail Innovation Conference, and NRF Retail’s Big Show. Utilize platforms like AngelList and LinkedIn to identify and reach out to potential investors. When pitching, emphasize how your retail or e-commerce solution addresses key challenges, such as improving customer experience, enhancing operational efficiency, or optimizing supply chains. Highlight any traction you’ve gained, such as partnerships with retailers, user growth, or positive feedback from customers. Building relationships through initial informal meetings or discussions at industry panels can help establish trust with these investors. Demonstrating the impact of your technology through case studies or user testimonials can also add credibility. Personalize your outreach by referencing the investor’s previous investments and explaining how your venture aligns with their interests. Demonstrating a sustainable business model with clear revenue streams, such as product sales, subscription fees, or service contracts, will further strengthen your pitch. Leveraging endorsements or case studies from retail or e-commerce experts can also enhance your credibility.
Case Studies: Successful Funding Rounds with Angel Investors on Angels Partners
Exotic Orange & Angels Partners: Turning Financial Simplicity Into Investment Success
