Elisa Sepulveda Joins the MATH Venture Partners Team

Elisa Sepulveda sits with her dog Lola “Potato” Rose

MATH Venture Partners is pleased to announce Elisa Sepulveda has joined the investment team as a full-time Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR) located in Austin, Texas.  As EIR, Elisa will source and diligence new investments and work closely with the existing MATH portfolio.

Elisa is an operational leader and community builder that has been involved in cultivating the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Austin and greater Texas for more than ten years. She is the Managing Director of Founder Institute Austin, an early stage accelerator program, where she has helped launch 70 companies over the last four years. Prior to that, Elisa was the Managing Director for the Riveter, a coworking space and community for women and the Evangelist for Galvanize, a learning community for technology. Elisa has won several awards for the communities she built for women and people of color in Austin and is launching a new community for Latinx founders and funders in Texas. Elisa also sits on the board of Austin Technology Alliance and the SXSW Pitch Competition. 

“Elisa brings a passion for community building that is undeniable,” said Dana Wright, Managing Director. “After our first couple of conversations, it was evident that Elisa also believes in helping drive customer acquisition in companies as much as we do. We are thrilled to have her join MATH as we expand the team in Texas.”

Dana Wright moved to Austin from Chicago in January 2021. MATH Venture Partners has invested in five Texas-based startups since its inception in 2014.

Bootstrapping in America with Troy Henikoff

Co-founder & Managing Director, Troy Henikoff talks about his entrepreneurial path and MATH Venture Partners with Kristi Ross at tastytrade. tastytrade is a real financial network, producing 8 hours of live programming every weekday, Monday - Friday. Experts navigate the markets, provide actionable trading insights, and teach you how to trade.

Which Chicagoans are best at mentoring women?

TROY HENIKOFF

53, managing director, Math Venture Partners; lecturer on entrepreneurship and innovation, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management

"I love helping entrepreneurs," says Henikoff, founder of SurePayroll.com and co-founder of Excelerate Labs, now Techstars Chicago. "It's awesome to see them succeed." Henikoff requires chemistry in a mentoring relationship. "There needs to be something there—I am passionate about the company or person, and the company has to want to work with me," he says. Honesty is also necessary. "Some people think I'm too tough or trying to be a jerk," he says. "I'm not. I'm trying to help."

Amanda Lannert, CEO of Chicago-based Jellyvision, welcomes "unvarnished truth" from Henikoff. "He will tell you what you need to hear so you can get better," says Lannert, 44. She attributes a third of her network to Henikoff, and says he has sent employees, customers and other advisers her way. He's also helped her with venture pitches, one of which just yielded a $20 million investment in Jellyvision, which creates interactive employee-communication software. "I am a CEO because he was incredibly helpful with advice," Lannert says.

Henikoff mentors via 30-minute open-office appointments every Friday, a service he publicizes via Twitter, and through Techstars Chicago. The heaviest mentoring takes place through Math Venture Partners, where he invests time and ultimately money in startups he'd like to succeed.

Even while mentoring, Henikoff protects his network. One example is the way he handles requests for introductions. Henikoff asks for a forwardable email explaining why a mentee wants that introduction. He then forwards it to the person of interest. "I don't want people to feel obligated," Henikoff says. He sends four to five such emails a day with a success rate of 95 percent to 98 percent. "It's really amazing how this community is open to helping," he says.