Team
Ada Tam is the vp of finance at 137 Ventures. She works closely with the audit, tax, legal, and compliance teams and manages the firm’s financial reporting. Most recently, she was the assistant controller at Hall Capital Partners LLC in the Pooled Vehicles Administration group. Ada was responsible for the financial reporting, compliance, operations and management of the investment funds which represented $4.0 billion of AUM. Prior to Hall Capital, she was the senior fund accountant at Thomas Weisel Partners, where she was responsible for the accounting and financial reporting for the primary and secondary fund of funds. Ada started her career in public accounting in the audit practice at Armanino LLP. Ada holds a BA in business management economics with an emphasis on accounting from University of California Santa Cruz. Ada is also a certified public accountant licensed in the State of California.
S. Alexander Jacobson is a founder and investment partner of 137 Ventures. He is also a founding investor of ImmuneBridge, a biotech startup developing genetically enhanced immune cell therapies, and founding advisor to Armada, a startup building a distributed data center platform connected by Starlink. Previously, Alex was an entrepreneur-in-residence at Founders Fund, where he led the diligence processes for investments in SpaceX and Prior Knowledge and played principal roles in both Salesforce’s acquisition of Prior Knowledge and Microsoft’s acquisition of Powerset. Prior to that, Alex was founder and chief architect of Happstack, then the leading open-source Haskell application server. Alex is a seasoned entrepreneur: he founded Shop.com, a shopping and comparison website, which he eventually sold to Altura Ventures; Virtual Office, one of the first companies to register commercially valuable domain names; and Interband, an advertising management and measurement company, which sold to Winstar Communications. Alex holds a BS in cognitive science from Brown University.
Alex is the director of legal & business affairs at 137 Ventures. Alex leads 137’s transactions, managing the negotiation and execution of the firm’s investments. His responsibilities also extend to fundraising, where he works with investors and on structuring the firm’s investment vehicles. In addition, Alex advises on various legal matters and assists with sourcing activities. Before joining 137, Alex was a corporate attorney at an Am Law 100 law firm. Alex has a BS in mathematics from Stanford University and a JD, magna cum laude from William & Mary Law School.
Andrew Hansen is a partner, CFO & COO at 137 Ventures. Previously, he worked at Founders Fund, where he managed the operations of the firm, including building the finance staff, creating policies and procedures, and implementing systems to scale the organization’s operations from $50 million to over $1.5 billion in assets under management. Prior to Founders Fund, Andrew was a senior accountant in alternative fund services at HSBC, where he was responsible for providing administration and financial support for several hedge funds and hedge fund of funds with over $3 billion in assets under management. Earlier in his career, Andrew was at State Street, where he held roles in portfolio accounting and performance analysis for their largest U.S pension client, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). Andrew holds a BS in business administration and economics and an MBA from Saint Mary’s College of California.
Andrew Laszlo is an investment partner at 137 Ventures. Previously, Andy was a partner at VantagePoint Venture Partners and a director at Intel Capital. Andy also led several technology start-ups, including bamboo.com, which pioneered online virtual tour technology and developed eBay’s infrastructure for hosting and managing digital images. He ultimately helped take the company public before spearheading a billion-dollar merger with Internet Pictures Corporation (IPIX). Earlier in his career, Andy practiced as a corporate attorney for more than a decade. Andy holds a BA in English cum laude from Wesleyan University, an MBA from the Haas School of Business, and a JD magna cum laude from the George Washington University Law School.
Brian Jue is an associate on the investment team at 137 Ventures. He was previously a member of the Finance & Strategy Team at Checkr, where he was responsible for corporate finance and investor relations. Prior to Checkr, Brian was an investment banking analyst at J.P. Morgan, where he covered companies across various consumer & retail sectors. Brian holds a BS in business administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
Ching Wu is partner of investor relations & marketing at 137 Ventures. Her responsibilities include fundraising, marketing, and supporting 137 Ventures’ portfolio companies. Ching has 25 years of experience working in high-tech startups, large technology companies, and venture capital firms. She was most recently partner of marketing and investor relations at Canvas Ventures where she led the fundraising efforts for the firm’s first two funds. She also served as partner of marketing at Morgenthaler Ventures for more than 15 years. Prior to Canvas, Ching held director of marketing communications roles at startups such as Marimba (IPO in 1999) and Illustra Technologies (acquired by Informix). She also served in senior marketing positions at Sun Microsystems and account management at Ogilvy & Mather. Ching holds a BS in international politics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She also earned an honor’s certificate in international business and diplomacy from Georgetown.
Christian Garrett is a principal on the investment team at 137 Ventures. Prior to that, he was an investor at Caerus Investment Advisors. Christian was selected as a Rising Star by the Venture Capital Journal in the 2020 class. He earned his BS in education from The University of Kansas, where he played basketball for four years as a student-athlete, winning four Big 12 Championships and going to The Final Four in 2011.
James Pardee is a principal on the investment team at 137 Ventures. He previously worked as an equity research associate at Raymond James, where he covered Internet companies in the ecommerce, travel, digital media, and online advertising sectors. James holds a BS in economics and a certificate in markets and management studies from Duke University.
Jena Schleicher is an executive assistant at 137 Ventures. Previously, she has held roles as both a personal assistant and a research assistant. Jena holds a BA in writing and literature from Eugene Lang College, New School University.
Jess Guenzl is a senior associate on the investment team at 137 Ventures. Previously, Jess was an associate at Mousse Partners, a family office, where she invested in a variety of private market investments, including growth-stage and early-stage businesses and venture capital funds. Prior to Mousse Partners, Jess was a senior associate at Parthenon-EY, a strategy consultancy, where she worked primarily on commercial due diligence projects. Jess holds a BA magna cum laude in psychology and a certificate in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University.
Justin Fishner-Wolfson is a founder and the managing partner of 137 Ventures. Previously, Justin worked on the investment team at Founders Fund. He was also selected as a Kauffman Fellow, a program responsible for the development of leaders in global innovation and the venture capital industry. Justin graduated from Stanford University with honors, received a BS in management science and engineering, a MS in computer science, and was a Mayfield Fellow.
Kelsey Knorr is an executive assistant at 137 Ventures. Previously, she was the office manager at Valtus Capital Group. Kelsey holds a BS in finance, management, and marketing from Concordia University Wisconsin.
Koby Aliphios is a senior fund accountant at 137 Ventures. Prior to joining the team at 137 Ventures, Koby was a senior fund accountant at Fall Line Capital where he was responsible for the accounting and financial reporting for all of the investment funds. Prior to Fall Line Capital, Koby began his career at Standish Management specializing in fund administration and investor relations. Koby holds a BA in english and a MS in business management from Saint Mary’s College of California.
Mason Windatt is an accounting manager at 137 Ventures. He began his career at Standish Management where he specialized in fund administration and consulting for venture capital and private equity clients. Mason holds a BA in international studies with a business minor from Rhodes College.
Michelle Tunley is an executive assistant at 137 Ventures. Previously, she was an executive assistant for a family office and Hyatt Hotels Corporation. She has a BA in psychology from the University of Iowa. Michelle is mom to 2 boys who love soccer.
Neva Lew is an executive assistant at 137 Ventures. Previously, she was an executive assistant at Comcast Ventures. Neva holds a BA in sociology from University of California, Riverside.
Nick Procaccini is an investment partner at 137 Ventures. Previously, Nick was a senior analyst at UNC Management Company, where he worked on all aspects of the investment process for the $6 billion UNC Investment Fund. Nick holds a BS cum laude in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a CFA charterholder.
Sarah Mitchell is the corporate paralegal at 137 Ventures. She works closely with the operations and investment teams on administering and managing the firm’s transactions, investment portfolio, and investor relationships. Before joining 137, Sarah was a senior paralegal specialist at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sarah holds a BS in education and psychology from Charter Oak State College. She also earned a certificate in securities and financial regulation from Georgetown University.
Sarah is the chief compliance officer & director of operations at 137 Ventures. She is responsible for regulatory compliance and operational matters. Previously, she was the director of compliance at TriLinc Global, LLC where she was responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing the compliance-related activities of the firm and its affiliates. Prior to TriLinc Global, Sarah was an assistant vice president at Cordium (Acquired by ACA Group), a compliance advisory firm. She was also a senior compliance consultant at David Landau & Associates, LLC, where she provided regulatory compliance advisement to investment advisers focused on private fund compliance. Sarah holds a BS in international business from Georgetown University and a JD from the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Sebastian is a senior fund accountant at 137 Ventures. Prior to joining the team at 137, Sebastian worked as an audit associate at BDO where he specialized in auditing VC, PE, and crypto funds. Sebastian graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in finance.
