The Council

✨ Community Spotlight Series #3: Alexis Zhu ✨ Today, we’re shining the spotlight on a powerhouse operator and founding member of The Council: Alexis Zhu! 🌟 Alexis is a sales and partnerships leader with investment experience from Summit Partners. She has also built teams at innovative startups like Affirm and Stripe. She built the sales team at Affirm, driving the company's first billion in loan volume. Now, Alexis leads a global payments partnership team at Stripe. Alexis returns to the Council to discuss her investment thesis and strategy, and empowers new investors on the many ways to get involved with startups— whether as an early check or an advisor. We are so grateful for Alexis' continued check-ins, and we love creating opportunities for our active members and alumnae to connect and learn from one another! ❤️ One upcoming event that captures this community energy is our Throwback Pitch Night on November 7th! RSVP link to this special event can be found in the comments.

An afternoon of refined networking and visionary discussions at our @SFTechWeek2024 High Tea! ☕️💡 The Council hosted an exclusive gathering where founders building in essential industries and our select angel community came together. The atmosphere brewed with potential as groundbreaking ideas were shared and new collaborations took root. Event highlights: • Celebrating wins: We applauded founders signing deals with Fortune 500 companies, personal milestones, and big enterprise contracts for startups in the room • Curated group of innovators across industrial tech sectors High-level discussions on the future of essential industries like healthcare and supply chain • Knowledge exchange between seasoned investors and visionary entrepreneurs We're grateful to J.P. Morgan for co-hosting this premier event, with special thanks to our partners Erin Lashbrook and Evan Sanchez. Together, we've facilitated connections that promise to reshape the industrial tech landscape. The Council continues to be at the forefront of bringing together top talent in tech leadership and angel investing. Stay tuned for more on how our community is driving the next wave of industrial innovation. #SFTechWeek2024 #IndustrialTech #ExclusiveNetworking #Innovation #TheCouncilFund

There's truly nothing like intimate conversations on company building, deals, and careers amongst operators and founders while enjoying high tea, surrounded by dripping Kelly Wearstler design 💅🏼 It was inspirational to bring The Council Angels and founders in SF under one gorgeous roof last week! Pretty sure some angel deals were getting done too (and I'll be following up on a couple myself this week 👀) We are so thankful to J.P. Morgan for the partnership on this series. It was wonderful collaborating with Erin Lashbrook & Evan Sanchez. We can't wait for the next one in NYC. Special thanks to Vanessa S. for championing this internally as well! Great to see you Rachel Tsui, PhD, Lailah Kara-Newton, MD, Cassie Huang, Emilie H., Adelina M., Kristina S. Subbotina, Esq., Elise M. Houren, Margaret Coblentz, Agrima Bahl, Katelyn Mason, Jill Soley, Shilpi Sanchetee, Priya Shah 💛

As a father of two daughters, it is so encouraging & inspiring to see 5 women in a panel of 6 on #IndustrialTech #industrybloc Zeeza Cole Aidan Madigan-Curtis Maggie Kenefake Amber Illig Scott Howard Sheena Hillier

📣 #SFTechWeek is just around the corner! Join Iron Prairie Ventures Maggie Kenefake and fellow VCs as she co-hosts 200 founders and investors at SHACK15. Get ready for insightful discussions on industrial transformation over croissants, coffee, and two incredible panels—all while enjoying a stunning view of the Bay! Don't miss out—register now for this exciting Small & Big VCs in Industrial Tech event on October 10th! 🎤 Check out the lineup of Founders in industrial tech that will be sharing: Aidan Madigan-Curtis at Eclipse Zeeza Cole at Bain Capital Ventures Scott Howard from The House of VC Amber Illig at The Council Maggie Kenefake from Iron Prairie Ventures This event is produced by #industrybloc, a new coalition of small funds focused on industrial transformation. Register below 🌟⬇️

It's been the honor of my career to invest out of The Council Fund I in Rezilient Health (at $0 revenue❗️) and get to work with Danish Nagda and Jeff Gamble, PhD. Rezilient is the healthcare platform we desperately need: Primary care, specialty care, in-house labs, virtual care, and 24/7 messaging in one place. And covered by insurance. And cheaper for employers. And less wait time. And being able to see inside your ear with the doctor. My favorite part is they are absolutely taking over and hyper-scaling from St. Louis, MO (outside of all major tech hubs). This is built by and for middle of America. Let's absolutely GO!! Congrats to this incredible team on a $10M Series A to keep up their blockbuster growth. The fundamentals are there and the progress has been breathtaking. It's just the beginning 📈 #VentureCapital #Healthcare #MidwestStartups #SeriesA #Startups

Congrats to our portfolio company Rezilient Health on a $10M Series A and so much more that led up to this moment. This is just the beginning.

ICYMI: I was interviewed by Thumbprint's investor, Amber Illig of The Council, last week! Watch this short clip to learn more about Thumbprint and its growth strategy moving forward.

Unsung perk to having a small team: as a leader you can share more of the journey with them – the good and bad. You can provide insight into processes that most employees aren't privy to (big deals that were almost lost or fell through, etc). Everything is hard won and they get to see that on full display. I've seen at larger companies that CEOs are likely to share big swings only vs the micro journey of ups and downs that gets them there. It makes sense. The bigger your team gets, the less you know them personally, the less confident you are that they can handle unfiltered truths, and the more you have to worry about confidentiality and leaks. I've loved this about running my own VC firm. It's basically like running a small business internally. Our team is currently very small and high trust. I plan to keep it that way! Shoutout to The Council team Rachel Tsui, PhD, Vanessa S., Elaine Soneja and our wonderful advisors Sonia Baschez and Elizabeth Thomas ❤️

Join a Thriving Community of Operators – Featuring Amy Kepler! At The Council, every Angel brings their unique expertise to the table, offering hands-on support to founders and contributing to dynamic deal discussions. These operators are more than just investors – they are leaders shaping the future. In our Community Spotlight Series, we’re thrilled to highlight Amy Kepler, a marketing powerhouse and VP of Marketing at Future, a cutting-edge fitness technology company. With a track record that spans leadership roles at Cruise, Visa, and Goldman Sachs, Amy has excelled in building brands, leading teams, and driving growth. She knows what it takes to thrive in fast-paced, scrappy environments while executing excellence on a larger scale. As a member of The Council, you'll collaborate with remarkable leaders like Amy, sharing knowledge, growing together, and making a tangible impact in the startup ecosystem. Don’t miss out – we're finalizing the last few spots in our Fall Cohort! If you’re ready to join a high-impact community built for operators, apply by next Monday, September 30th. Link to apply in the comments!