Global Creative Director & Startup Mentor at 500

I have mentored founders across 500 Global’s ecosystem since 2010 and served as the firm’s Global Creative Director from 2015 to 2017. My work with the firm has been featured in Forbes.

500 Global (formerly 500 Startups) is one of the world’s most active venture capital firms, with a mission to uplift people and economies through entrepreneurship. It has backed more than 3,000 startups and trained more than 1,400 investors, with communities of entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and operators in over 80 countries.

In my role, I worked across marketing, events, business development, fundraising, accelerator programs, and corporate innovation, both at the firm’s Silicon Valley headquarters and internationally. I worked directly with hundreds of portfolio founders, from seed to late stage, across consumer, fintech, travel tech, biotech, healthcare, enterprise, gaming, and crypto, with entrepreneurs from markets including China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Bahrain, Turkey, and the UAE.

Five main areas of my work with 500 Global:

1. Marketing Strategy & Development: I worked directly with 500’s investment team to shape and execute the firm’s brand and marketing strategy, grounded in an understanding of what resonates with founders. This included initiating and developing the brand identity and marketing strategy for the VC Unlocked: Silicon Valley program at Stanford University, and designing and executing its creative and marketing assets.

2. Brand Creation & Event Marketing: I led brand development and marketing activations for major 500 Global programs and events, including Demo Days and the VC Unlocked program with Stanford, as well as campaigns for regional funds such as 500 London and 500 Toronto. I also developed campaigns for community and inclusion initiatives, including 500 Women and 500 Proud.

(The 500 team wearing my unicorn design at San Francisco Pride)

3. Global Startup Education: I taught founders to use design and storytelling as strategic tools for building and growing their companies, rather than treating creative work as a finishing touch. This approach ran through accelerator curricula, one-on-one mentoring, and workshops, and extended to broader entrepreneurial audiences through talks at Google, SXSW, TEDx, and Web Summit.

4. Global Startup Founder Mentorship: I guided founders across the 500 Global ecosystem on marketing, branding, design, and innovation strategy through accelerator programs, workshops, events, videos, articles, and social media. For ten years, I led brand and design workshops and mentored hundreds of founders, providing real-time guidance on brand positioning, visual identity, UX/UI, marketing, and customer acquisition at 500’s San Francisco and Mountain View accelerators.

I also led branding and marketing workshops internationally for portfolio companies and startup communities in Taipei, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Tokyo, Seoul, Oslo, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico City, London, and Singapore, as well as Series A programs in London and Los Angeles and Distro programs in Toronto and Miami. These programs consistently received enthusiastic feedback from founders and 500 Global colleagues.

5. Industry, Media & Government Relations: I represented 500 Global across the broader technology, creative, media, and international innovation ecosystems. My work included contributing to and engaging with leading media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Fast Company, and Forbes, and speaking globally on branding, marketing, creativity, and innovation at TEDx, SXSW, Web Summit, Today at Apple, and Talks at Google. I also facilitated media and speaking opportunities for fellow 500 partners and cultivated relationships with government agencies and ecosystem partners across more than 25 countries, helping connect 500 Global with international startup and innovation communities.

What founders and colleagues at 500 Global have said about working with me:

More testimonials on Linkedin.

Back Story on the “Believe Your F’n Self” Unicorn Art:

I created this unicorn in 2016 to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship. In the startup world, a unicorn is a privately held company valued at over a billion dollars, a term coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, who chose the mythical animal to capture how rare such companies are.

I later made a version for SF Pride weekend and the LGBTQ community. Since then the artwork has appeared on T-shirts, stickers, and banners across the startup ecosystem, celebrating entrepreneurship, diversity, and unity.

What I’m really making are things people can hold onto. A company’s most intense seasons pass quickly, and an object like this becomes an anchor for that shared experience, whether people were working together or celebrating together.

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