Second annual list of Rising Star pre-partner venture investors

“Who are the rising star pre-partner venture investors in your network that you would like to recognize?”

This list highlights the most promising and influential pre-partner investors in the venture capital  community, as recognized by their peers.

This year’s selection process involved extensive input from the venture capital community. Alpha Partners invited over 200 VCs, primarily through the firm’s network, to nominate pre-partner peers from another fund who they believe are rising stars. In return, Alpha Partners received an overwhelming response, with over 150 votes for 140 junior VCs from 130 firms across 23 cities.

All nominations were thoughtful, well-considered, and supportive of pre-partner VCs whose behind-the-scenes work is crucial to the success of their firms’. Their efforts are instrumental in shaping the VC landscape but often go unnoticed. 

The individuals nominated for this year’s list consistently demonstrate sound judgment, provide valuable contributions to the venture community, and have cultivated notable influence within their inner circles and beyond.

“We are immensely proud to showcase the extraordinary talents of our pre-partner professionals through our second annual Rising Stars list,” said Steve Brotman, Founder and Managing Partner at Alpha Partners. “This initiative not only celebrates awardees’ remarkable achievements and keen investment insights but also reflects our commitment to fostering a diverse and dynamic venture capital environment.”

“These rising stars are the driving force behind our industry’s future; they bring fresh perspectives and innovative strategies that continue to shape the landscape of venture capital,” said Brotman. “We hope to encourage continued excellence and innovation in the industry while fostering a more inclusive and dynamic venture capital landscape for the future.”

Thank you to all the firms who submitted nominations, we couldn’t do this without your participation!

If you are a VC and want to nominate a pre-partner for the 2024 list, please fill out this form. 

Below is a list of the contributing funds:

And now, without further ado, we are excited to announce this year’s rising star investors.

Congratulations to you all!

Rising Star Pre-Partners of 2023

	Name	Location	LinkedIn	Fund	Quote
	Brian Nguyen	NY	LinkedIn	SpringBank Collective	Brian is a thoughtful investor, operator, and community-builder. He has played a meaningful role in building SpringBank’s fund. He’s not only playing a meaningful role in building out and supporting their portfolio, but is also a super-connector within the VC community.
	Sakib Jamal	NY	LinkedIn	Crossbeam Ventures	Sakib is simultaneously one of the smartest, kindest and hardest working investors I know. It’s rare when someone is as good an investor as they are a person. Sakib’s an even better person than investor and he’s truly world class when it comes to investing.
	Zeeza Cole	CA	LinkedIn	Bain Capital Ventures	She’s incredibly diligent and well connected. She always goes the extra mile for founders in her community.
	James Hueston	NY	LinkedIn	Primetime Partners	James’ unyielding commitment to the venture capital ecosystem, along with his dedication to technology-driven generational impact, underscores his mission of making the world a better place. His investment diligence, strong network relationships, and value delivery to LPs all contribute to this vision, benefiting founders, investors, and society as a whole.
	Jelena Hoffart	NY	LinkedIn	9Yards Capital	Jelena’s always been incredibly thoughtful with connecting people, is extremely hardworking, and one of the sharpest investors I know.
	Laura Hamilton	NY	LinkedIn	Spring Mountain Capital	Laura is kind, bubbly and hungry beyond her years. Despite just breaking into the industry, she has already helped lead multiple deals internally and has already built a following by educating the next generation of investors on the realities of venture capital with her podcast Partner Path.
	Jane Lee	CA	LinkedIn	Sapphire Ventures	Jane is one of the most thoughtful, genuine and hardworking people in venture I have ever met.
	Ronnie Martinez	FL	LinkedIn	CEAS Investments	Ronnie isn’t yet another early-stage investor. She’s going to be the next great one. Top founders regularly seek her out as she’s the rare combination of impactful, insightful, and down-to-earth. She’s not afraid to go against the grain and back founders that others haven’t. She’s ahead of the curve in identifying growth sectors before others do. She’s built CEAS Investments into one of the top early-stage investors around and is wise beyond her years. She’s not just along for the ride. She’s driving the bus.
	Patrick Harmon Lopez	CA	LinkedIn	B Capital Group	I can tell Patrick does the work to deeply understand industries, business models, and founders. He consistently offers thoughtful analysis introductions, and I’m always eager to hear his perspective.
	Claire Smilow	NY	LinkedIn	Box Group	Claire is an amazing relationship builder and is willing to be the first believer in a founder.
	Abigail Risse	MA	LinkedIn	Hyperplane Venture Capital	Abigail is everywhere in the community. She is a community organizer and tireless supporter of those looking to build new relationships in the ecosystem. She authors Boston VC Deals covering our ecosystem that has become a must read from junior VCs to GPs.
	Jacqueline Blackburn	NY	LinkedIn	Decisive Point	No one works harder but also smiles more genuinely than Jacqueline. She’s one of a kind.
	Eric Shu	CO	LinkedIn	Access Venture Partners	Eric is a top investor due to his unique ability to consider problems as it relates to macro trends. Whether cybersecurity, defense or enterprise SaaS, Eric always gets to the root of what does this do and why? He also has an incredible ability to network and has some of the best connections in the pre-partner venture community.
	Matthew Lu	NY	LinkedIn	Cowboy Ventures	Matt is a very focused and considerate early-stage investor. He willingly helps me with the ideas I am working on and is always ready to offer useful advice to his companies and other investors. I appreciate his thesis-driven approach to sourcing while maintaining a large top-of-funnel.
	Amy Wang	NY	LinkedIn	Blue Cloud Ventures	From listening to Amy speak about growth trends in enterprise software, you’d never believe she graduated from college just a few years ago. She is building a fantastic track record– I have no doubt she will quickly ascend the venture ranks at Blue Cloud and beyond.
	Grace Hahn	NY	LinkedIn	Edison Partners	Grace is an incredibly visible member of the NY women’s venture community– She knows everyone! In addition to being well-networked, she has incredibly sharp perspectives on investing and operating at the growth stage.
	Mendy Yang	NY	LinkedIn	645 Ventures	I’m a big fan of Mendy. She has zero ego and takes a thoughtful approach to investing. She’s super responsive and I expect that she takes founders’ time seriously + always learn something when I talk to her.

Rising Star Honorable Mentions With Quotes
(sorted by first name)

Rising Star Honorable Mentions

(sorted by first name)