Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
- Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six fund announced three new operators in residence.
- The fund received over 1,100 applications in a week and only accepted three operators.
- Back in September, Seven Seven Six targeted a $150 million fundraising.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
After three months and 1,100 applications, venture fund Seven Seven Six has named the first three participants in its “operators in residence” program, the fund’s bid to help tech professionals from a variety of backgrounds make the move into a career in venture capital investing.
Last Friday, the fund announced the three chosen “operating partners,” and reiterated the program’s mission: “If we can attract and train talented operators from a wide variety of backgrounds for an annual evergreen program, we can then provide unparalleled support to our portfolio companies year over year AND bring much needed access and opportunity for all to venture capital.”
The three operators joining the inaugural class are Hiram Vazquez, Travis Mason, and Cristina Georgoulakis, who will spend the next year earning $140,000 a year to build their respective investor skills and strategies while offering their operational experience to Seven Seven Six’s portfolio companies.
Vazquez is joining Seven Seven Six after stints as an entrepreneur and product manager in growth-stage startups such as Uber. Vazquez’s inspiration comes from the tech industry using their platform to give back outside of the industry.
Mason comes from working at companies such as Google and Airbus and is interested in emerging technologies worldwide. “Not every startup has to weigh the challenges of policy and regulation on day one,” Mason said in the announcement. “But in a world where governments are increasingly regulating innovation, large and small, a mastery of rule making can be a startups (and investors) secret weapon.”
Georgoulakis, a "dot-connector & systems-thinking leader," joins Seven Seven Six with a CX and design background while also holding leadership roles in hyper-growth startups. "I am a Customer Experience leader who values driving growth in people and organizations," Georgoulakis said in the announcement. "I'm interested in joining a for-profit mission-driven company where I can drive growth in people and organizations."
The three operators started at the fund in late January and have already been working with the fund's portfolio companies.
Alexis Ohanian, former cofounder of Reddit and venture firm Initialized Capital, announced plans last September to raise the Seven Seven Six fund, with a target of raising $150 million.