Helix Speaker Series: Jessica Li | Growth @ ZAGENO | Head of Content @ Elpha (YC S19), Harvard in Tech | VC @ Pear, Grishin Robotics, TSVC | Writer @ TechCrunch, Pinduoduo | Mentor @ 500 Startups, Techstars, Mozilla | Fellow @ On Deck
We’re excited to have Jessica Li speaking to us! Jessica has an incredible background in both operator and VC roles, and she writes extensively online to audiences with tens of thousands of people.
From her LinkedIn:
I do growth marketing at ZAGENO, a General Catalyst backed growth stage and the world's largest life sciences marketplace.
I run my own seed and Series A content series and female founders mentorship network & newsletter (thousands of subscribers), serve as the head curator for the Boston Techstars Startup Digest, direct content for Harvard in Tech, and head content for Elpha (YC S19, platform of 45K+ women). I write for Pinduoduo, TechCrunch, Bottomless (YC W19), and BIOS.
I mentor at startup communities including Techstars, 500 Startups, Alchemist, Acceleprise, Envision, Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs, SOSV, and Plug and Play.
I am a community manager at Mozilla Builders, founding fellow at On Deck Catalyst, angel investor with Hustle Fund and The Council, Yale's digital health board member, cohort member at All Raise, and advisor to Hatchub and AiChemist.
I work with venture funds on sourcing and branding including, Grishin Robotics, Pear VC, TSVC, GFC, and Gold Rush.
I am the Boston activities chair and on the gift committee for the Harvard Alumni Association.
I graduated from Harvard with high honors. My thesis was on foreign direct investment in China (advised by Oliver Hart, 2016 Nobel laureate).
Previously, I worked with Morgan Stanley's Global Technology Investment Banking Group; in venture with Soma Capital, General Catalyst, Romulus Capital, Female Founders Fund, and Global Founders Capital; as founding head of content at the Emerging VC Association (group of 700 investors); and as an early team member and core operator with startups including Morning Brew (Forbes 30 U 30, scaling to 1mm+ subscribers), Luxe (acquired by Volvo), and Allo (YC W19).
I have been featured by TechCrunch, Forbes, Techstars, Fox, On Deck, Hacker Noon, Harvard Women in Business, Republic, Columbia, Rebel One Ventures, ParlayMe, Sales Impact Academy, Harvard Ventures, Harvard Capital Partners, UC Berkeley, New Stack, InternCon, Pandaily, The Corporate Diary, Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs, Fundraising Radio, Desircle, Future Fridays, Tech Trailblazers, Pinduoduo, ShengFM, Ripple, Worth, Harvard Tech Review, Thrive Global, Practicum, The Council, Harvard in Tech, Startup Conversation, Pay to Play, Pioneer Institute, TMI Consulting, Confluence, Bayer Strategic, Social Insights, Wonsulting, Balance the Grind, Romulus Capital, TRES, Progress, Altress, and others.
I was BostInno 25 under 25. I was a Medium top VC and startup writer in 2020.