Startup Day - Investor Q&A

​An opportunity to connect with investors for insights, tips and best practices for approaching funding, including Juliette Rolnick (Investor @ BDMI), Kofi Ampadu (Partner, Talent x Opportunity, Andreessen Horowitz) and Monique Villa (CIO, Launch TN). 

​About the speakers:

​Juliette Rolnick

​Juliette is an investor at BDMI, focusing on early to mid-stage investments in media and music technology, fintech, enterprise software, and web3 startups. Prior to BDMI, she worked at a boutique management consulting firm where she soon found herself helping executives with their startup pitches. Her work experience also includes time at Jingle Punks on the sync licensing and music supervision teams, as well as at a marketing technology startup based in the Middle East. In her spare time, she gigs as a DJ in Manhattan and Brooklyn New York, focusing on electronic music with classical elements. 

​Kofi Ampadu

​Kofi Ampadu is a partner at Andreessen Horowitz where he leads the Talent x Opportunity Initiative (TxO), which aims to identify entrepreneurs who have the talent, drive, and ideas to build great businesses, but lack the typical background and resources to do so. Before getting into the world of venture capital and entrepreneurship, he was a strategy consultant and engineer. Kofi earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.

​Monique Villa

​Monique Villa is the Chief Investment Officer at Launch Tennessee leading capital programs and investments in early-stage companies and venture funds. She is also the Co-Founder of Build In SE, a network of ecosystem builders committed to supporting entrepreneurs in the Southeast. Prior to joining Launch Tennessee, she was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) and Investor with Mucker Capital. In 2018, she joined Mucker's investment team and opened the firm's first satellite office in Nashville to lead investments into early-stage startups across the Southeast and North America.

A native of Los Angeles, Monique's career in early-stage venture capital began in 2013 as Head of Investor Relations for Velos Partners, a fund based in Los Angeles and Singapore focused on emerging markets. She also served as Chief of Staff to the founding partner of Core Innovation Capital, a fintech-focused fund based in LA and San Francisco. Earlier in her career, Monique advised digital entertainment startups on business development and strategic partnerships and later went on to lead a startup accelerator for students in the Greater Los Angeles area. Her startup career began in 2008 while interning for TOMS, where she supported finance and inventory management projects for several nationwide launches.