The people behind the door

№ 07 - T H E P E O P L E

The people who keep the door open.

The team, the advisors, and the mentors who fly in from the Valley and beyond. The Yellow Door builds a strong community of Mentors & Advisors - without doubt, they are the secret of our success. Hover any face for the story.

The Team 26 Advisors & Partners 21 Mentors 12

§ Who keeps the door open

The Team

The partners & operators who run the fund, the studios, the programmes & the parties.

Palo Alto · MoscowVal JerdesPartnerSilicon Valley native; three software startups to exit; Apple (Newton), Lockheed Martin ATG, PE in Russia. Board member of VLAB. Pomona BA, Stanford MA, PhD research at Cambridge. the desk ⟲

San FranciscoAmy WilkinsonPartnerStanford GSB lecturer; author of “The Creator’s Code”; McKinsey, J.P. Morgan, White House Fellow. Clients from Roche to Salesforce. the desk ⟲

Moscow · New YorkAleks VolkovOperational PartnerBuilds the operations, logistics & sales teams behind portfolio success - NEPT, BELAZ JVs & more. Bear Stearns alum; NYU finance & international business. the desk ⟲

St. Petersburg · MoscowDaria DonetskayaVenture Partner · Program LeadRuns the Insiders Intensive - the front door of the whole ecosystem. the desk ⟲

Daria Donetskaya the person ⟲

Palo AltoAlex KoretskyVenture Partner · Operations StudioOriginal team that built Tinkoff; Director of Finance & Ops across US tech (Alphonso, SDxCentral). USC. the desk ⟲

Silicon ValleyMike SchwitayPartner · Advisory & Sales Studios30 years delivering IT systems - Kaiser, Epic, PeopleSoft. The liaison between business & technology teams. the desk ⟲

Palo AltoPredislava DeruginaPrincipalCo-Director of Stanford’s Startup Garage; set up the Silicon Valley Insiders Intensive. Harvard MS. the desk ⟲

GlobalVal MikhailovVenture Partner · Community LeadRecruiter of quant & HFT engineering talent; deep in DAOs & network states. Fluent in EN, RU, PT & Mandarin. the desk ⟲

MoscowJennifer TrelewiczVenture PartnerOpened IBM’s Russian R&D lab; CTO Google Russia; Deputy CTO Mail.Ru; CEO S7 Tech Lab. 28 patents; PhD ASU (NASA fellowship). the desk ⟲

Barcelona · Startup EmbassyCarlos de la Lama-NoriegaVenture PartnerFounder of Startup Embassy - the Silicon Valley coliving with 2000+ founders from 90 countries. Ex-Eurofighter & NATO UAV engineer. the desk ⟲

San FranciscoTamara SamoylovaVenture PartnerDirector of Strategy at Uber; ex-Head of Research, Deloitte Center for the Edge. Stanford MBA. the desk ⟲

East Palo AltoKimberly CarletonAdvisory PartnerMD of the Institute for Large Scale Innovation; 250+ small businesses launched in EPA; incubators in 1990s St. Petersburg. Pomona, Stanford MBA. the desk ⟲

Impact VC · ex-OracleEric BallAdvisory PartnerA decade as Oracle’s Treasurer - ran a $200M venture portfolio, raised $30B. “100 Most Influential People in Finance.” the desk ⟲

MoscowAlex ZorinVenture PartnerVenture Partner at Innov8 Global Ventures. the desk ⟲

Yerevan · Anahit Tech HubArmen GrigoryanVenture PartnerFounder of the Anahit Tech Hub - Yerevan’s inheritor of the Yellow Door tradition. One of the most sought-after technical developers around the world. PhD in Maths, Yerevan State University - where he also teaches. the desk ⟲

Vladivostok · globalPavel MaksimovVenture PartnerUnlimint’s co-founder (2009) - one of the leading cross-border banks. Merchant Marine officer, extreme-sports enthusiast, musician. the desk ⟲

MoscowDmitry BolshakovOperating Partner · Head of Operations25 years across programs, supply chain, distribution & market analysis; 17 with multinationals. MBA CSU East Bay. the desk ⟲

MoscowSergey MaximovVenture PartnerVenture Partner at Innov8 Global Ventures. the desk ⟲

KazanRashit KhayrullinVenture Partner · SportsTechFounder of Maksat Corp; founded & exited SportsWallet. Mechanics & Mathematics, Kazan State. the desk ⟲

Paris · nomadPaul-Henry KajfaszVenture Partner · Web3 StudioPolygon Labs (Miden), Ethereum Foundation fellow, Starknet core engineer - and a former Paris Saint-Germain footballer. the desk ⟲

MoscowEvgeny KaluzhnyaVenture PartnerEx-managing partner, Public Sector, Deloitte Moscow; founder of SpaceDarts (micro-satellite launches). Bauman aerospace engineer; INSEAD. the desk ⟲

Palo Alto · Moscow · SingaporeKirill LissovetsVenture PartnerPartner at Legiorant Fund; ex-VTB Capital, AIG Investments. SOAS & Tsinghua. the desk ⟲

Silicon Valley · MoscowDmitry KhizhnyySales Studio co-leadCo-leads the Sales Studio engagements. the desk ⟲

Mexico City · Moscow · SVAntonina BondarevaSales Studio co-leadCo-leads the Sales Studio across three time zones. the desk ⟲

BernElena ShishkinaPR Studio leadLeads the PR & Marketing Studio. the desk ⟲

Milan · BaliDamiano RamazzottiVenture Partner · CommunityEx-COO of Talent Garden, Europe’s leading digital coworking network; co-founder of WeTipp. the desk ⟲

Damiano Ramazzotti the person ⟲

§ Who sharpens the edge

Advisors & Partners

The people who vouch for us - and whose names open rooms on both sides of the ocean.

EdVenturesEsther DysonBoard Member, Advisor, LPThe 'Godmother of the Internet' - investor in 23andMe, Flickr, Meetup & Yandex (their first major investor); founding chair of ICANN; trained with Soviet cosmonauts at Baikonur. the desk ⟲

Draper Associates · DFJTim DraperBoard Member, Advisor, LPSilicon Valley royalty & viral-marketing pioneer. Backed Skype, Tesla, Hotmail, Baidu, Coinbase, Twitter, SpaceX & founded Draper University. the desk ⟲

Foundry Group · TechstarsBrad FeldAdvisor, LPCo-founder of Techstars and one of the most prolific VCs & writers in venture. Early in Zynga, Fitbit, MakerBot. MIT. the desk ⟲

Y Combinator · OpenAISam AltmanBoard Member, Advisor, LPFormer president of Y Combinator; co-founder & CEO of OpenAI. the desk ⟲

Y Combinator · InitializedGarry TanBoard Member, Advisor, LP“Some of the most insanely amazing work we’ve seen bringing early-stage startups & great venture funds out of emerging markets.” the desk ⟲

Future VenturesSteve JurvetsonAdvisor, LPLegendary deep-tech investor - early in Tesla, SpaceX & Planet. the desk ⟲

Sequoia CapitalDoug LeoneAdvisor, LPFormer global leader of Sequoia Capital. the desk ⟲

Stanford UniversitySteve BlankBoard Member, Advisor, LPFather of the Lean Startup movement; serial founder & Stanford educator. the desk ⟲

Sequoia · Drive CapitalMark KvammeAdvisor, LPFormer Sequoia partner; co-founder of Drive Capital - put $5M into LinkedIn the year it launched. the desk ⟲

ADV · TechCrunchKeith TeareAdvisor, LPSerial founder & TechCrunch co-founder; Palo Alto since 1997. the desk ⟲

Author · Google NotebookLMSteven B. JohnsonBoard Member, Advisor, LPBest-selling author on where good ideas come from; head of Google NotebookLM. the desk ⟲

DCM VenturesDixon DollAdvisory PartnerFour-time Forbes Midas List; co-founder of DCM; past chairman of the NVCA. the desk ⟲

ZICO · ex-Coca-ColaMark RampollaAdvisory PartnerFounded ZICO coconut water, acquired by Coca-Cola; 30+ impact investments; ex-Peace Corps. the desk ⟲

Almaz Capital · AlloyPeter LoukianoffAdvisory PartnerCo-founder & managing partner of Almaz Capital; ex-McKinsey. Notable: Yandex (IPO), Qik (Skype). the desk ⟲

Kauffman FoundationVictor HwangAdvisory PartnerVP of Entrepreneurship at Kauffman; co-author of “The Rainforest” on building the next Silicon Valley. the desk ⟲

UC Berkeley SkyDeckChon TangBoard Member, Advisor, LPFounding partner of the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund - a regular voice in the closed-door pitches. MIT & Stanford. the desk ⟲

Garage · Pegasus Tech VenturesBill ReichertAdvisor, LPStarted the first seed-stage fund with Guy Kawasaki; pitch & GTM mentor to the cohorts. Harvard, Stanford MBA. the desk ⟲

Alchemist AcceleratorRavi BelaniAdvisor, LPManaging director of Alchemist; Fenwick & West Lecturer of Entrepreneurship at Stanford. the desk ⟲

Trident · Pegasus TechMark IwanowskiAdvisor, LP28 years of operating & investing - ex-CIO of Cognizant; deep tech & enterprise. the desk ⟲

Professor · AuthorVivek WadhwaBoard Member, Advisor, LPAcademic, author & commentator on technology & immigrant founders. the desk ⟲

Garage · ex-AppleGuy KawasakiAdvisorChief evangelist; original Apple evangelist & author. the desk ⟲

Guy Kawasaki the person ⟲

§ Who flies in

Mentors

The Fencing & Jousting Society - the venture partners around the world who test, refine & back the next generation.

Silicon ValleyIlya KhanykovVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Ilya Khanykov the person ⟲

New YorkKatia GaikaVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Katia Gaika the person ⟲

SerbiaDragorad KneziVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Dragorad Knezi the person ⟲

MiamiNatalia BidnenkoVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Natalia Bidnenko the person ⟲

Cambridge, MAAnna FokinaVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Anna Fokina the person ⟲

Palo AltoMikhail TrofimovVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Mikhail Trofimov the person ⟲

HelsinkiNikolai ZheginVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Nikolai Zhegin the person ⟲

BerlinNikolay GrachevVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Nikolay Grachev the person ⟲

St. PetersburgVasya LikhoiVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Vasya Likhoi the person ⟲

LondonArtur ShamalovVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Artur Shamalov the person ⟲

Moscow · Silicon ValleyPavel RyskovVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Pavel Ryskov the person ⟲

MoscowNikita RozhdestvenskyVenture Partner · Mentor the desk ⟲

Nikita Rozhdestvensky the person ⟲

№ 04 - O U R F R I E N D S I N T H E V A L L E Y

The room we walk into.

A standing network of people who built the modern Valley, and who pick up the phone. Ninety ambassadors, and growing.

Esther DysonEdVentures

Vinod KhoslaKhosla Ventures

Guy KawasakiGarage Ventures

Bill MarisGoogle Ventures

Sam AltmanY Combinator · OpenAI

Kat ManalacY Combinator

Mike SeibelY Combinator

Garry TanInitialized · YC

Adi TatarkoHouzz

Matt RogersNest

Logan GreenLyft

Marvin Liao500 Startups

Christine Tsai500 Startups

Brett Fink500 Startups

Eric MigicovskyPebble

Mike KriegerInstagram

Nate BlecharczykAirbnb

Steve CaseRevolution · AOL

Biz StoneTwitter

Jeff HagginsSmartThings

Jeff HoffmanPriceline · Color Jar

Bill ReichertGarage Ventures

Leila JanahSama Group

Mary GroveGoogle for Entrepreneurs

Dave McClure500 Startups

Scott CookIntuit

Derek AndersenStartup Grind

Reid HoffmanGreylock Partners

Aileen LeeCowboy Ventures

David SacksYammer · Zenefits

Scott HarrisonCharity: Water

Dave GoldbergSurveyMonkey

Danae RingelmannIndiegogo

Matt MillerSequoia Capital

Ryan HooverProduct Hunt

Bill WatkinsImergy Power

Patrick Llewellyn99designs

Josh ElmanGreylock Partners

Alfred LinSequoia Capital

Torsten KolindYouNoodle

Melody McCloskeyStyleSeat

Vanessa O'ConnellWall Street Journal

Marc AndreessenAndreessen Horowitz

Mika AbbottKleiner Perkins

Steve BlankStanford

Bill & Billy DraperDraper University

Laura Weidman PowersCODE2040

Mikkel SvaneZendesk

Mark IwanowskiTrident Ventures

George ZacharyCharles River Ventures

Vanessa ColellaCiti Ventures

Mark SusterUpfront Ventures

Tim DraperDraper Associates · DFJ

Steve JurvetsonFuture Ventures

Doug LeoneSequoia Capital

Mark KvammeDrive Capital

Brad FeldFoundry · Techstars

Keith TeareSignal Fund · TechCrunch

Ravi BelaniAlchemist Accelerator

Chon TangBerkeley SkyDeck

Steven B. JohnsonAuthor · Google

Vivek WadhwaProfessor · Author

…& many, many more.

● The bench is deep

Want a mentor in your corner?

The Fencing & Jousting Society is how the mentors find the founders. By invitation - and the introductions start at Founders Coffee.

Enter the Society → ← Back to The Yellow Door

Let's stay in touch.

The dispatch

A letter, occasionally.

Cohort openings, party invitations, the odd confession. Once a fortnight at most, and never boring - we'd be too embarrassed.

The channels

Hear it first.

The Telegram channel gets everything first - dates, photos, the odd rumour. Everyone else is fashionably late.

Telegram ↗LinkedIn ↗Facebook ↗Instagram ↗YouTube ↗

The envelope

Show us what you've got.

Founders - send your pitch deck → Investors - share your thesis → Corporates - scope a sprint → Book a free consultation 30 min ↗

One family · The Yellow Door Labs Advisory Venture F&JS Stories We help build, support & invest in startups going global.