About

Gaingels is one of the largest, most diverse, and most active venture investment communities, and we are dedicated to showing the world that equity of access and representation in venture capital delivers positive returns.

We are amongst the most active LGBTQIA+/Allies venture investors in the world, but represent an otherwise extremely diverse group of investors and check writers from many backgrounds, and we particularly seek to promote diversity and inclusion at our portfolio companies through direct and network support.

To this day, we include over 4,200+ individual members, 3,700 of which are accredited investors interested in helping diversify the ecosystem and aim to realize outstanding returns by investing in exciting companies within the innovation economy, with leadership that is as committed as we are to building diverse and inclusive companies. Of anyone interested in joining our network, we ask three things:

To commit to helping our portfolio companies in ways other than simply investing money. That might be an introduction, advice, a business connection, or engaging in a way that is directly applicable to their experience as an advisor, mentor, or board member. When we deliver value to our companies, we contribute to raising the importance of bringing more diverse investors and leaders into the ecosystem, which brings more investment opportunities and, in turn, more opportunities for change.

To introduce others who might be interested in creating social change through business and profitable investment and bring them into the Gaingels Network, especially if they are from groups traditionally underrepresented in venture, such as women, BiPoC individuals, or LGBTQ+ folx

To conduct themselves professionally and with integrity in all circumstances. We are the representatives of our network and of our community whenever we interact with our portfolio companies, CEOs, co-investors or any other part of the ecosystem. This includes honoring our commitment to confidentiality and avoiding and alerting others to potential conflicts of interest when investing in or discussing individual companies.

Our Mission

Our Mission is to show the world that equity of access and representation in venture capital delivers positive returns.
We do this first and foremost by investing with the best through a community that measurably impacts diversity and by helping diverse and underrepresented (including LGBTQ+ and gender non-confirming) leaders of high-growth companies have access to capital. The knock-on effect of being able to raise capital is huge. Raising capital to fund a company’s growth is an important attribute of success for founders, and successful founders/CEOs quickly become people of power and influence. This opens doors and creates opportunities for those who have been traditionally excluded from them.

But we also know that diversity and inclusion is a journey and that equitable representation is an ever ongoing and renewing task. We therefore invest and support all companies that recognize its importance and see Gaingels as a valuable and strategic partner in building truly diverse and inclusive teams through our network of members, experts, and portfolio companies.

We put this in practice in the following ways:

We take meaningful positions in the companies we invest in and work with them to embrace a culture of diversity and inclusion.
We partner and co-invest with top-tier VC firms, accelerators and strategic investors in companies with diverse (including LGBTQ+) representation in leadership, board of directors, and/or advisory board, as well as in companies that recognize the value and importance of building diverse and inclusive teams and look to Gaingels as a partner in doing so.
We invest in institutional venture-led rounds in all sectors, and at all stages of growth, from pre-seed/seed to pre-IPO.
We ask all our portfolio companies to stand with us and acknowledge and sign the Gaingels Pledge in fostering a culture of corporate responsibility, diversity and inclusion, at all levels of leadership.
We actively assist our companies with business development, talent recruitment, board and advisory board recruitment, DEI strategies and initiatives.
We bring representation of an ever more diverse group of investors and check-writers within the cap table of our portfolio companies.

Our Story

Gaingels was started in 2014 by co-founders and Managing Partners David Beatty and Paul Grossinger as a small but active angel group made of LGBTQ+ investors, investing in LGBTQ+ founders. After a few years, and as the attention to the lack of diversity in venture continued to gain momentum, David and Paul recognized the opportunity to pursue the original mission with deeper and longer lasting impact by focusing on a broader mandate to co-invest alongside other venture investors and firms who recognized the value that the Gaingels network and focus could add. We also moved from being focused exclusively on LGBTQ founders to a broader focus on diverse leadership across the venture chain, from founders, to c-suite, to board members, to individual LPs and check writers, but always including explicitly LGBTQ and gender non-conforming leadership which often was being forgotten in other efforts in DEI in venture. With a broader mandate also came a broader scope in funding stage and sectors, leading to today’s Gaingels, a large and active venture syndicate that works cross-stage and cross-sector, and focused on promoting and supporting diverse leadership in venture. Managing Partners Lorenzo Thione – who also co-founded StartOut, the leading non-profit network in support of LGBTQ entrepreneurs, and Peter Steinberg joined the team around 2018, just as this inflection and transformation was afoot.

In the time since, Gaingels has grown to over 2000 members, a portfolio of over 800 companies, and its network of investors collectively has invested over $500M to date, with a 5x growth YoY each year from 2018 to 2021.

Investment & Management

Jennifer Jeronimo

CEO of Gaingels Inc., General Partner

Jennifer has over 20 years of experience in finance and banking working at large institutions such as Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns and JP Morgan earning the coveted position of Executive Director. She has a wide array of experience, both local and global, servicing institutional and hedge fund clients by running the collateral management, pricing, portfolio accounting and restricted securities departments. Jennifer was also integral in helping JP Morgan lift the consent order by working in the Compliance Operations organization. Some of her more notable accomplishments include building a KYC organization in India across all the lines of business at JP Morgan, leading the global roll-out of the transaction monitoring system, creating and implementing operational efficiencies for each organization saving millions of dollars a year and reducing friction for clients.
A passionate advocate for underrepresented leaders, innovators and founders, she is dedicated to growing the businesses and careers of the leaders of tomorrow. Jennifer is also an award-winning athlete, proud mother and resides in New York City.

Paul Grossinger

Co-founder & General Partner

Paul is the co-founder of Gaingels and Mathison.io, with David Beatty.
To date, Gaingels has invested $110,000,000+ in 200+ companies since 2016, including $80m+ in the 2020 year.
Paul also founded blue jay syndicate, now part of the Gaingels family, and a-level capital. Prior to that, Paul was the co-founder of pervasive group inc.

Lorenzo Thione

General Partner

Lorenzo is a serial entrepreneur and investor at the intersection of technology, art, commerce, and social value. he is a tony-award winning Broadway producer (Hadestown) and the co-creator/producer of the George Takei Broadway musical allegiance, of which he also directed/produced the record-breaking 2016 film.
He’s co-founder/CEO of the social edge, previously co-founded two other companies: Powerset (exited to Microsoft in 2008) and artify, as well as an active investor, board member, and advisor to many more startups.
Lorenzo’s support of the LGBT entrepreneurial community predates his involvement with Gaingels – he’s also the co-founder/board chair emeritus of startout, the leading non-profit dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship within the LGBT community. he’s an outspoken LGBT advocate and was twice named one of the most influential LGBT people in tech by business insider in 2014 and 2018.

Peter Steinberg

General Partner

Peter has honed his expertise in website UX/UI, human-computer interaction, user analytics, SEO and online communities for 25 years. following a 4.5 year run at online pioneer aol (where he co-created some of the world’s first online personal ads) he then headed up product development at Zagat, moved on to Vindigo, spent a year at the CIA, and then joined nascent startup meetup as one of their very first employees.
From 2003 to 2006, he led meetup’s product through two vital evolutions: ensuring every meetup group had a self-appointed organizer (therefore dramatically improving the attendee experience) and then implementing a monthly fee for organizers (thereby establishing a sustainable business model).Subsequently, he co-founded flashlight worthy books and headed product (and served as interim CTO) at food52. He’s been a venture investor since 2007, all the while raising two sons with his wife. With his children past their seed stage, he made his exit to assume a managing member role with Gaingels at the beginning of 2019.

Max Frenkel

General Partner

Max has always been an avid tech-enthusiast, fascinated by its novel creations and how they can improve our world. After graduating from Dartmouth with a degree in Cognitive Science (Computer Science meets Psychology), Max founded an e-commerce startup focusing on medical supplies and subsequently started angel investing.
After learning about Gaingels and falling in love with our mission, he joined to oversee our Nexus business unit which he currently runs as a partner. Max’s areas of focus include: – Overseeing our relationships with Angellist Partners, Republic, Ourcrowd, Proof, Cornice, and more – Assuring that our deals running with these partners run smoothly and close on time – Sourcing early-stage deals with a slight focus on FinTech, Web3, & DTC. – Working with our portfolio team to ensure we are supporting our portfolio companies and furthering Gaingels mission to the best of our ability. – Max resides in Miami and is an avid Scuba diver.

Emilie Poteat

Venture Partner

Emilie is an active angel investor and early Gaingels member. Emilie holds a PHD in economics sociology and has led strategy and transformation effort at Goldman Sachs and Bridgewater Associates. She also led a successful turnaround of a healthcare consulting company as its interim CEO on behalf of venture investors.
At Gaingels, she leads strategic initiatives to drive our new investment products, our network’s growth, and our impact on the LGBT community.
Emilie lives in Westchester, New York with her wife Nicole, their twin daughters Adeline and Birdie, and their golden retrievers Charlie and Eliot.

Zachary Ginsburg

Venture Partner, Calm Ventures

Zachary is the founder and general partner at Calm Ventures, a Los Angele based venture capital firm that invests in companies from seed to pre-IPO.
Prior to Calm, Zachary was an investor at OCV Partners, a $260M growth equity fund. Zach has personally invested in over 100 companies including Headspace, Coinbase and Thrive Market.

Jason VE

Venture Partner

Jason is a tech, media & music executive with experience at leading corporations and startups including Google, Viacom, Disney, Deezer & 88rising.
Jason is Vice President at 88rising, where he leads business development & partnerships at the leading music company of the most influential Asian artists in the world. Previously Jason led business development at Google and music streaming unicorn Deezer. Prior to that, he held roles in traditional media at Disney and Viacom, and started his career on Wall Street in investment banking at UBS.
Jason advises and invests in startups and is passionate about diversity in VC. In 2019, he co-founded Out in Tech Miami, a city chapter of the largest national LGBTQ+ tech community. He also mentors the next generation of music startups as a Techstars Music mentor.
Born and raised in NYC, Jason resides in Miami and is an active participant in advancing Miami’s tech community. He is on the National Advisory Council of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC. Jason is a speaker and guest lecturer, and a graduate of the NYU Stern School of Business.

Chris Leiter

Venture Partner, Atria Ventures

Chris Leiter is the Founder & General Partner of Atria Ventures. Atria partners with founders reimagining the life sciences. We invest early, at inception and seed stages, in bold ideas at the nexus of technology and biology.