New York's Rising Stars: Top Venture Capitalists Under 30 To Watch

The next generation of New York City investors is already making waves in the Big Apple. These young professionals, all under 30, are shaping the future of venture capital. They come from well-known venture firms like Female Founders Fund and Lerer Hippeau, as well as smaller firms like Chai Ventures. In their free time, they enjoy activities like hiking, canoeing, and playing pickleball. We spoke to some of these Top Venture Capitalists Under 30 who are making a significant impact in New York City.

Here’s a list of these rising stars:

Layla Alexander — Female Founders Fund

Background: Alexander, 25, started her career with internships at Cleo Capital and Harlem Capital. She joined Female Founders Fund as an investor in 2022.
Why she’s notable: She focuses on the care economy, enterprise climate tech, and healthcare, which are all booming sectors. Her firm’s portfolio includes the astrology app Co-Star and Cay Skin, created by model Winnie Harlow.
Fun facts: In her spare time, she enjoys running, reading, using the sauna, and doing Pilates. She’s looking for founders who truly understand their market, retain users, and can scale their businesses effectively.

Lori Berenberg — Bloomberg Beta

Background: Berenberg, 29, worked in technical and product management roles before transitioning to venture capital at Bloomberg Beta. Her technical background helps her evaluate startups better.
Why she’s notable: Berenberg led the development of a feature at MongoDB, which is now awaiting a patent.
Fun facts: She enjoys needlepoint and vintage fashion. Lori looks for companies that are not just good, but extraordinary.

Alex Chung — Chai Ventures

Background: Chung, 26, was mentored by Serena Dayal from SoftBank Vision Fund, which gave her the confidence to enter the venture capital world.
Why she’s notable: She’s passionate about women’s health and sees great potential for innovation in the sector.
Fun facts: Her hobbies include running, racquet sports, and needlepoint. She’s particularly interested in backing companies that serve underrepresented markets.

Besart Çopa — Antler

Background: Çopa, 27, began his venture career at Antler after previously interning at a16z and founding his own company, Chestr. Although Chestr closed, he realized he could best support others as an investor.
Why he’s notable: Çopa brings a founder’s perspective to his work at Antler, one of the hottest accelerator programs.
Fun facts: He enjoys reading history and painting. He encourages young people to enjoy life and only pursue startups when they feel a deep, passionate calling.

Ethan Daly — Shine Capital

Background: Daly, 27, moved from investment banking to venture capital, working at Shine Capital for the past four years.
Why he’s notable: Daly was recently promoted to partner at Shine, which has invested in platforms like Flamingo and Notion.
Fun facts: He enjoys exploring new investment opportunities and helping startups scale.

Marina Girgis — Precursor VC

Background: Girgis, 29, started her career in finance, researching data and semiconductors before pivoting to venture capital. She specializes in pre-seed stage investments.
Why she’s notable: Girgis is known for her ability to pick pre-seed companies, like AI security startup Edera, and her seamless investment process.
Fun facts: She enjoys solving jigsaw puzzles and reading murder mysteries. Marina believes that venture capital should be more open-minded about what type of founders to back.

Laura Hamilton — Notable Capital

Background: Hamilton, 26, broke into the venture capital world by sending cold emails and calls, eventually landing a role at Notable Capital.
Why she’s notable: She focuses on data, cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity. Laura is interested in agent infrastructure and passionate founders.
Fun facts: Hamilton hosts a podcast called Partner Path, where she interviews rising investors and founders. She also helps run FemBuild Collective, a community for female engineers and founders.

Emily Herrera — Slow Ventures

Background: Herrera, 25, has been involved in venture capital for a long time, interning at Harlem Capital and Dorm Room Fund before landing a role at Slow Ventures.
Why she’s notable: Herrera was named one of the “savviest creator economy investors” by Fast Company for her forward-thinking approach in the creator economy sector.
Fun facts: In her free time, she enjoys visiting art galleries, traveling, playing tennis, and watching movies.

Bryce Johnson — Primary Venture Partners

Background: Johnson, 25, transitioned from Big Tech to venture capital after hearing Josh Wolfe from Lux Capital speak. He used his management consulting network to land a role at Primary.
Why he’s notable: As one of the few junior VCs at his firm, Johnson advocates for diversity within venture capital.
Fun facts: He enjoys classical music and recently backpacked across Southeast Asia. He’s interested in healthcare, consumer tech, and niche B2B solutions.

Will McKelvey — Lerer Hippeau

Background: McKelvey, 29, raised a fund with classmates while attending UC Berkeley, which kickstarted his venture career. He later joined Lerer Hippeau in New York.
Why he’s notable: McKelvey founded a student venture fund that continues to make investments.
Fun facts: He enjoys playing softball, basketball, and beach volleyball. McKelvey looks for founders with unique insights that others may overlook.

Mason Murray — NEA

Background: Murray, 28, shifted from investment banking to venture capital and is currently a generalist at NEA.
Why he’s notable: Murray has made six successful investments, including in the newsletter company beehiiv and AI video company Twelve Labs.
Fun facts: He enjoys playing music and experimenting in the kitchen. Murray is also excited about New York’s potential for AI innovation.

Zehra Naqvi — Headline Ventures

Background: Naqvi, 25, worked at consumer startups before joining Headline as an investor. She also writes a popular venture capital newsletter called No GPs Allowed.
Why she’s notable: Naqvi believes in the long-term potential of the consumer sector, even when the market is down.
Fun facts: She enjoys visiting art galleries, traveling, playing tennis, and watching movies. Naqvi is especially interested in consumer tech and consumer packaged goods.

David Ongchoco — Comma Capital

Background: Ongchoco, 28, co-founded Comma Capital, which focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage investments. He has experience in tech, sales, and investing.
Why he’s notable: Ongchoco made Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for his work in venture capital. His firm, Comma Capital, has invested in over 50 companies.
Fun facts: He enjoys reading and staying involved in the tech community.

Alexandra Sukin — Bessemer Venture Partners

Background: Sukin, 27, got her start in venture capital while at Harvard. She was a founding member of Contrary Capital and later joined Bessemer.
Why she’s notable: Sukin is a vice president at Bessemer, where she invests in fintech and enterprise companies.
Fun facts: She enjoys hiking and skiing. She’s excited about how AI will impact consumer companies in the future.

Mark Xu — Lightspeed Venture Partners

Background: Xu, 24, is a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. He previously attended Juilliard for violin before studying math at Harvard.
Why he’s notable: Xu is one of the youngest partners at Lightspeed Ventures.
Fun facts: He has a background in business development and enjoys playing music in his spare time.

Vincent Zhu — General Catalyst

Background: Zhu, 25, started his career at Goldman Sachs before moving into venture capital at General Catalyst.
Why he’s notable: Zhu is known for his networking skills and organizing events to help founders connect with investors.
Fun facts: He enjoys exploring new ideas in healthcare and consumer tech.

These Top Venture Capitalists Under 30 are proof that the future of venture capital is in good hands. They’re already making significant contributions to the industry, and their influence is only expected to grow. Keep an eye on these young investors as they continue to shape the landscape of New York City’s venture capital scene.

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