Minda Brusse

I bring my startup operating experience to venture investing and fund management. I co-founded the venture firm First Row Partners and I am a Venture Partner at 2048 Ventures. Previously, I held leader roles as a angel and fund manager within Grubstakes and the Seattle Angel Conference. In the fall of 2022, I will teach a hands-on angel investing class in the University of Washington Foster School of Business. In April 2020, I co-founded The $1k Project, a volunteer collective that directs cash relief to vulnerable families impacted by the pandemic. As of December 2020, we have helped $3.3M reach 1,100 to families in need. This peer to peer giving model has inspired a case study and and is seen as an innovation in collective giving. My career began with professional internships and management consulting. I began to work in tech startups in the late 1990s and have been "lynchpin" employee or co-founder 5x since then. Always a generalist that combines curiosity with critical thinking, I've also enjoyed advising and supporting founders along the way. I believe that developing the right framing questions is the key to unlocking and evaluating new ideas and approaches. As an startup ecosystem leader, mentor startups and entrepreneurs at University of Washington, Princeton, Santa Clara University and more. I am also passionate about civic and community service, the visual arts, and tennis.