Meet Matter’s First Associate

Today I am proud to announce that Lara Ortiz-Luis has been promoted to Associate at Matter.

In her new investor role, Lara will source, select, and support both accelerator and seed investments and develop investment hypotheses and thought leadership. She will continue to run the Accelerator Program and will begin to assume a larger role in teaching and coaching our entrepreneurs, supporting our portfolio, growing our ecosystem, and contributing to the overall strategy of Matter.

Lara will team up with our second Associate to run the accelerator program and investment deal flow, be supported by our Office Manager, and be mentored by me, the Managing Partner.

As Matter begins to scale its operations and impact by doubling down on our SF accelerator, exploring an expansion to NYC, bringing on new industry partners, and launching seed investments, I am beginning to shift my focus from doing all of the teaching and coaching of our entrepreneurs to building a sustainable team that teaches and coaches our entrepreneurs.

I am excited to begin building the future design thinking leaders of Matter.

After collaborating elbow-to-elbow with Lara over the last 20 months and seeing the impact she has already had on Matter, our entrepreneurs, and our community, I know that she is one of those leaders and I am confident that she will thrive in her new role.

Media entrepreneurs, pay attention. Lara Ortiz-Luis is an investor you’ll want to get to know.

About Lara Ortiz-Luis

Lara grew up in an entrepreneurial family where she learned first-hand the inner workings of how businesses were founded, operated, and financed. After graduating with a degree in Human Biology at Stanford, she worked as a paralegal at an impact litigation non-profit firm helping employees fight for their civil rights, while simultaneously honing visual storytelling skills with a photography-film side hustle.

She joined Matter at the beginning of 2014, where she was able to apply her unique background in mission-driven work, storytelling, and entrepreneurship. Since then, she has overseen the launch of 25 companies, 68 founders, and 4 classes. Outside the office, you can find her combining ingredients in the kitchen, spiking some sweet sets on the volleyball court, or learning a language.

Connect with her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium, and AngelList.

About Matter.

Matter supports entrepreneurs building scalable media ventures that create a more informed, connected, and empowered society. We invest seed capital and provide intensive support through our human-centered, prototype-driven start-up accelerator in San Francisco. Learn more by reading stories from our entrepreneurs, partners, and us and watching our latest video about the accelerator experience.

Originally posted on Medium.