Ff Venture Capital

General partner at ffVC focused on the energy sector and president of financial advisory firm Woods Capital. Previously CEO & COO of Rothschild & Co. Asset Management U.S. and CEO of DWS Investments.

General partner at ffVC, formerly an Investment Director at JBIC IG Partners executing PE/VC deals. Previously worked at Industrial Growth Platform and began his career at Mitsui & Co.

Adam J. Plotkin is an independent venture capitalist who served as a Partner at ff Venture Capital from 2014 to 2023, where he held director or board observer positions at over 15 portfolio companies across seed-stage investments. His career includes experience as a hedge fund investor focusing on macro trends and distressed debt, a founding team member at a startup insurance company, and early-stage work in leveraged finance at Goldman Sachs. He holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and multiple degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, and serves as a Trustee of the Pingry School.

General counsel at ffVC and a CPA and attorney with over 30 years working with seed, early-stage and growth companies, overseeing the firm's accounting, legal operations, and compliance. Previously practiced law at Mesirov Gelman, co-founded Katz and Miele LLP, and held CEO and CFO roles at operating companies.

John Frankel runs an unusually hands-on seed fund that backs category‑creating applied‑tech startups (Indiegogo, Owlet), guides founders through 30–40+ employees, and achieves roughly 50% Series A/B success.

General partner at ffVC with over 12 years in investment banking and M&A, most recently a Director at Santander Bank Polska. Previously worked at Bank of America ML in London and Warsaw M&A boutiques.

General partner at ffVC and active angel investor in Poland with over 10 years in capital markets, PE, and VC. Previously worked at mBank, Altus TFI, Bastion Investments, and spent six years in New York including at Pershing Square Capital. Joined ffVC in 2019.

Partner at ffVC providing domain expertise in robotics, AI, drones, industrial automation, and climate tech. Has a track record of exits and serves on boards of CivRobotics, Cambrian Robotics, and Paraspot; author and adjunct professor.

Joined Akkadian in 2024 with 10+ years in senior investor relations roles. Previously a partner at Learn Capital, Managing Director at ff Venture Capital, and Director at OurCrowd; holds a BA from New York University.

Amanda Rodrigues is Director of Development at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Over a 20-year career in finance, she has organized investment industry events and conferences, including the Institutional Investor Endowment & Foundation Institute and the GAIM USA hedge fund conference, and served as head of the ultra-high-net-worth community at Campden Wealth. Her background includes venture capital and alternatives investing roles, early-career experience as an auditor at the National Audit Office in London, a Master of Arts in History from the University of Edinburgh, and completion of the Private Wealth Management Program at Wharton.

Principal at ffVC with 15+ years working with early-stage companies, leading the firm's due diligence, sourcing, platform, and the AIPS program. Previously held roles at Salesforce, TriNet, SingleSprout, and R/GA Ventures.

Venture partner at ffVC and CEO of portfolio company Dashbot, a conversational analytics platform. Previously worked on ffVC's investment team and held roles at Oracle, Nielsen, and DeltaOne Solutions.

Venture partner at ffVC with 20 years across technology and financial services. Previously head of Investor Relations at MeOhr Ventures and a VP at Goldman Sachs and senior banker at J.P. Morgan.

Venture partner at ffVC and CEO of the Applied Research Institute, plus Executive Director of the DOE's Li-Bridge initiative. Previously Indiana's Chief Innovation Officer and president of lithium-ion battery companies.

Denys Gurak is Chief Operating Officer and Chief Investment Officer at MITS Capital and founder of biodrook. He previously served as Deputy Director-General of Ukrainian Defense Industry from 2014 to 2018, where he oversaw approximately $1 billion in annual trade and represented Ukraine in NATO's Industrial Advisory Group. His background spans defense technology, deep-tech investment, and executive leadership across multiple ventures.

Venture partner at ffVC with 20 years in tech leading engineering teams, including at Harry's. Advises early-stage companies and volunteers in tech-literacy and inclusion nonprofits.

Joined ffVC as a venture partner in December 2018 focusing on fintech, enterprise, and data. Helped launch Startupbootcamp FinTech New York and has extensive Fortune 500 B2B experience.

Gustav Wakéus is a Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Rimthan, where he leads the venture building practice and serves on the Executive Board. He oversees the operational delivery infrastructure for Rimthan Group and is involved in building and scaling ventures across fintech, mobility, logistics, human resources, and education sectors, with a focus on leveraging asset advantages from private corporations and governmental entities in the GCC region.

Venture partner at ffVC and CEO of the Battery Innovation Center with 30+ years in finance, operations, and battery technology. Held executive roles at Navitas Systems, Inmatech, A123 Systems, and T/J Technologies; a retired U.S. Naval Supply Corps officer.

CTO and co-founder of deepsense.ai, building custom AI solutions for enterprises. An ML lecturer and Kaggle competitor who previously co-founded CodiLime and worked at UBS.

Venture partner at ffVC based in the Middle East, previously leading logistics, F&B, and investment businesses and managing a GCC-focused portfolio of funds and startups. Also a venture partner at a London-based VC firm.

Wojciech Erdmann is the founder of bizOS, an AI operating system designed for mid-market companies. With 15 years of experience in strategy and digital transformation, he has worked across CRM, ERP, automation, and AI implementations, with previous experience at BCG. His expertise spans product design, IT architecture, process optimization, and financial planning across banking, real estate, automotive, and other industries.

Fund advisor who runs Americas FX Sales for BNY Mellon with 30+ years in the industry, including over 20 years at Goldman Sachs and roles in hedge funds and consulting.

Bobby Guthrie II leads corporate development and venture capital initiatives at Lockheed Martin, with experience in investment deal sourcing, due diligence, and systems implementation across legacy and digital sectors. He holds an MBA in Finance from Northwestern University and a BS in Finance from Morehouse College, along with Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification from Dartmouth. His functional expertise spans deal evaluation, strategy, financial modeling, and business transformation efforts.

George C. has a financial background spanning mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financing, and direct equity investments. His experience includes deal execution and client management.

Fund advisor and co-founder/managing partner of Blue Future Partners, a Berlin-based VC fund of funds backing emerging managers. Previously invested at an EU family office and co-founded Open Publishing.

Fund advisor who most recently served as CEO of Transactis (a Mastercard company) and has 38 years in payments, having built and sold two prior payments companies.

Karolina Bajorek is a Data Analyst at FedEx with expertise in SQL, Python, and data visualization tools including Tableau and Looker. Her background includes investment analysis and partnership management roles where she developed automated reporting systems, created dashboards for stakeholder visibility, and optimized processes such as onboarding integration. She holds certifications including the DataCamp Associate Data Analyst credential, Google Project Management, Google Analytics, and the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting.

Nandini Agarwal, a former medical device founder inspired by Shark Tank, brings a founder-first, empathetic perspective melding structured VC processes with angel-style deal sourcing at an active Southeast seed investor.

Fund advisor and President/Director of Scorpio Tankers Inc. with 25+ years in shipping, previously a partner at Ospraie Management and president of OMI Corporation.

Fund advisor and CFA who has spent over twenty years in roles including President and CIO of a Cleveland-based family office.

Fund advisor and Senior Venture Officer in the NJEDA's TLS division, marketing the Edison Innovation Fund. Previously a senior analyst at Hirtle, Callaghan & Co. and an investment analyst for the New Jersey Treasury.