Future Labs Capital

Chris Marlin joined Venture First in April 2025 as a COO and CFO. He spent 15 years at Zappos, an Amazon subsidiary, working across FP&A, supply chain, and merchandising, and helped reshape Zappos and Amazon's assortment strategy and operations for a business with over $3B in annual revenue. He later led strategy and finance for three portfolio companies in the restaurant and tequila industry within the family office of Zappos' founders, overseeing operations in Mexico. He is a graduate of the University of Louisville and completed executive education at Columbia Business School.

Rob Penta is President, Chief Legal Officer, and Vice Chairman of Venture First, and also serves as Chief Legal Officer and a managing General Partner of Whiskey Capital Finance Co. entities. Before joining the firm, he spent 13 years as a partner at Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP, advising financial institutions, private equity groups, venture capital firms, restaurant groups, and defense-industry companies. He holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Indiana University and a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law.