Lair East Labs

An early-stage investor, connector, and builder with nearly a decade of venture experience. She has led cross-border expansions and guided European startups into U.S. markets. Previously spent over nine years at Big Four accounting firms including KPMG, PwC and EY, with expertise in manufacturing, construction, chemicals, consumer goods, real estate, and financial services.

Co-founder and managing partner of Palm Drive Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage tech companies. Stanford University graduate completing the Owner/President Management program at Harvard Business School. One of the founders of Stanford Chinese Entrepreneurs Organization and NYC Chinese Entrepreneurs Organization.

Senior executive in the Chinese consumer industry with expertise in investment, capital markets, and innovative businesses. Co-founder of campus P2P social service platforms. Cross-border investor with experience at Jiuding Investment and a Singapore family office in telecommunications, consumer, and aviation finance leasing.

Tenure-track professor of management at Peking University HSBC Business School in Shenzhen. Research focuses on technology innovation, startup value appropriation, and digitization strategies. Doctorate in strategy and entrepreneurship from University of Colorado Boulder, and master's degree in management science from London School of Economics. Active angel investor in high-tech and bio-pharmaceutical industries.

Tech startup ecosystem builder with extensive experience in business development, program management, and venture investment. Advised over 50 startups and facilitated nine batches of acceleration programs. Mentor at Project Invent and Peking University HSBC Business School. Bachelor's degree in Physics with publications in quantum-optics and fluorescent hydrogel.

Serial entrepreneur and product manager with 10 years of hands-on experience in product development, user experience, business strategy, and market research. Founding engineer at 3DM systems, developing products worth $140 million. Co-inventor of four granted U.S. patents with strong technical background in computer vision, robotics, software engineering, and IoT hardware. MBA from Georgia Tech.

Involved in the startup ecosystem for over a decade as an early employee, founder, and investor. Built multiple startup sales and business development teams from the ground up. Co-founded Basilica, a Y Combinator-backed AI startup where he managed growth. Angel investor focusing on machine learning, developer tools, and enterprise solutions. Penn State University graduate.

Founder of Alect Labs, an innovation lab at the intersection of AI, blockchain, and next-generation financial infrastructure. Former director at BlackRock with over 13 years of fintech experience. Led strategic initiatives in systematic trading, investment platforms, and operational excellence. Expertise spans financial infrastructure design, governance, risk management, and scalable fintech architecture.

Strategic patent counselor with expertise in electrical engineering, computer software, and biomedical devices. Experience prosecuting applications across the U.S., China, Europe, Japan, Australia, and India. Helped design and monetize patent portfolios for Fortune 500 companies and tech startups. Active angel investor providing funding to early-stage startups. MSEE from Stanford University.

Former Head of Product at Neeva, joining founders and former Google executives Sridhar Ramaswamy and Vivek Raghunathan as the first product hire. At Google, led a product team building a video ads business for YouTube that was the fastest to grow from zero to one billion dollars. Excels at product strategy, analytics, and leading teams through ambiguity.

NYS CPA and skilled tax professional with over a decade of experience in federal and state income taxation. Strong technical background in partnership, S corporation, and C corporation taxation. Rich experience managing client relations and providing cost-effective tax and accounting solutions. Partner at STAR TAX & ACCOUNTING INC.

Seasoned deal lawyer and founder of Rikka Law. Former partner in Technology Transactions & Privacy Group at Perkins Coie. Associate at Arent Fox and Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Deep experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements including strategic partnerships and cloud service agreements. Expertise in AI, machine learning, virtual reality, blockchain, and digital identity.

Marketing, communications, support, and community leader for tech companies and startups in New York City and San Francisco. Started in the video game industry during the social media explosion. Expanded support team at Tumblr incorporating community engagement. Served as first marketing hire at Medium defining reader and writer engagement strategies.

California-based early-stage investor and entrepreneur specializing in fintech, e-commerce, and audio AI. MBA from Columbia Business School. Started career as TMT investment banker with JP Morgan in Hong Kong. Shifted to digital banking with DBS Digital Bank in Singapore. Co-founder and CEO of LGW, Singapore's first e-commerce marketplace for skills-building education.

Translational cancer biologist passionate about transforming clinical cancer care. Chief Product and People Officer at Cambridge Cancer Genomics, a Y Combinator-backed healthtech startup building tools for oncologists to make therapeutic decisions. The company has raised over $8 million in funding.

Seasoned operator with over 10 years of experience in product development, strategic planning, and process improvement. Co-founder and COO of Sixfold.ai, an AI assistant for insurance underwriters. Previously founding member and COO of Unqork, a $2 billion enterprise SaaS company. LP investor at The Fund XX supporting female founders.

Chief Revenue Officer at Connatix, a video platform serving publishers across content and advertising. Began career in banking at Lehman Brothers and joined early-stage e-commerce startups. Spent over a decade in advertising and marketing in commercial growth leadership roles. Co-founder of Givology.org, a non-profit providing education grants to grassroots international students.

Co-founder and CEO of Outer, a Santa Monica-based outdoor living brand with a proprietary retail platform. Successful fundraiser from top-tier VC funds including Sequoia Capital and Capital Today. Avid angel investor and advisor for early-stage startups in Los Angeles. Computer engineering degree from University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Tech executive passionate about scaling companies and building products that tell compelling stories. Currently Chief Product Officer at PrivCo, a private company data and services company. Began career at Goldman Sachs and led technology initiatives at Bridgewater Associates. Involved in ventures supporting entrepreneurial mentorship to minorities.

Creative designer, marketer, and community builder specializing in digital and print marketing, pitch deck design, branding, event planning, and public speaking. Former Head of Community at Everywhere Ventures and various roles at MassChallenge. Harvard graduate who studied environmental science, architecture, and economics.

Entrepreneur with particular interest in hospitality and consumer packaged goods. Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Away Bar, a Shanghai-based ice cream and premium spirits company. Previously worked in corporate marketing and communications at a growth-stage healthtech firm. Yale University graduate with focus on East Asian Studies.

Strategy and operations leader with nearly 20 years of experience in start-ups, scale-ups, and Fortune 500 companies in consumer and professional services. Specializes in driving results in ambiguous contexts through strategic planning and iterative execution. Worked at Spotify during its 2018 public listing and at White & Case on global organizational restructures.

MBA Candidate at The Wharton School with extensive interdisciplinary knowledge of technologies, entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, and project financing. Led the AI Accelerator summer program in 2018 at JD.com. Served as CTO of Syntech Bioenergy, a $15 million search fund company, where he raised $8 million.

Strategy Manager at Didi Chuxing Technology Co. Began career as an engineer designing buildings and bridges. As an entrepreneur, leveraged engineering and digital technologies to optimize food supply chain systems in China. Holds patent for food production center. MBA from Columbia Business School with strong passion for green and sustainable investing.

Senior Product Manager at Audible. Previously Director of Product & Growth at Careerlist, a platform connecting employers, recruiters, and talent. Co-founder of Bansho, an e-learning platform providing live learning for children. Product leader focused on early-stage tech startups in workforce and education sectors.

President of ASCENDING, an AWS Certified Advanced Consulting Partner. Spent 15 years in IT and cloud consulting establishing deep roots in enterprise software market. Built cloud solutions for enterprises and Fortune 500 companies. Committed to helping startups with technical solutions, product-market fit, team building, and B2B enterprise software sales optimization.

Principal at Ondyr Marketing, a digital marketing firm based in New York City. Focuses on SEO, PPC, and Google Analytics with specialization in schema markup. Deep marketing experience across digital campaigns for companies including Microsoft and General Electric. Marketing degrees from Temple and Cornell University.

Director of Corporate Venture Capital at PTT Global Chemical, a $15 billion Thai petrochemical company. Responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing deals in emerging technologies in North America. Former Lead Analyst at Lux Research advising Global-1000 corporations, VCs, and government agencies on deeptech innovations. PhD in Physics from Boston College.

Leader in professional services, sales engineering, and product management for over 15 years, specializing in operations and scaling tech companies. Led operations at Unqork, sales engineering at EVERFI, and established global professional services at Yext, a SaaS company that IPO'd in 2017. Built new organizations and scaled global delivery teams resulting in $1 billion+ in new revenue.

Founder of ZAMARTZ Consulting and Director of Enterprise Project Management at Eileen Fisher. Hybrid leader and technologist with extensive background in retail and digital design. Spearheaded projects at Club Monaco, Ralph Lauren, and The Wall Street Journal. Manages multi-million dollar projects and builds intelligent digital products as brand consultant.

Specialist in R&D tax credit claims with over 11 years of U.S. experience including IRS and state tax audits. Developed SaaS-based approach for claiming R&D credits for startups with comprehensive service at no upfront cost. Advisor to established incubators including Idealab and Wavemaker Lab. Licensed CPA with degrees from Brigham Young University.