About
Alex Zhou studied hospitality at a top-tier institution and has founded two companies previously accepted to Y Combinator. He spent the last three years in B2B2C technology sales.
Founder at HireboltYC S21
Intro paths
YC
Alex went through Y Combinator (Summer 2021) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
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In turn, Alex can intro founders to Hirebolt's investors below.
Experience
- Ventures TogetherInvestment Leadcurrent2025 — presentLondon Area, United Kingdom
- Hirebolt (YC S21)Board Membercurrent2026 — present
- Hirebolt (YC S21)Co-Founder and CEO2021 — 2026Greater London, England, United Kingdom
- Index.devAdvisory Boardcurrent2026 — present
- Various StartupsAngel Investorcurrent2024 — present
- Entrepreneurs FirstLD16 Cohort Member2021Greater London, England, United Kingdom
- RevenirCo-Founder and CEO2019 — 2021London Area, United Kingdom
- Strategic Property Partners, LLCReal Estate Development Summer Associate2017Greater Tampa Bay Area
- Goldman SachsReal Estate Summer Analyst2016New York City Metropolitan Area
- VankeCorporate Strategy & Global Investment Intern2015 — 2016Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- SquareFootCustomer Acquisition, Retention, and Analytics Intern2015New York City Metropolitan Area
- Various CompaniesDesign Internships2012 — 2015
Skills & more
Microsoft Office23Microsoft Excel13Adobe Creative Suite13Rhino7SketchUp12Photoshop7AutoCAD9PowerPoint8Microsoft Word9InDesign5Leadership22Public Speaking7
+12 more
Real EstateSustainable DesignReal Estate DevelopmentSustainabilityCustomer AcquisitionMarketingArchitectural DesignDesign ResearchSketchingUrban DesignArchitectureCustomer RetentionLanguages Chinese · English · Spanish
- 30 Under 30 | Retail & Ecommerce — Forbes
From Alex's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Alex Zhou?
- Alex Zhou studied hospitality at a top-tier institution and has founded two companies previously accepted to Y Combinator. He spent the last three years in B2B2C technology sales.
- Where does Alex Zhou work?
- Alex Zhou is Founder of Hirebolt.
- What companies did Alex Zhou found?
- Alex Zhou founded Hirebolt.
- Where did Alex Zhou go to school?
- Alex Zhou studied at Y Combinator (S21 & W20 Batches); Imperial Business School (Master of Science (Msc), Innovation); University of Cambridge (Master of Philosophy (MPhil), Real Estate Finance).
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia8,773
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3Jessica LivingstonCo-founderFounded Y CombinatorAlexis OhanianYC Summer 2005Founded RedditFred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded Nudge +1Matt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded HotspotsTrae StephensYC Winter 2022Founded Pursuit +1
+ 8,766 more
Y Combinator mafia4,716
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Ryan SheaEntrepreneurshipFounded StacksTarek MansourFounded KalshiSuhail DoshiEating beans & riceFounded Playground +1Subomi OluwalanaW22Founded ConvoyDarius "Bubs" MonsefS19Founded Sightbox +3Matthew ScholzFounded Oisin Biotechnologies +3
+ 4,709 more
University of Cambridge mafia256
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Stewart ButterfieldMPhilFounded Flickr +1Demis HassabisBAFounded Google Deepmind +2Immad AkhundMaster of Arts (M.A.)Founded Clickpass +2Inaki BerenguerPhDFounded InfiniteWatch +2Harish AgarwalMaster of Philosophy - MPhilFounded Nori +2Nikola MrkšićDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)Founded Poly +2
+ 249 more
Goldman Sachs mafia249
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Fred EhrsamTraderFounded Nudge +1Matt HuangSummer AnalystFounded HotspotsDavid VélezAnalystFounded NubankTarek MansourEquity Derivatives AnalystFounded KalshiColin WebbSummer AnalystFounded SaucepricingJeppe RindomSummer InternshipFounded Pleo
+ 242 more
Cornell University mafia218
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
John ZimmerBSFounded Lyft +1Ian JanickiBachelors of ArchitectureFounded Outfit +2Ryan XueBachelor of Science (B.Sc.)Founded Andco +2Don MuirDyson School of BusinessFounded Arc +2Uri LopatinBAFounded Pardes Biosciences +1David SteinbergBAFounded Restorbio +1
+ 211 more
Same school
Also attended Y Combinator2,000
Tarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of KalshiSuhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of ParticleSubomi OluwalanaCo-founder & CEO of ConvoyMaroof AhmedFounder at Octopus VenturesJustin SwartPartner at Bitkraft Esports VenturesCollin WallaceGeneral Partner at Lobby Capital
+ 1,994 more
Also attended Imperial Business School81
Nikolai RiiberInvestor at InvestinorAlessandro De BenedettiAssociate at NorthzoneMillan SuriPrincipal at Episode1Adrian RaduInvestor at Khosla VenturesTroy PhoaAssociate at Marlin Equity PartnersMaroof AhmedFounder at Octopus Ventures
+ 75 more
Also attended University of Cambridge893
Stewart ButterfieldCo-founder of Slack and FlickrDemis HassabisCo-founder & CEO of Google DeepMindNiko BonatsosVerdict Capital founder and pre-consensus investor formerly at General CatalystGeorgia StevensonInvestor at Index VenturesHannah SealInvestor at Index VenturesLeah von SiemensPartner at Manta Ray Ventures
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+ 887 more
Also attended Cornell University748
Doug LeonePartner at Sequoia Capital; former Global Managing PartnerJenny LeeSenior Managing Partner at Granite AsiaNeeraj AgrawalGeneral Partner at Battery VenturesJohn ZimmerCo-founder of LyftMichelle FernandesInvestor at Index VenturesMicah RosenbloomGeneral Partner at Founder Collective
+ 742 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Entrepreneurs First497
Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockToby CoppelCo-founder and Partner at Mosaic VenturesBenedict EvansWrites a weekly technology newsletter read by close to 200,000 peoplePeterDeep Tech Investment Lead at Hummingbird VenturesAniTalent Team at Hummingbird VenturesIsabel FoxHead of Investor Relations at Hoxton Ventures
+ 491 more
Also worked at Goldman Sachs1,505
Josh KushnerFounder & CEO of Thrive CapitalSarah GuoFounder & General Partner of ConvictionFred EhrsamCo-founder and Senior Advisor at Paradigm; founder of NudgeMatt HuangCo-founder and Managing Partner at ParadigmDavid VélezFounder & CEO of NubankTarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of Kalshi
+ 1,499 more
Also worked at SquareFoot1
Also worked at Various Companies197
Leonard PicardoAdvisor at Manta Ray VenturesYtsen van der MeerPrincipal at Cottonwood Technology FundHector MasonGeneral Partner at Episode1Danielle AbdelahadInvestor at Third Rock VenturesSiddharth RamakrishnanPrincipal at Scale Venture PartnersTroy A. LeMaile-StovallCEO at Maryland TEDCO
+ 191 more