Ilse Calderon
InvestorScout at Lightspeed Venture Partners
Palo Alto, California
Writes $250K – $500K checks · typically $400K
Find your path to Ilse
1,394 people in our graph share verified history with Ilse — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Deep NisharunlockedIlse: together at Stanford University (2015–2016)
×9Ilse: together at Stanford University
Ilse: together at Lightspeed Venture Partners
Ilse: together at United States Naval Academy
About
Ilse Calderon is Chief of Staff to the CTO at Forge and a venture capital professional with over seven years of experience in business operations and startup strategy. She has led projects spanning consumer fintech product launches, data-driven project structuring, and operational scaling, while managing cross-functional relationships and industry analysis. Calderon is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and contributor focusing on opportunities within the Latinx demographic and direct-to-consumer business models.
Experience
- ForgeChief of Staff to CTOcurrent2024 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
- ForbesForbes Contributorcurrent2020 — present
- Lightspeed Venture PartnersScoutcurrent2022 — present
- OVO FundPrincipal2021 — 2024
- OVO FundSenior Associate2019 — 2020San Francisco Bay Area
- OVO FundAssociate2017 — 2018Palo Alto, CA
- MosBusiness Operations2022 — 2023San Francisco Bay Area
- Silicon Valley BankAssociate2017Palo Alto
- Signia Venture PartnersSummer Intern2016Bay Area
- Hangster Inc.Chief Marketing Officer2015 — 2016Stanford, CA
- Stanford Sigma Eta PiVice President & Co-founder2014 — 2016Stanford, CA
- Stanford Student EnterprisesBanking Associate2014 — 2016Stanford, CA
- China-US Cultural Exchange Association of Cornell UniversityIvy League Leadership Conference Program Leader and Marketing and Operations Intern2015Beijing, China
- AdmitSeeProject Manager2014 — 2015
- OpinnoIntern2014Greater Madrid Metropolitan Area
- LEADership, Education and Development (LEAD)Residential Team Advisor2014Wharton University of Pennsylvania
- Tibetan Social Entrepreneurship LabProgram Fellow2013 — 2014Stanford, CA
- The Kairos SocietyCommunity Management Intern2013
- City of Prairie View 4B Economic DevelopmentIntern - Stanford HAAS Center Fellowship2013Prairie View, Texas
- Stanford Linguistics DepartmentTranscriber2012 — 2013
- Rotary International's Interact Club at Klein Oak HSCo-Founder & President2009 — 2011Spring, Texas
Skills & more
Spanish50English8French7Presentations8Forecasting7Executive Presentations6Project Management3Investments1Finance1Presentation Skills2Data Analytics2Data Analysis2
+12 more
Quantitative FinanceExecutive TeamBusiness StrategyEvent PlanningEntrepreneurshipVolunteer ManagementMarket ResearchStart-upsHigher EducationBusiness DevelopmentFundraisingGoogle SlidesLanguages English · French · Spanish
From Ilse's professional profile.
Investments
Investor
Suma Wealth
Per curated public sources.
Colleagues at Lightspeed Venture Partners
Alexander Schmitt
Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners
Amber Yang
Investor at Bloomberg Beta
Anand Iyer
Investor and founder in San Francisco
Anoushka Vaswani
Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners
Antoine Moyroud
Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners
Arif Janmohamed
Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners
Banafsheh Fathieh
General Partner at Faction
Barry Eggers
Co-Founder, Lightspeed at Giant Ventures Global Llp
Network3
Adit Singh
Partner at Cota Capital
Carmen Palafox
Founder & General Partner at 2045 Ventures
Eric Chen
Earliest Stage Investors
Investors connected to Ilse in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Ilse Calderon?
- Ilse Calderon is Chief of Staff to the CTO at Forge and a venture capital professional with over seven years of experience in business operations and startup strategy. She has led projects spanning consumer fintech product launches, data-driven project structuring, and operational scaling, while managing cross-functional relationships and industry analysis. Calderon is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and contributor focusing on opportunities within the Latinx demographic and direct-to-consumer business models.
- Where does Ilse Calderon work?
- Ilse Calderon is Scout at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
- What check size does Ilse Calderon write?
- Ilse Calderon typically writes checks of $250K – $500K.
- What companies has Ilse Calderon invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Suma Wealth.
- Where did Ilse Calderon go to school?
- Ilse Calderon studied at Stanford University (Bachelor of Science in Science, Technology); Lycee Odilon Redon (Economics); Klein Oak High School.
Same school
Also attended Stanford University2,000
Peter ThielCo-founder & Partner at Founders FundDavid SacksCo-founder & General Partner at Craft Ventures; former White House AI & Crypto CzarGarry TanPresident & CEO of Y CombinatorAlfred LinPartner at Sequoia CapitalJim BreyerFounder & CEO of Breyer CapitalMike Maples JrCo-founding Partner at Floodgate
+ 1,994 more
Also attended Klein Oak High School1
Also attended United States Naval Academy158
Chad SummeBoard Member at CincyTechDouglas Lemott Jr.Vice President, SAP National Security Services at Riphean InvestmentsTony WellsVenture Partner at Copper Sky CapitalJuliane GallinaPartner at Lavrock VenturesMike SteadmanFounder, Coach, USNA '10 — writing, coaching, and designing categories for underdog military veteran founders and CEOsJohn DillonInvestor at Alsop Louie Partners
+ 152 more
Shared employers
Also worked at OVO Fund6
Also worked at Mos3
Also worked at Signia Venture Partners7
Ed ClussInvestor and Mentor at Signia Venture PartnersAnagha RajeInvestor at Signia Venture PartnersSunny DhillonFounder and Managing Partner at Kyber Knight CapitalLinus LiangFounder and Managing Partner at Kyber Knight CapitalRick ThompsonPartner at Signia Venture PartnersDavid BloomSenior Associate at Signia Venture Partners
+ 1 more
