Fundraising Fox
/People
Sign in

James Isilay

Founder

Founder at Cognism

Zurich, Switzerland

Writes $5K – $50K checks · typically $25K

FoundedCognism

Find your path to James

12 people in our graph share verified history with James — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Michael WaldnerunlockedJames: together at Axpo Group (2013–2016)
×10James: together at Cognism
James: together at Axpo Group

About

James Isilay is the Founder and CEO of GrowthNation, with a background in engineering, quant trading, and enterprise software. He previously founded Cognism, scaling it to over $80M ARR and a team of more than 500, and currently works on Agentic AI while serving as an investor in B2B software companies and a board advisor on areas including AI-driven revenue analytics and corporate governance. He also helped produce the film Last Swim, which received an award at the Berlin Film Festival.

Founder at Cognism

Intro paths

→

In turn, James can intro founders to Cognism's investors below.

Cognism's investors · 10

Atlantic Vantage PointParis · $1M – $150M checksAXA Venture PartnersNew YorkBlue Cloud VenturesNew York · $5M – $30M checksFINTECH CircleLondon · since 2017Innvotec Ltd.London · $317.5K – $635K checksPeakSpan Capital PartnersNew York · $3M – $50M checksSouth Central VenturesLjubljana · $1M – $2M checksSwisscom VenturesZurich · $2M – $10M checksVenture FoundersLondonVolution VenturesLondon

Experience

  1. GrowthNationFounder & CEOcurrent2025 — presentZurich, Switzerland
  2. CognismFounder & CEO2016 — 2025London, UK / Zurich, Switzerland
  3. Axpo GroupAlgorithmic Trader | Energy Markets2011 — 2016Zurich, Switzerland
  4. Axpo GroupQuantitative Trading Analyst | Energy Markets2009 — 2011Zurich, Switzerland
  5. UBS Investment BankTrader | Metal Sales, Financing & Exotic Options2007 — 2008London, UK
  6. UBS Investment BankTeam Lead | IT Development & FX Derivatives2001 — 2007

Skills & more

Enterprise SoftwareSaaS SalesSoftware as a Service (SaaS)Trading Systems74VBA10C#3Generative AIAI StrategyAI AgentsMarketing Operations9Strategic Vision8Creativity and Innovation6
+12 moreOrganizational CultureOperational ExcellenceThought LeadershipData VisualizationBusiness Intelligence (BI)Fund ManagementCorporate FinanceCapital RaisingInvestor RelationsFinancial ForecastingDue DiligenceBusiness Valuation

Languages English · German

  • Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF) — Fitch Learning
  • STA Diploma — Society Of Technical Analysts Limited
  • Certificate in Corporate Governance — INSEAD

From James's professional profile.

Network2

Ed LascellesScout
Investor at AlbionVC
Flaviu SimihaianScout
Angel at TechAngels Romania

Investors connected to James in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is James Isilay?
James Isilay is the Founder and CEO of GrowthNation, with a background in engineering, quant trading, and enterprise software. He previously founded Cognism, scaling it to over $80M ARR and a team of more than 500, and currently works on Agentic AI while serving as an investor in B2B software companies and a board advisor on areas including AI-driven revenue analytics and corporate governance. He also helped produce the film Last Swim, which received an award at the Berlin Film Festival.
Where does James Isilay work?
James Isilay is Founder of Cognism.
What check size does James Isilay write?
James Isilay typically writes checks of $5K – $50K.
What companies did James Isilay found?
James Isilay founded Cognism.
Where did James Isilay go to school?
James Isilay studied at INSEAD (International Directors Programme); Imperial College London (Master of Engineering - MEng, Information Systems Engineering).

Founder mafias

Same school

Shared employers