Where does Liz Wessel work?

Liz Wessel is Founder/CEO of WayUp and Partner at First Round Capital.

What does Liz Wessel invest in?

Liz Wessel invests in AI & Machine Learning, Enterprise Software, SaaS.

What check size does Liz Wessel write?

Liz Wessel typically writes checks of $100K – $12M.

What companies has Liz Wessel invested in?

Investments tracked here include Blaxel, David AI, Gumloop, Ramp, Reducto, Ro, Salient, Scale AI, Scotch, Solidroad.

Where did Liz Wessel go to school?

Liz Wessel studied at University of Pennsylvania (BA with Honors, Political Science, Mathematics, and Japanese); Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School (High School Diploma).

Liz Wessel

InvestorFounder

Partner at First Round Capital · Founder/CEO at WayUp

San Francisco, California

Writes $100K – $12M checks · typically $3.5M

FoundedWayUp · YC

Find your path to Liz

1,175 people in our graph share verified history with Liz — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Arhaan A.unlockedLiz: together at Y Combinator (2022)

×4Liz: together at University of Pennsylvania

×7Liz: together at Y Combinator

About

Liz Wessel joined First Round in 2023 as a Partner in San Francisco, focusing on companies reinventing traditional industries or built on breakthrough technologies. She previously co-founded and ran WayUp for seven years (raising over $40M before its 2021 acquisition), was a Visiting Group Partner at Y Combinator, and has angel-invested in 45+ startups including Ramp, Scale AI, and Ro.

Contact· self-published, not guessed

l•••@firstround.comreveal

Likely email· guessed from name + firm domain, not firm-published

l•••@wayup.comreveal75% confident

Invests in

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

Beyond investing

Founded: Wessel co-founded WayUp, an early-career recruitment platform, in 2014 with JJ Fliegelman.
Education: Studied at University of Pennsylvania (Bachelor's, Political Science, Mathematics and Japanese)

From published sources — common ground for a warm intro.

Founder/CEO at WayUp YC W15

Intro paths

Liz went through Y Combinator (Winter 2015) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.

→

In turn, Liz can intro founders to WayUp's investors below.

WayUp's investors · 9

BoxGroupNew York · $1M checks General CatalystSan Francisco · $30M checks Index VenturesSan Francisco · $540K – $10.8M checks Red Sea VenturesNew York · $300K – $1M checks RRE VenturesNew York · $5M – $15M checks Slow VenturesSan Francisco · $50K – $1M checks SV AngelSan Francisco Trinity VenturesMenlo Park · $500K – $6M checks Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2015

Co-founders at WayUp

JJ FliegelmanFounder/CTO

Experience

First Round CapitalPartnercurrent2023 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
Self-employedAngel Investor2016 — 2023
Y CombinatorVisiting Group Partner2022 — 2023San Francisco, California, United States
WayUpAdvisor2022 — 2023
WayUpCo-Founder & CEO2014 — 2022New York, United States
GoogleProduct Marketing Manager2013 — 2014India
GoogleAssociate Product Marketing Manager (APMM)2012 — 2013Mountain View, CA
PennEatsCo-Founder and CEO (while in school)2010 — 2012
GoogleMarketing and Strategy Intern2011Mountain View, California, United States
BlackstonePrivate Equity Summer Analyst2010Tokyo, Japan
Hillary for AmericaCampaign Intern (2007-2008)2007 — 2008

Skills & more

Public Speaking20English1

From Liz's professional profile.

Investments

Investor

BlaxelDavid AI GumloopRampReductoRoSalientScale AIScotchSolidroad

Per the firm's website.

Colleagues at First Round Capital

Amy Fu

Vice President, Investments at First Round Capital

An Vu

Recruiter at First Round Capital

Anisha Gupta

GTM Strategy and Ops at First Round Capital

Anne Loeslein

Executive Assistant at First Round Capital

Annie Duke

Investor at Renegade Partners

Arpan Punyani

Co-founder and General Partner at Garuda Ventures

Ashley Mayer

Co-founder and full-time GP at Coalition Operators

Asonye Chukwuemeka

General Partner at First Round Capital

Network4

Abhishek SharmaScout

Managing Director at Nexus Venture Partners

Bill TrenchardScout

Partner at First Round Capital

Cristina CordovaScout

Partner at First Round Capital

David LiebScout

General Partner at Y Combinator

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

Frequently asked questions

Who is Liz Wessel?: Liz Wessel joined First Round in 2023 as a Partner in San Francisco, focusing on companies reinventing traditional industries or built on breakthrough technologies. She previously co-founded and ran WayUp for seven years (raising over $40M before its 2021 acquisition), was a Visiting Group Partner at Y Combinator, and has angel-invested in 45+ startups including Ramp, Scale AI, and Ro.
Where does Liz Wessel work?: Liz Wessel is Founder/CEO of WayUp and Partner at First Round Capital.
What does Liz Wessel invest in?: Liz Wessel invests in AI & Machine Learning, Enterprise Software, SaaS.
What check size does Liz Wessel write?: Liz Wessel typically writes checks of $100K – $12M.
What companies did Liz Wessel found?: Liz Wessel founded WayUp.
What companies has Liz Wessel invested in?: Investments tracked here include Blaxel, David AI, Gumloop, Ramp, Reducto, Ro, Salient, Scale AI, Scotch, Solidroad.
Where did Liz Wessel go to school?: Liz Wessel studied at University of Pennsylvania (BA with Honors, Political Science, Mathematics, and Japanese); Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School (High School Diploma).