Samara Hernandez
InvestorFounderInvestor at Chingona Ventures · Board director at Betterleave · Board director at Papaya Tutoring Services
United States
FoundedChingona Ventures
Find your path to Samara
About
Samara Hernandez is a Kauffman Fellow, a member of Class 26 of the two-year venture capital leadership program run by Kauffman Fellows. The program's member directory lists them at Chingona Ventures in United States.
Board director at Betterleave
Intro paths
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In turn, Samara can intro founders to Betterleave's investors below.
Betterleave's investors · 5
Co-founders at Betterleave
CA
Cara AbbottFounder
Board director at Papaya Tutoring Services
Intro paths
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In turn, Samara can intro founders to Papaya Tutoring Services's investors below.
Papaya Tutoring Services's investors · 1
Founding Partner at Chingona Ventures
Intro paths
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In turn, Samara can intro founders to Chingona Ventures's investors below.
Chingona Ventures's investors · 8
50 South CapitalChicago · since 2022Focal VenturesMiami · $250K – $750K checksFoundryBoulder · $250K – $15M checks · since 2022Insight PartnersNew York · $120M – $350M checks · since 2022Norwest Venture PartnersMenlo Park · $10M – $30M checks · since 2023PayPal VenturesSan Jose · $1M – $10M checks · since 2022Pivotal VenturesSeattle · since 2022Synchrony VenturesSan Francisco · since 2022
Experience
- Chingona VenturesFounding Partner and Jefacurrent2019 — presentChicago
- National Venture Capital AssociationBoard Membercurrent2026 — present
- SomosVCMember of the Board of Advisorscurrent2025 — presentNorth America
- CatalyzeInvestment Committeecurrent2024 — present
- Beagle LabsBoard Membercurrent2025 — present
- DaptaBoard Membercurrent2025 — present
- Optimal AIBoard Membercurrent2024 — present
- Linker Finance (TS F23)Board Membercurrent2024 — present
- Betterleave BereavementBoard Membercurrent2023 — present
- Suma WealthBoard Membercurrent2020 — present
- CertiverseBoard Membercurrent2021 — presentChicago, Illinois, United States
- Kauffman FellowsKauffman Fellowcurrent2021 — present
- Angeles InvestorsFounding Member and Board Advisorcurrent2020 — presentChicago, Illinois
- Chicago:BlendMember Of The Board Of Advisorscurrent2019 — presentGreater Chicago Area
- Venture ForwardBoard Member2022 — 2026San Francisco Bay Area
- Viva EquityBoard Member2024 — 2026United States
- Papaya - Spanish & English Tutoring for (STEM) Science, Math, Engineering, and TechnologyBoard Member2023 — 2026
- The Aspen InstituteFinance Leaders Fellow2023 — 2025
- Oper8r LLCAdvisory Board and Cohort Member2020 — 2023
- Camino FinancialImpact Advisory Board2020 — 2022Chicago, Illinois, United States
Skills & more
Board Level2Start-up Ventures13Venture Capital28Entrepreneurship15Enterprise Valuation3Investment Strategies3Business Process Improvement2Due Diligence29Options10Trading16Capital Markets7Business Strategy14
+8 more
BloombergRisk ManagementBusiness AnalysisBusiness DevelopmentAnalysisSix SigmaCross-functional Team LeadershipStrategyLanguages Spanish
- Series 63 — FINRA
- Series 7 — FINRA
From Samara's professional profile.
Colleagues at Chingona Ventures
Fernando Carranza
Senior Principal at Chingona Ventures
Grisel Hernandez
Senior Associate at Chingona Ventures
Lori DeLuca
Chief Financial Officer at Chingona Ventures
Peri Ehlman
Senior Analyst at Chingona Ventures
Samara Mejia Hernandez
Founding Partner at Chingona Ventures
Sonia Sahney Nagar
Senior Advisor at Chingona Ventures
Stella Garber
Senior Advisor at Chingona Ventures
Veronica Crystal Mejia
Chief of Staff at Chingona Ventures
Network1
Investors connected to Samara in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Samara Hernandez?
- Samara Hernandez is a Kauffman Fellow, a member of Class 26 of the two-year venture capital leadership program run by Kauffman Fellows. The program's member directory lists them at Chingona Ventures in United States.
- Where does Samara Hernandez work?
- Samara Hernandez is Founding Partner of Chingona Ventures and at Chingona Ventures and Board director at Betterleave and Board director at Papaya Tutoring Services.
- What companies did Samara Hernandez found?
- Samara Hernandez founded Chingona Ventures.
- Where did Samara Hernandez go to school?
- Samara Hernandez studied at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management (Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Finance, Management in Organizations, Entrepreneurship); University of Michigan (BSE, Industrial and Operations Engineering).
Same school
Also attended Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management1,130
Jenny LeeSenior Managing Partner at Granite AsiaKunal BahlCo-founder of Snapdeal; co-founder of Titan CapitalCristina JunqueiraCo-founder of NubankAndy FligelSenior Managing Director at Intel CapitalDavid Clark GuillermoInvestments at Impact America FundGiuseppe DonvitoPartner at P101 Ventures
+ 1,124 more
Also attended University of Michigan1,046
Erik TorenbergGeneral Partner at Andreessen Horowitz; founder of TurpentineGlen AndersonPartner at Monta Vista CapitalAlexandra FarmerPrincipal at Intel Capital, North AmericaScott ShawChief of Staff at Intel CapitalZach PoleyPartner and Chief Technology Officer at Clear VenturesTom DanilekPartner, Rise of the Rest Real Estate at Revolution
+ 1,040 more
Shared employers
Also worked at National Venture Capital Association70
Jeremy LiewPartner at Lightspeed Venture PartnersNick WashburnSenior Managing Director, Intel Capital (North America)Tiffany SpencerHead of Marketing at Menlo VenturesAdam D'AugelliInvestor at True VenturesWill PriceInvestor at Next Frontier CapitalAziz GilaniAssociate at Mercury Fund
+ 64 more
Also worked at SomosVC16
Brian Bustamante-NicholsonPartner at GreycroftDaniel ParedesInvestor at Sierra VenturesJacob MullinsVenture Partner at Copper Sky CapitalSamara Mejia HernandezFounding Partner at Chingona VenturesMaria SalamancaInvestor at Ulu VenturesJomayra HerreraPartner at Reach Capital
+ 10 more
