Fundraising Fox

Zeynep Ilgaz

Investor

General Partner at Breakaway Partners OÜ · Advisor at Berkeley SkyDeck Fund

San Diego

About

Zeynep Ilgaz is a General Partner at Cross Ocean Ventures who invests in technology companies and advises founders on fundraising and growth strategy. She co-founded Confirm B, a consumer diagnostics company that achieved retail distribution in over 20,000 stores and was acquired for a nine-figure sum. Ilgaz serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Yale Ventures and mentor with Berkeley SkyDeck and Techstars, supporting early-stage startups across fundraising, investor relations, and scaling operations.

Experience

  1. Cross Ocean VenturesGeneral Partnercurrent2021 — presentSan Diego, CA
  2. Yale VenturesEntrepreneur in Residence (EIR)current2024 — present
  3. HelptivoStrategic Advisorcurrent2025 — presentSan Diego, California, United States
  4. NuFund Venture GroupAngel Investorcurrent2024 — presentSan Diego, California, United States
  5. Berkeley SkyDeckAdvisorcurrent2022 — present
  6. EndometricsBoard of Advisorscurrent2022 — present
  7. San Diego State UniversityBoard of Director, Campanile Foundationcurrent2021 — presentSan Diego, California, United States
  8. San Diego State UniversityAdvisory Board Membercurrent2020 — present
  9. San Diego State UniversityLecturer, International Entrepreneurshipcurrent2015 — present
  10. Confirm BiosciencesChief Advisor an Co-Founder2019 — 2024
  11. Confirm BiosciencesChief Advisor & Co-Founder2019 — 2024
  12. Confirm BiosciencesDirector2006 — 2022

Skills & more

Strategic Business Advice13Investments21Angel Investing19Board of Directors9Fundraising14Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)13Retail10Growth Strategies6Biotechnology16Business Development37Business Planning16Business Strategy26
+12 moreCommercializationDrug TestingCorporate DevelopmentEntrepreneurshipInternational SalesMarket ResearchManagement ConsultingMarketing StrategyLeadershipNegotiationStrategic PlanningTeam Leadership

Languages English · German · Turkish

  • NACD Directorship Certification® — NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors)
  • Women Owned Business

From Zeynep's professional profile.

Colleagues at Breakaway Partners OÜ

Haydar Nur
Analyst at Breakaway Partners OÜ
Milan Saes
General Partner at Breakaway Partners OÜ
Serhat Pala
General Partner at Breakaway Partners OÜ

Frequently asked questions

Who is Zeynep Ilgaz?
Zeynep Ilgaz is a General Partner at Cross Ocean Ventures who invests in technology companies and advises founders on fundraising and growth strategy. She co-founded Confirm B, a consumer diagnostics company that achieved retail distribution in over 20,000 stores and was acquired for a nine-figure sum. Ilgaz serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Yale Ventures and mentor with Berkeley SkyDeck and Techstars, supporting early-stage startups across fundraising, investor relations, and scaling operations.
Where does Zeynep Ilgaz work?
Zeynep Ilgaz is General Partner at Breakaway Partners OÜ.
Where did Zeynep Ilgaz go to school?
Zeynep Ilgaz studied at San Diego State University (MBA); Boğaziçi University (BA, Economics); Antalya Anadolu Lisesi.

Founder mafias

San Diego State University mafia16

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Louis Hernandez, Jr.Bachelor of Science - BSFounded Payveris +1Dino VendettiBSEEFounded Crowd StreetKevin MayerMSEEFounded Candle MediaSerhat PalaMBAFounded Confirm BiosciencesBrian RequarthBachelorsFounded VivaRealDavid SchafferBAFounded Viveretx

+ 9 more

NuFund Venture Group mafia7

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Akash PaiAngel Investor and Board member at NuFund venture groupFounded ZeroBrushPaul VooisAngel InvestorFounded ClariPhy CommunicationsSerhat PalaPresidentFounded Confirm BiosciencesAshok KamalExecutive DirectorFounded OutsiteMark LambertInvestorFounded Applied AtomicsOhad TzurLP & Board ObserverFounded Kahoona

Breakaway Partners OÜ mafia2

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Serhat PalaGeneral PartnerFounded Confirm Biosciences

Same school

Also attended San Diego State University140

Lucas SchaubelInvestor at DN CapitalJohn GregerCPO & Portfolio Partner at Burda Principal InvestmentsAndreas WeiskamPartner and Co-Founder of Sapphire Ventures, focused on European investmentsSam KingAssociate General Counsel at Sapphire VenturesEmily StanfordInvestor at Notable CapitalMarienne CaroMarketing Lead at Qualcomm Ventures

+ 134 more

Also attended Boğaziçi University59

Santo PolitiInvestor at Spark CapitalElçinTalent Team at Hummingbird VenturesAnıl Gökçen KörpınarManaging Partner at IdacapitalSecil BaysalOperator in Residence at QED InvestorsSercan OzcanPartner, Finance & Operations at AlleyCorpEmrecan DoganVP of Tech & Platform, Glean at EMERGENT VENTURES

+ 53 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Yale Ventures12

Anjali JagannathVice President, Finance at Northpond VenturesJonas ClarkPartner at Elm Street VenturesRoxana GrunenwaldInvestor at Dorm RoomStephanie MetzlerExecutive Assistant at Navitas CapitalMelissa FensterstockCompany Building Advisor at Material ImpactKseniya SimpsonPrincipal at Hatteras Venture Partners

+ 6 more

Also worked at San Diego State University12

Sam KingAssociate General Counsel at Sapphire VenturesKelly KoVice President of Technology Ventures and Innovation at Flare Capital PartnersEmily StanfordInvestor at Notable CapitalAshley WhitehurstChief of Staff at Mighty CapitalJennifer WeismanDirector of Finance and Admin at Curate CapitalBrian MillsVice President at Pivotal Life Sciences

+ 6 more

Also worked at Confirm Biosciences2

Tim BubnackManaging Partner at HCAP PartnersSerhat PalaGeneral Partner at Breakaway Partners OÜ