Venture’s Next Big Wave— Welcome Andrea Zapata to La Familia!

VCFamilia & Founder Familia’s First Full-Time Hire as Head of Programming

VCFamilia (VCF) & Founder Familia (FF) have grown significantly since each community’s inception. Since Jan 2021, VCFamilia has grown to 340 global members who identify as Latine, have access to dealflow & capital, and are eager to pay it forward to the next generation. The strength of normalizing the Latine experience in venture resonated with the community at large and in July 2022 Founder Familia was created to support Latine venture-backed founders on their entrepreneurial journey. Founder Familia in 6 months already supports 350 members with cumulative valuations totaling $5 billion. What started as a Zoom during the pandemic became a grassroots movement, and we could not have grown without positive word of mouth and incredible supporters like Silicon Valley Bank, Google Ventures, Gunderson, Comcast, Samsung Next, Techstars, AllRaise, BLCK VC with more to come.

As these are volunteer community-led organizations, we needed full-time support to sustain this incredible rocketship that has taken a life of its own. We were extra cautious on who we would bring on board to continue our mission of closing the capital gap for Latine founders and funders, and we are pleased to announce that Andrea Zapata has joined the VCF & FF as Head of Programming full time in Miami!

Originally from Mexico and Nicaragua heritage, Andrea was born in Miami and grew up in Potomac, Maryland before moving to Boston for higher education. Graduating Magna Cum Laude from Babson College with a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship and Retail & Supply Chain Management, Andrea has a deep understanding of the entrepreneurial ecosystem through her past experiences and unique perspective. She balances her passion for financial & non-profit excellence with her mission driven focus to make an impact on her community.

During her time at Babson, she was a part of the Babson Latin America Club which aims to bring together Babson’s large LATAM community by building lasting networks and carrying out a unique stamp of leadership, professionalism and innovation, ensuring delivery of exceptional experiences and content. There she formed part of the team that organizes the university’s largest annual event- the Babson Latin American Club conference where Latin industry speakers from around the world come together on campus. In addition, Andrea was a part of numerous startups- from starting them to consulting for them and even getting the opportunity to pitch at Wharton School of Business’ annual Latin American Startup Conference.

After graduating, she traded in her startup hat for a corporate one and began her career at Merrill Lynch. After passing her SIE, Series 7, and Series 66 exams, she trained in the financial advisor development program and spent ten months working in the Payment Protection Program as part of the Cares Act, leading a group of associates to help clients as fast as possible. After just 5 months in a consumer investments role, she earned recognition of being in the top 1% of advisors in the country by creating and maintaining a genuine relationship driven business which focused solely on client care and by leveraging strong bonds formed with partners in the international investment and private bank sectors.

While at Merrill she was focused on making a significant impact outside of her work. She was named sub-director for the Chile-based foundation, Coanique, the world’s largest organization dedicated to the treatment of burned children and their rehabilitation. She remains on the board helping to bring awareness to her community and support to the growing number of 140,000 children the foundation has already served.

After working in financial services and realizing her passion in working with communities, she took the leap and joined virtual food brand startup Acelerate as their new City Launcher working on market strategy and growth. She quickly found herself drawn to the VC side of the ecosystem and decided to pursue her passion for venture, “I’ve always wanted to create the next billion dollar startup but have discovered my place is on the other side of the table, supporting those next revolutionary entrepreneurs, providing all the tools and resources I can to help them make a difference,” says Andrea, adamant on paving a way to a career in impact investing. She applied to Columbia Business School’s Venture Capital Private Equity Senior Executive Program and is currently set to graduate in September 2023.

It is clear she is a perfect fit for what we were looking for as our first hire. As Head of Programming at La Familia, she is responsible for developing programs, overseeing program operations, and coordinating activities of program teams and partners. Additionally, she will help coordinate fundraising/grant efforts, develop budgets, and oversee financial stability of the organization. Finally, the Head of Programming will have the opportunity to build the Familia brand and represent the organization through numerous media and press outlets.

You can follow her on Twitter & Linkedin and email her directly at andrea@lafamiliafoundation.com for all things Miami, partnerships, and venture.

Welcome to La Familia!