Thousand Faces

✨ Meet Carmel Rafaeli 🎓💼 Lecturer of our Impact Angel Investing Program Angel Investor | Mentor | Entrepreneur 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 The Table, a community of investors championing women (co)led climate tech ventures, and a 𝑉𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟 at Conduit Connect. With over 15+ years of entrepreneurial experience, Carmel is on a mission to drive sustainable innovation. 🌱 🚀 Highlights: ✅ 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 at 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, fostering capital flow into women-led climate tech startups. ✅ 𝐹𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 at Zinc supporting ventures tackling some of society’s most pressing issues. ✅ Mentors early-stage climate ventures as an 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 and advisor. ✅ Spent 15+ years innovating across diverse sectors, from hospitality tech to IP tech and fashion. 📈 Passion: 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, with a special focus on sustainability. 🌍 Fun Fact: 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱.

✨ Meet Geri Kirilova 🎓💼 Lecturer of our Impact Angel Investing Program Partner | Venture Capitalist | Startup Builder Geri is a Partner at Laconia, a NYC-based Venture Capital firm investing in pre-seed and seed-stage companies transforming how business gets done. Laconia is sector-agnostic, with select portfolio companies including Ocrolus, AutoFi, and Yuvo Health. 🚀 Highlights ✔️ Partner at Laconia, focused on supporting early-stage startups. ✔️ Previous experience at Techstars, Launchub Ventures, and Credo Ventures. ✔️ Expertise in identifying and scaling transformative business models. 🌟 Passion Geri is dedicated to helping early-stage companies bring groundbreaking solutions to market and thrive in competitive industries.

✨ Meet Rafiq Ahmed 🎓💼 Lecturer of our Impact Angel Investing Program Founder | Managing Director | Serial Entrepreneur Rafiq is the Founder and Managing Director of Dipalo Ventures. With over 30 years of experience, he's a serial entrepreneur and investor with a focus on #climate, industrial, manufacturing, and medical devices sectors. 🚀Highlights: ✅ Angel investment portfolio: 29.23% IRR and 2.33x MOIC with 1 unicorn and 5 exits. ✅ Co-founded Demibooks, an interactive storytelling platform, and successfully exited to EDC (Nasdaq: EDUC). ✅ Limited Partner in multiple Venture Capital Funds. ✅ Former roles include Motorola Mobility (a Lenovo Company), Publicis Sapient, Fannie Mae, and PwC. 🎓 Education: 📚 MBA and graduate work in Computer Science from Virginia Tech. 📚 BS in Electrical Engineering from West Virginia Wesleyan College. 🌟 Passion: Rafiq Ahmed is dedicated to advancing innovation and creating impactful solutions through entrepreneurship and investments. 🌍 Fun Fact: His angel investment strategy has delivered remarkable results, including backing a unicorn and multiple successful exits!

Last week, we were at Startup Guide workshop on how under-represented founders can effectively reverse the bias they often face when pitching for #investment. Our founder, Moojan Asghari with Emma Rees, Tim Deeson and Rosie Turner shared valuable insights on raising capital and understanding how crucial it’s for startups to focus on the right type of funding and how to actually secure it. cc: Impact Shakers Web Summit

What a week at Web Summit in Lisbon! From speaking, hosting, and organizing to meeting incredible people, it’s been a whirlwind of energy, inspiration, and connection. I’m still processing all the amazing moments, but here are some highlights I’d love to share: ♀️ 𝐃𝐄𝐈 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 I was thrilled to join Joyann Boyce (Founder & CEO, InClued.ai) and Nyanchama Okemwa (Chairperson, ENAR), with Muhammad Lila (CEO, Goodable) as our brilliant moderator. We dug into why #diversity, #equity, and #inclusion (#DEI) in #AI isn’t just important—it’s essential for creating systems that truly work for everyone. 🎤 𝐄𝐦𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 Hosting discussions on the future of AI was both challenging and rewarding, (especially with a voice that I was close to lose!) and I couldn’t have asked for a better audience to share the experience with. 🍽 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 & 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 With Elena Poughia, Thousand Faces and Dataconomy Media, we hosted an incredible evening at the stunning Palácio de Grilo—a venue so magical that Madonna herself celebrated her birthday there once! We had over 300 sign-ups and, while we couldn’t fit everyone in the room, the energy was incredible. 🛥𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 Co-organizing the first-ever boat party featuring a majority of female investors with Milad N. was such a milestone. Huge thanks to SOVERENCY and DotVision for making it possible—it was a night of progress, celebration, and good vibes on the water. 🏆VNTR Capital 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 & 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 Together with Iris Parra, I led a roundtable for 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝐶 diving deep into some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities in the space. A big thank-you to Yuri G. Rabinovich and the team for recognizing the importance of diversity with the award—it means the world! 🚀 Startup Guide Summit Panel I joined Emma Rees, Tim Deeson, and Rosie Turner to talk about raising capital, choosing the right kind of funding for startups, and what it really takes to secure investment. The energy and curiosity in the room made it such a rewarding session. 🧙♀️Prophets of AI Dinner An unforgettable nice with my favorite AI family, at an epic Fadu restaurant. Thank you Matthew Chavira for getting us together! ❤️ And, of course, the best part of any conference: reconnecting with old friends and spending time with my “𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦.”  You all made it even more special: Anahita Moghaddam, Patrice Molinari, Raph Crouan, Ethan Pierse, Pascal Condamine, Jim Hunter, Bas Wouterse (the cookies were amazing!), Sam Eshrati, Christian Tooley, Carolin Wais, Selin Jurvanen, Giacinto Fiore, Tal Navarro, and so many more. Web Summit 2024 was a perfect closure to my conference season this year, a true celebration of innovation, diversity, and collaboration. I leave feeling inspired, energized, and ready for what’s next. Until next year! 🌈 ✨

Passionate about impactful investments? 🌟 Join us for Peer Dialogue: Angel Investors and VCs — Collaborating for Impactful Investments — an insightful discussion led by our founder Moojan Asghari with Roxane Sanguinetti from Alma Angels and Carmel Rafaeli from The Table. 📅 Date: Friday, November 29 ⏰ Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM GMT+3 📍 Location: Zoom ✨ Network with industry leaders and expand your understanding of impactful collaboration in the investment world. 💖 This event is open to all women in VC and investing — come ready to learn, ask questions, and share experiences! Hosted by WVC:E, a global platform empowering women in venture capital. 🔗 Register here to reserve your spot: https://lu.ma/jioj00j8 Promoting inclusion, empowerment, and integration of VC globally. 💜

What a journey! Web Summit 2024 was nothing short of extraordinary. From an intimate investor dinner at the breathtaking Palacio do Grilo... To a boat party filled with inspiring female investors... From Startup Guide Summit, VNTR Capital Global Investor Summit to our founder’s award nomination... Last week was packed with unforgettable moments. 🎉 But the real highlight? Meeting YOU. To everyone who joined the Thousand Faces Community—welcome aboard! 🚀 We can’t wait to continue the conversations and connections we started. (Remind us where we met—drop us a message or tag yourself below!) To celebrate, we’ve put together a collection of our favorite memories from #WebSummit. ✨ Thank you for being part of this incredible chapter. Here’s to building something even bigger together in 2025! P.S. Repost this ♻️ if it brings back good memories! 💜 cc: Moojan Asghari Elena Poughia VNTR Capital Startup Guide Impact Shakers

Our Founder, Moojan Asghari, has been nominated for Diversity Investor of the Year at the VNTR Capital Awards! 🏆 It’s our passion to drive meaningful change—and now, you can join the movement. 🎉 We’re inviting you to our Impact Angel Investing Program. 12-week journey to equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to become a confident angel investor.🪽 Why join? ✔️ Contribute to a sustainable and inclusive future ✔️ Learn to generate returns while making an impact ✔️ Be part of a transformative investors network Spots are limited and filling fast.✅ Too early for New Year resolutions? As Adam Grant says think again. 😉 👉 Pre-register now: https://lnkd.in/gW4QShSj

Meet Guillaume CAPELLE 🎓💼 Lecturer of our Impact Angel Investing Program Social Entrepreneur | Impact Investor | Founder Guillaume is the Founder of SINGA and Partner at IMPACT Partners, bringing over 15 years of experience in fostering inclusive societies and economies that align with planetary boundaries 🌍. 🚀 Highlights: ✅ Founded SINGA, present in 7 countries with 100+ employees and a community of 80,000+ citizens. ✅ Supported 2,000+ entrepreneurs through SINGA’s incubators, with 50% women entrepreneurs. ✅ Pioneered innovative collaborations between exiled individuals and local communities through public-private partnerships. ✅ Currently a Partner at IMPACT Partners, driving Europe’s first investment fund for integrating newcomers. 📈 Passion: Guillaume is passionate about creating impactful connections and empowering refugees, immigrants, and local innovators to thrive. 🌍 Fun Fact: Guillaume’s journey spans Australia, Morocco, North America, and Europe, where he has worked to bridge cultural divides and drive systemic change

Meet 😃 David Fogel 🎓💼 Lecturer of our Impact Angel Investing Program 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧 | 𝘾𝙤-𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 | 𝙑𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 David is a Founding Partner at Alma Angels and Co-Founder of Bramble Club. With 25+ years of experience, he’s empowered 1,000+ founders globally to scale their ventures and create lasting impact. 🚀 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 ✅ Startups he’s supported have raised $500M+! ✅ Former CCO/COO at Wefarm, scaling to 3.5M users across 10 countries and raising ~$40M. ✅ Co-founded Accelerated Digital Ventures (ADV), a £150M VC fund. ✅ Led Telefónica’s venture arm, driving global M&A deals. 📈 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 David helps founders scale ideas into impactful businesses, specializing in #fintech, #telco, and #venturecapitalecosystems. 🌍 𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁 He once led a team from 4 to 60 employees, achieving 70% market penetration in Israel!