About Ben Zises

Hi, I’m Ben Zises - angel investor, advisor, and fund manager.

I was the first investor and founding advisor to quip, Caraway & Arber, before each had its name, and had early investor roles in A Kids Company About, Branch, Brightland, Cadence, Cleancult, Co-op, Density, Envoy, Haus, Judy, Lalo, Settle, Stix, Swag.com & Windmill among others (see full portfolio here).

My focus is on areas where I am most passionate and have an informational AND educational competitive advantage: Consumer (CPG, eCommerce infrastructure), PropTech & Future of Work.

I personally experienced the complete life cycle of building a company: from identifying a problem/market opportunity, coming up with the “idea”, to painstakingly developing a business plan, product road-map and executing on it.

I've been in a founder's shoes: from leaving my stable job, asking friends and family for money ($2MM raised from 30+ investors), to hiring and scaling a team, and more. I've also experienced similar ups and downs: from launching to widespread industry acclaim, countless press articles, gaining tens of thousands of users, iterating & pivoting 3x, pitching hundreds of VC's in NYC & Silicon Valley, to failing to raise a successive round of funding, and ultimately winding down the company (and moving past failure).

Those experiences, among others, give me a major competitive advantage over other investors: founder empathy and unique understanding of the startup journey.

I strive to be one of the first checks (day 0) and leverage my network to bring in other strategic capital and resources in an advisory role. I am often described by founders as their company’s #1 fan, providing unwavering support and dedication for the short, medium, and long-term.

Prior to becoming a full time investor, I was the COO at a NYC-based real estate investment and property management firm. I am also a 2x Outward Bound Alum, graduate of Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration and ran the New York City Marathon. I live and work in Tribeca NYC with my wife Ashley and daughter Sarina.