The journey of a startup founder is at times a beautiful nightmare and we understand this because we’ve been there. We are here to support the growth of our founders and help them navigate the process of scale.
We invest early and enthusiastically in Black, Latinx and Women founders who are using cloud-based technologies to rethink the way we live, work and play.
Our Team
Antoine has spent his career working intimately with early-stage companies as an operator, consultant and advisor. He works to identify and evaluate promising early-stage companies and helps quarterback general operations and strategy for V404.
Prior to founding Vertical404, Antoine operated a branding consultancy where he led brand positioning & growth strategy implementation — and previously worked as a software developer. These experiences molded his perspective and focus of investing in early-stage tech startups that are reshaping the way we live, work and play.
Antoine holds a B.A in Computer Information Systems from Middle Tennessee State University.
Avoilan leads investing in media and entertainment startups.
He has spent his career as an operations and sales director across numerous retail and music tech organizations, and is actively committed to rethinking the way we create, engage and consume music, video and gaming.
Prior to joining Vertical404, Avoilan worked as Director of Partnerships for music tech company MyMyMusic where he led corporate partnership and growth strategy. A Founding 100 Member at The Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Avoilan is actively involved in community and social initiatives across the country.
Avoilan is an Atlanta native and proud Atlanta sports fan. He and his wife live in the Metro Atlanta area, and are actively learning to play zone defense with their three children. Avoilan holds a B.S. in Sport Management from Guilford College.
Blanca's experience includes building startup ecosystems and entrepreneurial programming within multicultural communities throughout the U.S.
As the Chief Program Officer, Blanca leads programming development, implementation and growth for Founder Access — and provides advisory support and coaching to Vertical404 portfolio companies.
Prior to Vertical404, Blanca developed and led programming for nationally recognized organizations such as digitalundivided’s award-winning BIG Incubator, Walker’s Legacy PROSPECTUS Latina Accelerator, and Goodie Nation’s Intentionally Good — all of which focus on the advancement of Black, Latinx and Women-led tech companies.
Blanca holds a B.S in Psychology from Eckerd College.
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Derrick has a 25+ year career in finance and investment banking and specializes in advisory and capital procurement.
He began his investment banking career at UBS Securities as an industry and product generalist and has executed transactions in the business services, distribution, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, restaurant and hospitality and technology industries.
Since 2013, Derrick has focused specifically on early-stage startups and currently provides CFO and advisory services to assist entrepreneurs and management teams in addressing financial challenges to its business and strategic direction.
Derrick holds a BA in Political Science from Yale University and an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia. He is licensed by FINRA and has also served as an adjunct professor and guest lecturer in Finance and Entrepreneurship.
