Tessa Flippin

Tessa Flippin is the Founder and Managing Partner of Capitalize VC, a pre-seed and seed stage VC fund investing in early-stage Black and Latinx founders at the intersection of e-commerce technology and consumer brands.

Tessa began her career in venture capital as a venture investor at TechNexus, a Chicago-based fund, where she invested in enterprise SaaS technologies at the seed stage. She went on to join Genius Guild Greenhouse Fund as a Venture Partner, investing in Black founders in fintech, health tech and connectivity.

Prior to venture capital, Tessa founded La Plataforma, a fintech payments platform, sending international money transfers throughout Latin America.

Tessa attended Stanford University for undergrad where she ran Track and Field and joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She went on to receive her MBA from Columbia Business School where she studied entrepreneurship, venture capital and social impact.

Tessa actively serves on the boards of BLCK VC Midwest and Chicago:Blend working to bring diversity to the tech ecosystem.