Magnify Ventures Team — we’ve grown!
We welcomed remarkable new talent to our growing Magnify team in 2023. Pam Kostka, serial entrepreneur and former CEO of All Raise brings her world-class community building expertise to help raise our flag as the go-to venture firm for founders and co-investors in the Care Economy, while Associates Braylon Gurnell and Haley Cassriel are working on market landscaping, deal sourcing and diligence. Read more about their backgrounds and what they bring to Magnify.
Pam Kostka, Executive-in-Residence
Pam Kostka is an experienced C-suite operator, investor, advisor and board member. Pam joined us as EIR at Magnify Ventures and is also an Operating Partner at Operator Collective. She was previously the founding CEO of All Raise, a startup nonprofit accelerating the success of female funders and founders for a more diverse, inclusive and equitable tech ecosystem. Pam’s Care Economy interest unites her passion for disruption in historically underinvested sectors that positively impact society, especially women and underrepresented groups. Pam is a seasoned CEO with 25+ years of experience driving scale at enterprise startups including Bluebox Security, VituOz and Sabrix. Her specialties are defining go-to-market strategies and implementing operational processes that allow startups to effectively scale to successful exits. She has also held executive leadership roles in sales, marketing and product at enterprise software companies Arena Solutions, Connect, and Extensity. Pam earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, summa cum laude, from College of the Holy Cross and her MBA from Harvard Business School. A lifelong cyclist, runner, and outdoor adventure seeker, she can be found on San Francisco Bay Area trails with her husband, Yuri, and daughter, Rae.
Connect with Pam on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Haley Cassriel, Venture Associate
Haley joins us as a recent graduate of UCLA Anderson School of Management where she was a Venture Fellow and President of Anderson Venture Impact Partners. During her MBA, she interned at Serena Ventures, VamosVentures, and Dangerous Ventures. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Haley started her career at Citibank in New York on the Talent & Diversity team and then in London as an HR Business Partner. Haley is passionate about improving the ways modern families live, work, and thrive. You can find Haley cooking without recipes, becoming a licensed travel agent, and building community amongst emerging VC leaders in Los Angeles.
Connect with Haley on LinkedIn.
Braylon Gurnell, Venture Associate
We were pleased to have Braylon as an MBA venture associate during the first quarter of the year. A Houston native, Braylon completed his undergraduate education at the United States Air Force Academy, studying engineering and playing football. After commissioning, he served as a Developmental Engineer helping the Air Force establish relationships with commercial space partners and working to deliver targeting and intelligence software systems across the globe. Braylon is passionate about investing in innovations in the Care Economy because of the potential to positively impact people’s lives, especially those from marginalized communities. Braylon is currently a second-year student at the Kellogg School of Management and he will be joining Boston Consulting Group in their Washington, D.C. office after graduation.
Connect with Braylon on LinkedIn and Twitter.
We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line and follow us on Twitter here and here or on LinkedIn. Learn more about our portfolio companies and team at www.magnify.vc.
With gratitude and excitement,
Julie and Joanna
Co-Founders and Managing Partners