S4E14: Tessa Flippin @ Capitalize VC

Chicago Capital

Tessa Flippin is the Founder and Managing Partner of Capitalize VC, a pre-seed and seed stage VC fund purpose-built to reduce the racial wealth gap by investing in early-stage Black and Latinx founders, while simultaneously creating access for diverse LPs.

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 Capitalist in Residence, 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 board of BLCK VC Midwest and the advisory board of Chicago:Blend working to bring diversity to the Midwest tech ecosystem. She is also a member of the Cap Table Coalition investment committee.