The People Behind the Vision
Every great investment starts with understanding people. Our team
brings together diverse backgrounds, shared values, and a deep
commitment to building lasting relationships with founders.
Esalen Ventures has a broad network of technical advisors who help
us to evaluate potential investments. They are vital in the Due
Diligence process and play an important role in our extended team.
They have experience in a variety of different sectors and bring
that expertise to bear on behalf of those we invest in.
Speed
Quick decisions, fast execution. We respect founders' time and move at startup speed.
Focus
Deep expertise in select sectors. We invest where we can add the most value.
Scale
Building companies that define categories and create lasting value at global scale.
Investment Partners
Tom Vorisek
Managing Partner & Co-Founder
My mission is to empower innovative founders and align with ventures that demonstrate clear market potential. My toolkit, honed over a significant tenure as an operator, accelerator mentor and startup advisor, is rich with strategies for digital marketing and networking, making me a valuable asset to our portfolio companies and a trusted advisor in the startup ecosystem.
Samir Ghosh
Managing Partner & Co-Founder
Samir Ghosh is an accomplished entrepreneur and startup coach. He has been deeply involved in 7 startups (3 successful exits, 2 ongoing) and is a top-rated advisor and mentor at leading startup accelerators, including UC Berkeley's SkyDeck and Alchemist Accelerator. Since 2016, Samir has advised thousands of startups that collectively raised $100M's of funding.
Scott Fackert
Senior Partner
20+ years experience working from, “0-60” on B2B/B2C traditional, new media and SaaS launches has equipped Scott with a unique blend of sales tenacity, business development acumen and adaptability to a multitude of industry verticals. Scott's collective experience is enhanced by a broad composite of additional new business experience and skillsets.
David McGrane
Managing Partner
Throughout a career on both the agency and client side, I bring to the table experience in multiple categories - from software to solar, banks to beverages, non-profit to new-tech, and from computers to counties and countries. I sharpened my entrepreneurial skills while co-founding and running Ozone, a design, strategy and advertising firm in North Beach, for 13 years.
