Having immigrated from Korea to the US when she was 12 years old, Claire is bilingual and bicultural, which has always given her the unique perspective of being both an insider and outsider able to bridge different perspectives.

Combining her passions for connecting people and helping them realize their dreams, Claire launched a global accelerator in 2014 which impacted over 200 Korean startups’ ability to expand to the US market.  In 2018, Claire launched SVBeautyTech, the first-ever independent beauty-tech accelerator, to provide a cohort of mostly female beauty-tech founders access to the Silicon Valley resources previously enjoyed almost exclusively by male, locally networked tech entrepreneurs.  Leveraging her global accelerator network and broad brand connections, Claire is excited to work with passionate innovators and disruptors working at the intersection of technology, beauty & wellness.

My favorite quote about beauty/wellness:
“Beauty is being the best possible version of yourself on the inside and out”  Anonymous

Favorite activity when not working?
Spending time with family and friends or competitive golf. Golf is such a humbling game and always teaches you something about life.  “Golf is about how well you accept, respond to, and score with your misses much more so than it is a game about making perfect shots.” by Bob Rotella

Who was your childhood superhero?
Wonder Woman!  She is strong and passionate about helping people.  I still have a Wonder Woman statue on top of my desk.

Born and raised in Bahrain, Bassam moved to the U.S. at age 18 to pursue his undergraduate degree in Economics at Princeton University. During his time at PIMCO’s Fixed Income Product Strategy Group in Southern California, he sought to align his professional life with his passion for holistic health and wellness. This led him to pursue an MBA at The Wharton School, where he first got involved in venture capital through an extended involvement with New Fare Partners, an NYC-based firm focused on early-stage brands in the better-for-you Food & Beverage space. He also completed a fellowship with a nonprofit in South Africa, helping smallholder farmers grow their businesses and secure access to financing. Bassam brings a global perspective and diverse financial background to support companies advancing human well-being and quality of life.

If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would you invite and why?
Cincinnatus. After serving as Roman consul in the 5th century BC and retiring to his farm, he was called back to lead the state during a war with the Aequi. He defeated them in sixteen days, then immediately resigned as dictator and returned to his farm—despite the people and the senate imploring him to stay. His embodiment of civic virtue and humility in the face of absolute power is virtually unparalleled in history—with the notable exception of George Washington, who deliberately sought to emulate him.

Favorite book, and why?
In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut’s character Eliot Rosewater says, “Everything there was to know about life was in The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. But that isn’t enough anymore.” In my view, it still is.

Favorite wellness related quote:
“Nine-tenths of our happiness is based on health alone.” —Schopenhauer

Lisa has over 20 years of banking experience. Most recently, she was the Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of an urban community bank headquartered in San Francisco. In her role as Chief Financial Officer, Lisa oversaw the Bank’s finance and accounting functions and served on various Bank and Board Committees. Lisa was with the Bank since it’s organization and was part of the team that aided the Bank in profitably weathering through the banking crisis of 2008.

Favorite wellness related quote:
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius

What is the craziest thing you’ve done in your life?
Tandem skydiving in Hawaii. It was both liberating and scary at the same time.

Amanda Lim is a venture partner bridging global capital, consumer innovation, and culture. She advises early-stage funds and founders at the intersection of beauty, wellness, tech, and the arts, with a focus on cross-border collaborations between Asia and the US.

A classically trained ballet dancer, Amanda is also a dedicated patron of the arts, supporting programming and patron engagement in opera, classical music, ballet, and contemporary visual art.

Favorite book, movie, music, place, or ? and why?
A book I will always reread is Little Women.

Favorite activity when not working?
I enjoy activities that ground and center me, which includes meditation, yoga, and reading!

Mitchell Weinstock is a Venture Partner with IgniteXL Ventures, where his years of sales and marketing experience help him identify promising, leading-edge technology startups and pursue strategic investments and partnerships to help those companies bring products to market and scale. He does this by understanding the needs of each of the parties who often are not aware of each other’s existence and bringing them together. Mitchell has worked with some of the biggest names, products, and architectures from Apple QuickTime to the first Razer gaming mouse. He has helped and survived through five early and later stage startups which gives him a unique view to enable and support early-stage startups as an advisor and independent board member.

Favorite activity when not working:
I’m a member of the California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG) and like to propagate and graft all kinds of fruit trees to get to fruit-salad trees in my impossibly tiny yard. But I get enough to be able to feed the entire neighborhood!

Most challenging thing I have ever done:
Was trying to ship QuickTime on Windows when most of the Apple and Microsoft community was completely against the idea. At the time QuickTime was considered the family jewels for Apple employees, and Microsoft wasn’t thrilled about having an competitor on its own platform for media.

Favorite Book and Movie:
The Time Travelers Wife – I always enjoy a good love story and combined with space time continuum problems and weird biology made this one to read and eventually watch (over and over).