HR

Himalaya Rao-Potlapally

Executive Director at Venture Partners Fund

United States

Overview

Work Experience

  • Executive Director

    2022 - Current

    Venture Partners is an educational organization on a mission to diversify the decision makers in venture capital and entrepreneurship by providing hands-on, practical education that eliminates traditional wealth and status entry barriers and develop actionable research to build evidence-based tools for more equitable investment practices.

  • Managing Director

    2019

    The BFM Fund is a seed-stage venture capital firm that showcases a profitable model for backing Black and diverse founders across the U.S. The Fund executes on this vision through its ‘Exit First’ strategy to support the majority of its portfolio companies through exit; particularly in the verticals of health, wealth, and economic mobility.

  • Venture Capital Consultant

    2019

    Portland Seed Fund is a top-performing early-stage venture fund focused on investments in Portland and the Pacific Northwest. PSF is sector-agnostic and maintains a broad set of investment criteria to allow for opportunistic pursuit of startups demonstrating strong management teams and future potential.

  • Mid-Valley Fund Manager

    2020 - 2022

    The new Mid-Valley Fund is a collaboration between OTBC and SEDCOR with leadership from OEN's Venture Catalyst- Mike White. The goal of this fund is to replicate Angel Oregon and the Beaverton Startup Challenge in the Mid-Valley to increase angel investor activity and experience while also bolstering the entrepreneurship ecosystem by providing resources and funding.

  • Co-Founder & CEO

    2017 - 2020

    CarBar is a marketing service that connects local businesses with new customers through pop-up events. Participants enjoy selections of beer, wine, cider, kombucha, and other beverages from new and local vendors. CarBar looks to work especially with with small-scale producers that face high-entry costs as barriers to promoting their product. CarBar allows individuals to experience a wider selection of craft beverages in a fun setting and small and local businesses to get exposure to new market segments. After an event, CarBar meets with each vendor to go over data analytics on market demand, price elasticity, and more. We also help our vendors create market maps and create future events to attract these groups. CarBar is available to book for your next event; community gathering, block party, fundraiser, or corporate event. For more information on being a partner or client with CarBar, please contact info@experiencecarbar.com or visit our Linkedin Page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/experiencecarbar/

  • Fund Manager

    2019 - 2020

    Angel Oregon creates opportunities for Oregon-based companies to receive mentorship, peer networking, and a chance of capital investment. It also offers new angel investors a chance to learn about angel investing, conduct due diligence, and work with a network with experienced investors.

  • Willamette Angel Fund Associate

    2018 - 2019

    The Willamette Angel Fund partners with angel groups along the west coast for co-investing opportunities. We specialize in seed stage investing and are industry agnostic.

  • Process Improvement Analyst

    2018 - 2018

    Collaborated with high level executives to assess issues relating to organizational inefficiencies and market risk. I utilized skills of Process Improvement and Change Management to recommend and lead change initiatives that enhanced Pacific Seafood's competitive advantage and made them an employer of choice. - Connected with employees on all levels to create process mapping and gather quantitative/qualitative data. - Created recommendations balancing top-level initiatives and visions with operational capacity of each facility. The present focus was on increasing retention and reducing employee turnover. This also involved the creation of an integration toolkit for new acquisitions and re-branding of the organization. - Carried out recommendations through change management and training plans. The differentiation occurs through the linking of Process Improvement and Change Management to create a cohesive and holistic implementation of change.

  • Management Consultant

    2017 - 2018

    Non-profit consulting focused on implementing data-driven strategic marketing to increase member recruitment - Collaborated with ALS-K to create objectives that met 80% of organizational goals within one year - Conducted research to assess current market realities, competitors, and industry gaps - Recommended data-driven recruitment processes to create competitive advantages for ALS-K

  • Change Management Consultant

    2017 - 2018

    Consultant to the Chief Human Resource Officer. Advising on the HRIS/Workday technology implementation - Integrated the stakeholder analysis into the creation of constituent communication plan - Setting SMART action plans for 90% of ratified objectives by the end of February 2018 - Creating training for technology integration across 135 departments by June 2018

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