Josh Kuzon
Limited Partner at 97212 Ventures
Josh Kuzon
Limited Partner at 97212 Ventures
New York, New York
Overview
Work Experience
Director, Board of Directors
2024 - Current
Seed stage company that offers powerful cybersecurity aggregation software and a concierge covering dozens of end-to-end cybersecurity products and services including blockchain, emerging technology, and all things web2.
Member, Limited Partner Advisory Committee (LPAC)
2024
97212 is a seed fund exclusively focused on investing in top early stage Israeli startups committed to building category defining companies in NYC. Our check is just the beginning. We jump in, roll up our sleeves and provide hands-on tangible value from day one, so Israeli founders can truly cut time to market and build a global business from day one.
Director, Board of Directors
2022 - 2023
Series A stage modern card issuer processor and BaaS platform focused on MENA.
Director, Board of Directors
2018 - 2023
Series B stage company modernizing infrastructure for the future of payments with the first issuer-agnostic virtual card platform. First outside board member, pre-revenue.
Partner
2016 - 2023
Early-stage venture capital investor focused on FinTech, Digital Finance, Crypto, and Data Analytics sectors. Lead Reciprocal's investing in the FinTech/Digital Finance sector, targeting seed-series a stage startups. Manage a global investment portfolio of 40+ private companies and protocols across the US, Canada, UK, Germany, and UAE. Current & Past Investments: -Coinflow (Pre-seed) - https:/Coinflow.cash -Nymcard (Series A) - https://nymcard.com -SwapGlobal (Seed) - https://swapglobal.com -Protego Trust Bank, NA (Series A) - https://protegotrust.com/ -Nowmatic (Series A) - https://nowmatic.com/ -Whym (Seed) - https://whymwallet.com/ -Extend (Seed) - https://paywithextend.com -MindBridge (Series A) - https://mindbridge.ai -Placer (Series A) - https://placer.ai -Peekd (Seed) - https://peekd.ai -Qwil (Series A) - Acquired by LSQ -Solana (Seed) - https://solana.com / SOL -The Graph (Seed) - https://thegraph.com / GRT -NuCypher (Worklock) - https://nucypher.com / NU -Radar (Seed) - Acquired by BlockCap (NSDQ: XPDI) -Marble (Seed) - https://marblepay.com -January (Series A) - https://january.com/ -Taina (Seed) - https://taina.tech -Tallarium (Seed) - https://tallarium.com -Plink (Seed) - https://plink.ai -Baton (Series A) - Acquired by TreviPay -TradeIt (Seed) - Acquired by TradingView
Payments Strategy, Corporate Development
2014 - 2016
Focus areas included: Payments Strategy & Solutions, Corporate Strategy & Development, Strategic Business Development, R&D, Strategic Investments, M&A. Led strategic payments initiatives across SVB's US footprint and worked closely with start-ups and growth companies in the FinTech, payments and commerce space to bring their solutions to market with SVB across a variety of product areas including commercial banking, treasury services, merchant services, commercial card issuing, specialty lending, and payment network sponsorship. Developed strategic merchant acquiring and card issuing partnership with First Data. Led projects to assess new products, vendors, partnerships, investments, acquisitions, and developed business cases for new bank initiatives. Managed FinTech, Commerce, and Payments startup accelerator Commerce.Innovated., a collaboration between MasterCard and SVB. Selected to participate in senior leadership development track. Advisor / Strategic Investor: -Alloy - https://alloy.com -AppZen (Seed) - https://appzen.com/ -Apruve - Acquired by TreviPay -CardFlight (Series A) - https://cardflight.com/ -Dash - Acquired by Reserve (Resy) -Domuso - https://domuso.com/ -Earny - https://earny.co/ -Float - RIP -Footmarks - https://footmarks.com -Gone! (Seed) - RIP -LaunchKey - Acquired by Iovation (TransUnion) -Nowsta - https://nowsta.com/ -NVoicepay (Series D) - Acquired by FLEETCOR -Papaya - https://papayapay.com/ -PayByGroup - RIP -PennyOwl (Seed) - RIP -Qwil (Series A) - Acquired by LSQ -Slide (Seed) - Acquired by Raise Marketplace -SmartGift - Acquired by 1-800-FLOWERS.COM -Splitwise (Seed) - https://splitwise.com/ -Standard Treasury - Acquired by Silicon Valley Bank -TrueBill - Acquired by Rocket Companies
Product Development - Chase Labs
2013 - 2014
Strategy and finance lead for the launch of Apple Pay.
Associate - Corporate Strategy & Development
2010 - 2013
Member of Mobile, E-Commerce and Payments Strategy Team. Drove next generation payments initiatives across the firm including traditional payments-focused strategy projects, strategic business development, partnerships, strategic investments, and M&A. Developed an interest in mobile payments, FinTech startups, and cryptocurrency. Corporate venture capital and strategic investments. -Square (Series B, D) - IPO on NYSE -GoPago (Series A) - Acquired by Amazon -Early Warning Systems (bank consortium) -ClearXChange (Zelle) - Acquired by Early Warning Systems
Analyst, Senior Analyst, Associate
2007 - 2010
First Annapolis was acquired by Accenture in 2017. Consultant and M&A adviser to banks, financial services and technology companies, retailers, airlines, private equity firms, and other industry stakeholders with special focus on traditional and emerging payments markets. Supported clients of all sizes on engagements related to corporate strategy, credit card partnership finance, joint venture formation, valuations, due diligence, raising private capital, and advising on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures. Advised over twenty different bank and non-bank clients on partnerships and transactions related to credit card, merchant acquiring, prepaid debit, retail & SMB lending, and other financial technology businesses. Co-authored several articles for the Navigator, a monthly firm publication distributed to over 3,000 professionals. Responsible for research coverage of card issuing banks Chase, Amex, HSBC and their securitization trusts. Started my career at First Annapolis as an analyst and was promoted twice in two and a half years. Worked diligently through the height of the credit crisis and its aftermath. Client engagement highlights: -Advised eBay on the acquisition of Bill-Me-Later -Advised Walmart US on their co-brand card partnership with GE Money -Advised Walmart Canada on the launch of their Canadian card business -Advised Toys R Us on their co-brand card partnership with Chase -Advised American Express on the merger of Delta and Northwest Airlines co-brand card and loyalty reward programs -Advised American Airlines on a frequent flyer miles pre-purchase deal with co-brand partner Citi -Advised HSBC on the formation of a merchant acquiring joint venture in the UK with Global Payments -Advised Palm Desert National Bank on the sale of their ATM vault cash business to US Bank -Advised the FDIC on the sale of Silverton National Bank's credit card business to BancVue -Advised Primax on the sale of their merchant acquiring business to BluePay
Portfolio Manager
2006 - 2007
Portfolio manager for student run long only equity investment fund.
Summer Intern - Equity Research
2006 - 2006
Mortgage Finance/REITs Equity Research Focus: Subprime Mortgage Origination.
Education
BS
2003 - 2007