Selene Casabal-cruz
Investor at Sequoia Capital
San Francisco, California
Overview
Work Experience
Scout Partner, Investor
2022 - Current
Scout fund investor & advisor to seed stage startups. My general early portfolio includes: Impulse Space (now Series B: Founders Fund/ Lux Cap), Serve Robotics (NVIDIA, now SBOT:NYSE), Binti (now Series B: Founders Fund), Ivy Protocol (early: Sequoia Scout Fund), Nyric (early: Sequoia Scout Fund), Whering (early: Sequoia Scout Fund), Veracity (now Series A: Sequoia Scout Fund), Trace (early: Sequoia Scout Fund/A16z/Index), Diddo (early: Sequoia Scout Fund/ A16z/Kleiner), etc.
Sequoia Capital is a VC firm that invests in startups in the energy, financial, enterprise, healthcare, internet, and mobile industries.
Startup M&A's
2023
Partnering with select founders on early stage exits ($2-20M ARR). DM's are open.
Executive Advisory
2021 - 2024
Ongoing advisory to the Global Open Innovation Officer’s executive office that oversees long-term business initiatives and builds innovation capabilities for Chanel, including minority investments at the intersection of consumer and commerce.
CEO Advisor (Exit to CommentSold)
2022 - 2023
Advisor to Founder/CEO on scaling product/growth, Series A ($100M valuation led by Benchmark Capital). Led sell to CommentSold (largest live commerce saas at $2.8B GMV/ owned by Permira Global).
Popshop Live is a mobile live streaming marketplace where talented individuals can create and host their own shopping channel.
Raised $23,000,000.00 from Vivi Nevo, Abstract, Michael Ovitz, Baron Davis, Palm Drive Capital, Floodgate, Access Industries, Kendall Jenner, Benchmark and Sophia Amoruso.
Co-Founder & CEO (Exit to Popshop Live)
2020 - 2023
Showcast is now Popshop Live. Sequoia Capital backed, early video-first platform for creators and retailers to build businesses through live-selling commerce technology.
Mentor (Product/ Growth)
2020 - 2023
Served as a CEO/executive growth mentor, annual advisory at seed included: - Flox, Social App, Seed $1.2M backers incl. BBG Ventures, Banana Capital. - Koop, Blockchain Marketplace, Seed $5M backers incl. Pear VC, Balaji Srinivasan, 1confirmation etc. - Composer, AI Trading Platform, Seed $11M backers incl. First Round, Packy McCormick, Pareto Holdings, etc.
First Round Angel Track is a community of operators and founders looking to develop their skills and identities as early-stage investors.
Strategic Advisory
2020 - 2022
Re:store was acquired by B8ta Inc., the largest operator of physical retail technology across the United States, Dubai, and Japan incld. clients Google, Lowes, Macy's marketplaces. Investors include Khosla, Comcast and co-owner Macy's Inc., (M:NYSE.).
Founder & CEO (Exit to B8ta Inc.)
2018 - 2020
Backed by Sequoia Capital & South Park Commons, Re:store provides retail-as-a-service for retailers and brands looking for omni-marketplace distribution and data.
Re:Store is a co-working and retail space for cult-favorite online brands.
Raised $1,700,000.00 from South Park Commons, Sequoia Capital and XFactor Ventures.
Press Office, Fellow
2013 - 2014
Awarded paid fellowship at the City of Philadelphia's Mayoral Press Office.
City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce provide access to financing and improvement programs.
Legislative Intern
2013 - 2013
Awarded Penn in Washington (PIW) scholarship to serve in Senator Casey’s (D-PA) judiciary office (immigration, healthcare, and civil rights policy focus).
Policy Research Intern
2013 - 2013
Assisted in launching public policy campaigns for United We Win, The Affordable Care Act (ACA), etc.
Education
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
2012 - 2014
Fellow
2019 - 2019