Shahab Samimi
Investor at Kraken Digital Asset Exchange
Shahab Samimi
Investor at Kraken Digital Asset Exchange
Seattle, Washington
Overview
Work Experience
Strategic Advisor
2023 - Current
Provide product management expertise and advisory services, conducting due diligence on startup investments and evaluating product-market fit to inform investment decisions. Strategic advisor to family offices, HNW individuals, enterprise, and institutional clients on debt and equity financings.
Investor
2021
Invested at Series A, $2.6B valuation.
Co-Founder & Product Manager, AI
2024 - 2024
Acquired in Q3 2024. • Led the full product lifecycle for an AI-powered building code compliance tool, from concept to launch, including P&L management, go-to-market strategy, and product vision, reducing time-to-market by 60%. • Defined and prioritized product requirements for AI compliance tools using LLM app design, RAG pipelines, and prompt engineering, resulting in an 85% improvement in compliance accuracy. • Conceptualized and designed an automated plan review and compliance software, leveraging ML models and AI (LLM) to increase code compliance and workflow efficiency by 70% for architects and municipalities. • Analyzed and integrated customer feedback, driving a 63% improvement in customer experience and aligning product features with market needs.
Investor & Product Advisor
2022 - 2023
Acquired in Q4 2023 • Peace Geeks – As Group Product Manager, led the cross-functional team on a pivot to a new product, pivot resulting in a 30% increase in revenue and secured $4MM in funding from Accenture, surpassing the $100K financing milestone by 300% in 3 months • Various Startups – consulted founders on fundraising, go-to-market strategy, customer acquisition, presentation materials, and coaching. • Prince of Travel - Provided buy-side M&A advisory to acquire a competitor. • Technology Capital Partner – Identify and validate new technology acquisitions and partnerships that can be deployed quickly and at low cost into an industry to enhance profits. Small to Middle Market Leveraged Buyout Firm focused on Industrial Tech, Biotech, Clean Energy, Advanced Materials, and Infrastructure acquisitions. • Global Solutions Capital – Evaluated investment prospects for family offices to perform due diligence and assets management.
Investor & Product Advisor
2019 - 2022
Venture Capital investing in early-stage technology companies. I was involved in establishing systems and playbooks assisting our roster of over 30 early-stage tech companies in excelling in fundamental business areas such as sales and financial operations, fundraising, OKRs, recruitment, and digital growth. • Utilized data-driven insights to formulate strategic roadmaps for startup product development, incorporating user needs and market trends. • Managed a 3-person team, combined roles, and optimized workflows for exits, investment terms, pre-screening, and due diligence. This boosted efficiency by 70%, enabling evaluation of 600 businesses annually. • Board observer to Stay22, and RoomVU, advising on growth, go-to-market, product, customer acquisition, growth and Series A financing. • Advised on product management and defined product strategy, roadmap, and brought new products to market by determining sizing, prioritization, and reprioritization. Managed investments: --> RoomVu (Board Observer) / Real Estate Contenent Gernator Platform --> Stay22 (Board Observer) / Service and Accommodation Travel Platform -> Arrinex / Rhinitus Medical Device (Exit to Stryker (NYSE: SYK)) -> Grow / Financial Insights AI (Exit to ATB Financial) -> LeaveTown / Vacation Home Rental Platform (Exit to RedAwning)
Senior Associate
2018 - 2019
Responsible for implementing investment technology tools, including a CRM, website funnel for deal sourcing, processes, and leading technology & commercial analysis. Built business case and hired, then mentored leveraged market data to increase the occupancy of commercial space offering by 50%. • Reviewed 15 historical legal contracts (term sheet, shareholder agreements, etc.) and developed new terms for new investments. • Developed process workflow for investment templates, pre-screening, and due diligence, increasing efficiency by 70% to evaluate +600 businesses a year. • Led 3 special situation business initiatives, structural opportunities/alternatives to improve the firm’s financial performance, and any other strategic initiatives for the firm.
Director of Corporate Strategy & Product
2021 - 2022
The venture arm of Apply Digital. As Director of the Corporate Strategy Leadership Team at Velocity, I designed the corporate strategic plan keeping in mind the short-term as well as long-term vision of the company. I generated key business insights after studying the market, business and growth, developing a new business model within 50% of the expected time. • Led business strategy, growth, and principal investments in early-stage technology startups. • Extended the value proposition of Velocity's offerings via partnerships to advance them to their next major corporate objective. • Originated 6 opportunities within the first 2 months of starting, by leveraging existing relationships, generating $400K in equity value. • Assessed corporate structure and evaluated business units across the organization to understand business strategy, challenges, and priorities to develop, socialize and manage a multi-year strategy. • Fractional leadership, to help maximize value and optimize resources by identifying strategic improvement areas to increase the run rate, assessing major risks and governance structures.
Board Observer
2019 - 2022
• Increased revenue by 50% through strategic counsel on novel income streams within and beyond conventional avenues. • Effectively mitigated the impact of COVID-19, resulting in a 70% reduction in expenditure. Evaluated key performance indicators and offered insights for a growth-oriented strategy, culminating in 33% quarter-over-quarter expansion. • Skillfully prepared and steered the company through pre-Series A financing, encompassing structuring, presentation, and terms.
Board Observer
2019 - 2022
• Advised on top of funnel, churn and conversion tactics, resulting in a remarkable 60% month-over-month upsurge in revenue. • Steered product strategy, customer acquisition efforts, and secured acceptance into the REACH accelerator program, securing a noteworthy $150K investment.
Investment Banking Analyst
2018 - 2018
IIROC Member firm • Advised institutions on investments, placing $300K equity financing into Permex (CSE: OIL) IPO, and $200K into WELL Health (TSXV: WELL). • Led and implemented key capital market initiatives (C-level Advisory, engagement letters, diligence, client management, client relations), with an average deal size of $7MM. • Merchant Banking • Corporate Advisory • IPO/RTO transactions & strategic initiatives. • Private investment in public equity • Private placements (Equity/Debt capital)
Capital Markets Associate
2016 - 2018
Execution of debt/equity financings, IPOs/RTOs - oil & gas, cannabis, technology, consumer and agriculture. • Consulted C-Level executives in presentations, and documents and assist with the publication of public reports. • Identified company gaps and improvement opportunities – created action to address these areas. • Assessed business strategies of clients, analysis of working capital, process workflows, and new opportunities. • Negotiated, and structured term sheets, sub-agreements, financial analysis, and valuations. Key Engagements: • Originated $60MM worth of deal flow. • Sourced/executed $1.5MM private placement. • $11.5MM venture debt/convertible note for a natural gas producer. • $2MM joint venture opportunity, outlining cost and business synergies. • Restructured Empower Technologies (TSX.V: EPT). Areas of discipline include: • Corporate restructuring • Exit Strategy • Management team development • Go-to-market strategies: traditional and web-based • Operations • Strategic Positioning
Education
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