Financial Services Investment Associate
Resume:
Ryan Gabe Thomas
Investment Manager Startup Ecosystem Venture Capital Strategic Engagements
San Francisco, CA 415-***-**** **************@*****.*** linkedin.com/in/RyanGabeThomas ryangabethomas.com
SUMMARY
Highly motivated, accomplished, and results-driven professional with a proven track record in venture capital and strategic investments. Recognized for successfully identifying and investing in industry-leading startups shaping the future of financial services, consumer commerce, and enterprise software. Proficient in developing compelling investment theses and conducting comprehensive market and industry analysis to drive well-informed decision-making. Experienced in executing end-to-end transactions, from sourcing and evaluation to negotiation and deal closure. Skilled in fostering strong relationships with portfolio companies, providing valuable guidance and support to drive their growth and success. Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with senior management, C-level executives, and CEOs/Founders to execute long-term strategic initiatives contributing to market leadership and sustainable growth. Expertise in developing investment strategies, sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities, actively managing portfolio companies, and cultivating partnership opportunities.
Past results include:
-Launched the CBS Digital Transformation Retransmission project, deploying digital products to capture the carrier's customer base to determine retransmission fees – instantly generating annual revenue, $1B+ since 2016 and $2B+ since 2020.
-Designed and deployed a custom Salesforce CRM application tracking tool and integrated application website, resulting in a 50% increase in applications YoY, a 40% increase in user satisfaction, and a reduction in manual actions by 20 hours per month.
-Designed a streamlined Risk and Compliance journey process for Asset Management & Private Bank, with savings of ~$20M annually through optimized business processes and enhanced fiduciary responsibility.
STRENGTHS
Investment Management
Served as portfolio manager for $20M AUM and relationship manager to 29 companies, supporting 8 exits, 6 revenue-generating M&A exits for $15M ROI, 9 investments, 17 fundraising rounds, 6 Convertible Notes, 10 SAFEs, and 1 Equity deal.
Stakeholders Relationship Management
Led cross-functional teams of over 200 members. Successfully spearheaded the end-to-end deployment of custom Salesforce CRM and application, achieving a 50% surge in applications and eliminating manual entry efforts by 20 hours monthly.
Defining and Analyzing Metrics
Strong analytical skills, performing detailed analysis and defined performance metrics. Proven leadership in product implementation based on a data-driven approach, resulting in over 300 enhancements, which significantly improved product automation and functionality, aligning with user needs and strategic planning.
Agile Development Strategy
Possess a robust foundation in Agile methodologies, lean, and Kanban, fostering seamless collaboration across stakeholders, engineering, QA, and design teams. This strategic approach expedited product delivery, resulting in a 25% efficiency boost in velocity.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Bloomberg ~ CB Insights ~ Dealroom ~ Microsoft Excel ~ Pitchbook ~ Python ~ Salesforce ~ SQL ~ Macros & Functions ~ VBA
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Agile ~ AI ~ B2B ~ Business Development ~ Cloud ~ Collaboration ~ Compliance ~ Corporate Strategy ~ Due Diligence ~ Early
Stage Startups ~ Entrepreneurial ~ Fast-Paced ~ Financial Modeling ~ Fintech ~ Fundraising ~ Go-To-Market (GTM) ~ Growth
Strategy ~ Investment Banking ~ M&A ~ Management Skills ~ ML ~ Passionate ~ Presentation Skills ~ Qualitative Skills ~
Quantitative Analysis ~ Relationship Building ~ Risk Management ~ Startup Accelerator ~ Statistical Analysis ~ Strategic Planning
~ Strategic Thinker ~ Venture Capital ~ Verbal & Written Communication ~ Work Independently
EXPERIENCE
SVP & Treasurer - Board of Directors
Wells Startup Accelerator, LLC, San Francisco, CA 01/2018 - 04/2023
•Only team member promoted to Board of Directors, recognized for exceptional performance and leadership skills
•Served as portfolio manager for $20M AUM and portfolio manager to 29 companies, supporting 8 exits, 6 revenue-generating with $15M ROI, 9 investments, 17 fundraising rounds, 6 Convertible Notes, 10 SAFEs, and 1 Equity deal.
•Facilitated end-to-end investment process for new investments and follow-on fundraising rounds, collaborating across multiple internal teams, reducing the process from 6 months to 3 months
•Prepared investment memos utilizing comprehensive market research, financial modeling, and financial analysis
•Closed 13 due diligence deal closures, leveraging comprehensive analysis of deal documents and data-driven decision-making to secure investment and negotiate favorable terms for agreements, resulting in strategic advantages for the program
•Board observer for 4 companies, including The Climate Service (ESG), Hazy (Synthetic Data), OpenRisk (RPA AI/ML), Theta Lake (Compliance), and Oliver (Litigation)
Vice President, Investment Associate
Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator, San Francisco, CA 01/2017 - 04/2023
•Sourced startups for $1M strategic investments, researching industry trends and market analysis, expanded deal flow through effective collaboration with venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and accelerators, ensuring a robust investment pipeline
•Reviewed 3,000+ startup applications for consideration of acceptance to the program
•Evaluated early-stage startup solutions for FinTech and Enterprise Tech, focusing on Cloud, Digital, Mortgage, SaaS, & AI
•Implemented Accelerator custom Salesforce CRM and integrated application creating product vision and go-to-market strategy with continuous iterations for compliance, automation, workflows, and integrations, achieving a 50% surge in applications YoY and eliminated manual entry efforts by 20 hours monthly
•Managed 15 Accelerator projects for Audit, Compliance, Legal Entity, Risk, Regulatory, and Policy
•Represented Accelerator at 10 conferences & 25 events to build strategic partnerships focusing on early-stage startups, FinTech, and diverse founders and startup solutions
Senior Technical Product Manager
Renew Financial, Oakland, CA 01/2016 - 01/2017
•Developed Florida expansion roadmap and Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy, ensuring seamless financial product delivery with ongoing support, resulting in 25+ enhancements
•Led 3 Agile teams across the project lifecycle, implementing 75+ enhancements completed on time and within budget
•Increased feature delivery by 20% from mentoring 5 product managers on user story creation and requirements gathering
•Directed Scrum ceremonies and UX Design, stand-ups, retros, user journey, wireframing, and prototype development
Technical Project Manager (Contractor)
Wells Fargo, San Francisco, CA 06/2015 - 01/2016
•Developed and managed project plan for data conversion migration plans for an enterprise encryption project, ensuring efficient execution, finishing 2 months early
•Coordinated resource allocation and communicated challenges and updates to management, sales, marketing, and project team
•Developed 3 performance scorecards to track KPIs on project status, enabling identification and resolution of issues
Senior Digital Product Manager
Capital One, Dallas, TX 03/2014 - 06/2015
•Drove the definition, roadmap development, and backlog prioritization for mortgage home equity and digital consumer products, including the mobile app, website, chat, payments, and data warehouse
•Collaborated with 4 Agile teams (software engineering, QA, Scrum Master, design), employing Agile methodologies to manage product roadmap and backlog prioritization to align with user needs and business cases aligned to corporate objectives
•Navigated industry challenges, including regulatory requirements and evolving customer needs, to ensure compliance and continuous iteration for the digital mortgage product portfolio, including Know Before You Owe (KBYO) and CFPB 2.0
Previous Work Experience
San Francisco/ New York 01/2007 - 03/2014
•Management Consulting, Business Intelligence (OBIEE & Power BI) - Noetix Corporation, San Francisco, CA
•Oracle Consultant, HRMS, Business Intelligence (OBIEE), & Financials - Matson Navigation, San Francisco, CA
•Strategy Consulting - JPMorgan Chase Asset Management, New York, NY
•Program Manager HR, Oracle - CBS Corporation, New York, NY
•Market Risk Associate - JPMorgan Chase Investment Bank, New York, NY
CERTIFICATIONS
Certified Salesforce Administrator
Salesforce
Project Management Data Analytics Business Intelligence Digital Marketing & E-commerce UX Design Cloud Digital Leader Advanced Data Analytics (AI, ML, Data Science) Generative AI
Wharton Business & Financial Modeling
Wharton College
Advanced Valuation and Strategy - M&A, Private Equity, and Venture Capital (Honors)
Erasmus University Rotterdam
EDUCATION
Management Information Systems
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA
• Minor: Biology
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