Eric Rosenfeld

Fund Development Eric co-founded the Oregon Venture Fund in 2007 as an experiment to combine the collective horsepower of a select group of active, accomplished angel investors and entrepreneurs with the rigor and discipline of a professional venture fund.

“Our hunch was that we might be able to make better decisions and add more value if we invited into the fund Oregon’s entrepreneur and technology leaders and equipped and empowered them to assist with researching, selecting, and advising the portfolio. Remarkably, it appears to be working!”

For Eric, the Oregon Venture Fund is a way to collaborate with old friends, and make new friends, in a manner that’s fun and rewarding on many levels.

A fourth-generation Portlander and former entrepreneur, Eric believes strongly in the transformative power of community and entrepreneurship, and is proud of the fund’s role in helping to shape Oregon’s economic future. He received his MBA from The Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland, and has degrees in Industrial Engineering and American Studies from Stanford.

Melissa Freeman

Capital Raising & Investor Relations As an Oregonian, Melissa thrives on building relationships and partnerships to help Oregon be successful. She’s raised funds and led initiatives to support Oregon entrepreneurs by working with community leaders, partner foundations and government agencies across the state. With a keen interest in entrepreneurship and a background in philanthropy and public health, she’s dedicated to creating healthy returns and a positive impact.

Melissa likes to make sure everyone feels included. She wants to make sure more individuals, families, corporations, foundations and other potential investors know about the Oregon Venture Fund and feel welcome to participate if interested. OVF provides a strategic vehicle for people who care about Oregon’s economy to invest their time, talent and resources to generate positive financial and social returns. “It is exciting to be with entrepreneurs and investors who are dedicated to growing world class companies, based out of this region. I like helping people get acquainted so they can collaborate together and leverage their talents. Eric Rosenfeld, Founder, has developed a unique model and I’m eager to get more people invested and engaged.” Melissa has led initiatives and raised funds to support Oregon entrepreneurs for several years. While based in Portland, she enjoys traveling the state to build relationships with people from urban, rural, frontier, tribal and other diverse communities who care deeply about Oregon’s economic success.

Deepthi Madhava

Diligence & Investment Sourcing Deepthi wants to meet with everyone and anyone starting a venture-scalable business in Oregon and SW Washington. When not scouting potential investment opportunities and advising founders, she conducts research in support of the fund’s diligence and leads new investments. Her goal is to add value with every interaction.

A former Strategy & Operations Senior Manager at Deloitte, Deepthi led strategic growth initiatives for Deloitte globally in their clients and markets organization and consulted CXO’s in world-class organizations in developing and executing a range of business models and go-to-market strategies. Deepthi is excited to bring her consulting experience in supporting and learning from entrepreneurs to build scalable businesses.

“As an immigrant and a consultant, I moved constantly for work and career. I am excited about being connected to the Oregon and SW Washington local community and contribute to the local economy in a meaningful way”

Growing up in Mysore, a city in South of India, in an academic family, her everyday conversation revolved around science, curiosity and research. She received an MBA from Indian School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering. Deepthi now calls Oregon as her home and enjoys daily orange theory workout, traveling, hiking, and cooking with her husband and daughter.

Jon Maroney

Connecting & Cultivating A son of entrepreneurs and a tech pioneer himself, Jon currently manages OVF outreach and entrepreneur partnership success. If you ask him, it’s a perfect fit, since he’s spent his lifetime in the startup world. Inspired by his first job as an assistant to a startup CEO, he quickly climbed and began founding companies of his own—including mobile internet successes StoryCode and FreeRange.

Fast forward to 2013, and Jon finds himself able to bring a unique perspective to eager entrepreneurs like him. “Startup CEOs are so busy building their product and getting customers that they sometimes don’t realize the story of the business is different. Having experience on both the investor and CEO side, I’m able to help them tell their story in a way that investors can quickly understand.”

Jon ran a technology accelerator called Amplify United, and upon meeting Eric (OVF co-founder), he realized they shared the same goal of growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in Oregon.

He’s the first to admit that going from nothing to something is really hard, so he’s an active champion of entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs to make the next generation’s experience a little bit easier.

Alline Akintore

Research & Diligence

A native of Rwanda and after living in six countries, Alline has found a home in Oregon. She moved to the PNW from the Bay Area where she spent the last four years.

With a background in Electrical Engineering and a love for everything tech/innovation, her career has allowed her to be part of and see firsthand the power of entrepreneurship to unleash opportunity and uplift communities - developing tech policy for Rwanda as part of its Vision 2050, being the first COO of a GovTech startup with a one-of-its-kind business model to transform service delivery, and as early stage venture fellow at a few venture funds.

“I am excited to be part of shaping the fast-growing startup ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest, and look forward to working with (and learning from) entrepreneurs, at the early stage of their startup journeys, as they advance their solutions/products to solve the world’s thorniest problems”

Outside of work I love spending time with my husband and son, art, travel, and getting lost in a great book

Lynn Fletcher

Operations & Investor Support Since 2011, Lynn has been the go-to person at Oregon Venture Fund. With a genuine smile, she manages the fund’s office and operations, including investor support services. She ensures all investors and entrepreneurs working with the fund have a first-class experience.

“I enjoy big ideas, small details, and everything in between. As head of operations, I’m involved in all aspects of OVF and get to bring everything and everyone together, which is very rewarding.”

Lynn started her career in retail and sales and thrives in customer service environments. As a native Oregonian she cares deeply for our state and takes pride in having a role in helping fellow Oregonians to achieve their dreams.

Matt Compton

Portfolio Success Matt has been an active startup investor and advisor in Oregon for the past decade. Previously, he held various product, partnership, and marketing leadership roles at Yahoo! during their rapid growth period from 2002 to 2007. In 2008, he moved back to Oregon and began investing with the Oregon Angel Fund, leading our investment in Jama Software. He has been a venture backed CEO and, most recently, was COO of Simple Financial where he led its growth to 350 employees. 

Matt has served on the boards of several early and growth stage companies including Jama and Simple Financial and is currently on the board of REI.  He received a dual BA in Economics and International Relations from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management.

Matt is a native Oregonian with a lifelong passion for the outdoors. Vacations with Amy, his wife, and two kids seem to always revolve around climbing, camping, or skiing.

“We are in the acceleration part of the curve for Oregon and our startup ecosystem. Over the next 10 years and beyond, there will be huge opportunities for entrepreneurs and venture investors. And best of all, we get to help build this ecosystem in a beautiful state where we love to live, work, and play.”

Brenda L. Meltebeke

Legal Counsel, Tonkon Torp

When not advising the fund and its portfolio, Brenda co-chairs the Tonkon Torp Entrepreneurial Services Practice Group. She and her team are deeply committed to the work of OVF and are passionate about structuring and preparing startups and growth companies for success.

With expertise in business counseling and general corporate law, Brenda and her team advise the fund and its portfolio companies almost daily on matters relating to financing, stock options, IP, employment law, contracts, M&A, and more.

Brenda brings a high level of enthusiasm to our team and a long list of accolades, including being named an Orchid Award winner by the Portland Business Journal for her business and civic contributions and Volunteer of the Year by the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network.

Raymond Cheung, Rick Hawkins and Jason Imhof

Accountants, Geffen Mesher
As a venture capital fund, having a rock star team of accountants is hugely important, and that is exactly what we have in Richard Cheung, Rick Hawkins and Jason Imhof.

The pros at Geffen Mesher go way beyond the call of duty to support the fund, our portfolio companies, and other local entrepreneurs and growth companies with expert accounting, tax strategy, and advice. Because of their commitment to Oregon, high standards, and familiarity with the unique challenges facing early and growing companies, we’re proud to count them as a true partner in our efforts—they are indeed CPA rock stars.

Ethan Smith-Gillespie and Coe Lottis

Partners, The Program Ethan and Coe, who founded Portland based marketing consultancy The Program in 2006, were looking for a way to further contribute to the Oregon business community, beyond just investing with OVF each year, when we were introduced.

They really connected to what we’re trying to achieve with the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Oregon and had a strong point of view on how their capabilities and relationships could help our companies grow and achieve their potential.

The resulting partnership supports OVF and our entrepreneurs with best-in-class marketing strategy, digital strategy, content creation, and creative.