About Us

Founded in April 2023, Windy Ventures is a community of student founders, engineers, artists, investors, and dreamers who come together to collaborate, learn and grow. Our mission is to build the most robust startup ecosystem for UChicago to help students succeed in their passions.

Our Team

  • Founding Partner

    Colin is a junior at the College studying Economics and Philosophy. He interested in investing in frontier technologies like AI and Blockchain for both enterprises and consumer markets. He was an analyst at Techstars SF last summer, is a current venture scout for Soma Capital, and will work for Sequoia China (Hongshan) next summer in their Beijing Office.

    In his free time, Colin is an avid photographer and loves trying new restaurants.

  • Founding Partner

    Diego is a junior at the College studying Economics and Cognitive Science. Last summer, he interned at Techstars’ Chicago accelerator, helping to source, make deals, and advise startups. Next summer, he will join Bessemer Venture Partners as an investment analyst. He is also the founder of Pool, an online service that matches students with rides to the airport. Besides VC, he models part-time and loves to read.

  • Partner

    Alex is a junior at the College studying Economics and Public Policy. Last summer, he was an investor at Mangusta Capital, a global AI and consumer VC firm. Next summer, he will join J.P. Morgan in the investment banking division. He’s also writing about private tech companies at Contrary Research, the “Wikipedia of Private Markets.” In his free time, he avidly supports the Phoenix Suns and lifts weights. Alex joined Windy Ventures in the fall of 2024.

  • Partner

    Jack is a second-year Econ and Philosophy student. Currently he works as an associate @ Techstars, sourcing and screening for their NYC (SaaS) and Chicago (Health) programs. Previously he interned at an early-stage VC firm in Australia and founded an international keyboard business. Outside of VC, he loves techno (drove to Fred Again in Wisconsin), and coffee. Jack joined Windy Ventures in the fall of 2024.

  • Partner

    Eric is a fourth year studying Econ & CS. As a venture analyst and former founder, he dives deep into complicated problems, particularly in deep tech, Web3 (DePIN), and AI. Outside of school and work, he's busy rock climbing or making music. If you need help with a model, just ask him!

  • Partner

    Mia is a current intern at Andreessen Horowitz and spent time as a marketing analyst at one of their portfolio companies, Mixpanel. She is largely interested in financial strategy and the process of successfully pitching in venture capital. She is passionate about fashion, training for marathons and is always down for a concert!

  • Associate

    Rauf joined Windy Ventures in fall 2024 as an associate, bringing with him a background in renewable energy funds and entrepreneurial experience as the founder of the perfume company Amyris. Through his hands-on experience, Rauf has developed expertise in customer discovery, product evaluation, and product evolution. In his free time, he enjoys creating scents for his company, long-distance running, and playing the piano.

Our Values

1. We place community first, individual second.

A great startup is never the product of one person’s work. It involves the founder, developers, designers, product managers, venture capitalists, and customers all working together to define and redefine a company’s value until it reaches perfection. Therefore, we believe a robust and diverse community fosters great startups.

2. We invest in bright people with big ideas.

Early-stage startups lack significant book value, often with no revenue or physical assets. Yet, venture capitalists still invest. They prioritize the "intellectual book value," which is the talent within the startup. A great idea can fail with the wrong team, as long-term success hinges on effective management. Hence, we invest in people, not just ideas.

3. We are all different, and recognizing it helps us win.

Some of us are introverts and others are extroverts. Some are super rigorous and others are wildly creative. Some are great with relationships and others are great with ideas. And we value it all. We value every single one of you, coming from different cultures and backgrounds.

As a club, we have a goal to bring together the most talented people at UChicago and we end up being diverse as a result of that goal. We work hard to see and understand the talent in each other rather than point out each other’s weaknesses. By combining different strengths and modes of thinking, we stand out as a club.

4. We celebrate the good times.

Life would be meaningless without recognizing our accomplishments, big and small. When one of us achieves something great, we all take pride in it because we advance as a community - the UChicago entrepreneurship community. We are more excited for them than we would be for ourselves. We want to see each other win.

5. We play to win.

Vinod Khosla, the founder of Khosla Ventures and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, once said, “Failure does not matter. Success matters”. He encourages us to try our hardest to become #1, and failures along the way do not matter as long as you learn from them. As an organization, we strive to be #1 by giving students the best VC resources and dropping everything to help you when you need assistance. As a founder, you should also strive to be #1 by creating the best product possible. Because nothing we do matters if we’re not important. And to be important, we must win.

We got your back.