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A partner at M13, Anna was the managing director of Techstars LA and also a partner in The Fund LA. A certified executive coach, Anna has worked as a corporate lawyer, McKinsey consultant, product exec, and entrepreneur. She serves on the Advisory Board of PledgeLA and is a member of AllRaise.

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Online flower retailer The Bouqs Company delivers flowers and plants fresh from eco-friendly, sustainable farms to doorsteps nationwide.

The Bouqs Company

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Juan Pablo Montúfar

John Tabis

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John is Partner and Head of Launchpad, the M13 Venture Studio helping founders build companies that define the future of business. Prior to M13, John founded and scaled The Bouqs Company and worked in strategy for The Walt Disney Company and Bain & Co.   John continues to serve Bouqs as Chairman of the Board and also teaches entrepreneurship at UCLA Anderson.

Partner

John is Partner and Head of Launchpad, the M13 Venture Studio helping founders build companies that define the future of business.

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John Tabis | M13

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Wesley is an Investment Analyst. Prior he spent 2 years in investment banking at Oppenheimer focused on technology.

Wesley Lau

Investor

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Wesley Lau | M13

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As a director on the Propulsion team, Melissa spends her time supporting M13 portfolio companies in their growth. Melissa was previously a senior associate and head of platform for early stage fintech fund Clocktower Ventures, and go-to-market lead for the Deloitte Ventures incubator.

Melissa Montan

Operator

As a director on the Propulsion team, Melissa spends her time supporting M13 portfolio companies in their growth. Melissa was previously a senior associate and head of platform...

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Melissa Montan | M13

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Sarah was previously the VP of marketing and investor relations at Arlon Group and has served in IR roles at StepStone Group and Citi Private Equity. She is a public company board member, co-founded the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council, and has served on numerous non-profit boards.

Sarah Tomolonius

Sarah was previously the VP of marketing and investor relations at Arlon Group and has served in IR roles at StepStone Group and Citi Private Equity. She is a public company...

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Sarah Tomolonius | M13

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Brent Murri is a Partner at M13 where he leads early-stage investments in consumer technology companies. Brent joined M13 from Battery Ventures where he focused on growth-stage enterprise software investments. Prior to Battery, he worked in strategy & business development for Samsung NEXT, where he developed and executed strategies around Samsung’s consumer software and services initiatives.

Brent Murri

As a principal at M13, Brent leads investments across the firm's consumer investment themes. Prior to joining M13, Brent was an investment Associate at Battery Ventures...

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Brent Murri | M13

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As a product specialist, Rob helps startups strategically build, deploy, fundraise, and go to market. Prior to M13, Rob has been a serial founder as the CEO of BlackSmith Studios and Pecabu, as well as acting in an interim-CMO/CPO capacity at a number of later-stage Bay Area VC-backed companies, including Cala Health, Apnicure, Neodyne & others. He is a recipient of UK Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012.

Rob Smith

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Rob Smith | M13

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A partner and head of legal, Win has served in senior leadership roles at numerous consumer technology companies, including as General Counsel of MasterClass and early-stage startup Vessel (acquired by Verizon), as well as senior legal and business affairs roles at Hulu. A former electrical engineer, he started his legal career as a corporate attorney at Latham & Watkins

Win Chevapravatdumrong

Win leads all legal and risk matters relating to our investment activity and fund operations and provides operational and strategic support to our portfolio companies.

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Win Chevapravatdumrong | M13

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Mariah brings deep expertise in executive search from True Search & Daversa Partners, where she’s helped build executive and founding teams for early-stage venture-backed companies. She's passionate about building diverse, high-impact teams for mission-driven companies changing our everyday lives. 

Mariah Lang

Mariah brings deep expertise in executive search.

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Mariah Lang | M13

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As Director of Product, Mary brings her experience as a former co-founder to help portfolio companies strategically design, develop, and optimize the user journey. Mary takes pride in building meaningful relationships with founders and sharing her passion for product design, innovation, and creativity. She’s always excited to collaborate with startups and help them achieve their goals.

Mary Lara

As Director of Product, Mary brings her experience as a former co-founder to help portfolio companies strategically design, develop, and optimize the user journey.

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Mary Lara | M13

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As portfolio operations analyst, Amelia supports M13 portfolio companies in their growth and expansion. Prior to M13, Amelia was corporate partnerships and marketing manager at Stampede Ventures, where she built and led marketing launches for new companies developed from joint ventures. Amelia also worked for CAA, HBO, and NBCUniversal. 

Amelia Zack

As portfolio operations analyst, Amelia supports M13 portfolio companies in their growth and expansion.

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Amelia Zack | M13

__I look for founders and teams who have an insatiable drive to learn.__ A learning mindset is probably the single most important quality in an early stage founder. There is a close to zero percent chance that the plan you have today will be the best plan in six months. Therefore, only the people who are willing eager to learn and adapt will succeed. As Brene Brown says, I’m here to get it right, not to be right. 

 __Curiosity has always driven me in career – and life.__ I don’t believe in the five year plan; instead, I’ve followed my curiosity and am most engaged and alive when I’m on a steep learning curve. I’m not afraid of risk launching a new venture, switching to a new industry, creating the space to travel around the world, talking to a stranger on a plane. What it boils down to is, I’m not afraid to be a beginner and have a beginner’s mindset. M13 is a team of bold thinkers who also embrace uncharted territory and value curiosity and asking the hard questions. There’s no better environment than a place to take risks with the full support and trust of a team around you. That’s what M13 has created. 

 __Entrepreneurs create a better future, and we need a better future now more than ever.__ LA is home to a creative, diverse community of entrepreneurs and operators who want to make the world better. LA is also a center for innovation in everything from media to biotechnology, from proptech to food. As a tech community, we’re also committed to growing in a way that includes everyone reflected in the work of PledgeLA, which M13 joined and where I’m a founding member of the Advisory Board. M13 embraces purpose-driven innovation and gives it fuel. 

 __Empathy is essential.__ Empathy is grounded in seeing and feeling things from the point of view of the other. “Become the other person and go from there,” the saying goes. I like to think about empathy as perspective, rather than feeling. It’s about working to turn the lens around so you see things differently, as someone else does. When we are driven by empathy, our interactions become transformative, rather than transactional. 

 __It all comes down to storytelling.__ Stories are how we understand, influence and connect with each other. The best leaders, teams and brands are master storytellers. And it’s one of the strengths of M13 and woven into everything we do. Helping our founders and brands tell their stories in the most impactful way.

Anna Barber

A partner at M13, Anna was the managing director of Techstars LA and also a partner in The Fund LA. A certified executive coach, Anna has worked as a corporate lawyer...

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Anna Barber | M13

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Morgan spent five years in investment banking at Morgan Stanley. She worked on a presidential campaign, at Bloomberg Philanthropies and consulted for start-ups in the political media space.

Morgan Blumberg

Morgan spent five years in investment banking at Morgan Stanley. She worked on a presidential campaign, at Bloomberg Philanthropies and consulted for start-ups in the political...

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Morgan Blumberg | M13

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As a partner and head of talent, Matt coaches our founders on hiring the best talent and building healthy and high-performing cultures. He leads several of our future of work investments. Matt previously built and led the People functions at DigitalOcean and Return Path (#1 Best Place to Work in NYC and #2 in the US, respectively).

Matt Hoffman

As a partner and head of talent, Matt coaches our founders on hiring the best talent and building healthy and high-performing cultures. He leads several of our future of work...

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Matt Hoffman | M13

How we see jobs evolving in the era of AI—and the questions companies need to be asking to prepare for this sea change.

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AI and the Future of Work

The M13 investing team dives into what you need to know about the impact of AI on how we work.

Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work

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As an early member of M13, Mark spends his time investing in early stage consumer technology businesses. He focuses primarily on helping the firm develop its web3 thesis. Mark graduated from UCLA with a BA in Business Economics.

Mark Grace

As an early member of M13, Mark spends his time investing in early stage consumer technology businesses. He focuses primarily on helping the firm develop its web3 thesis. Mark...

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Mark Grace | M13

Source

Source digitizes and streamlines commercial real estate projects through a single cloud-based platform. Its managed marketplace connects architects and designers, building owners, and commercial FF&E (furniture, fixtures, and equipment) suppliers for a seamless procurement process.

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Nicole Schmidt

Digitizing and streamlining commercial real estate projects.

B2B procurement—the process of sourcing goods and materials from vendors—is notoriously complicated, opaque, expensive, and slow. Procuring furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) in the commercial construction industry can be especially complex, making this $500B market subject to long lead times and unpredictable fees and delays. 
Enter [Source](https://m13.co/company/source), a B2B marketplace that connects architecture and design clients to suppliers. Source is building the essential managed marketplace to bring together architects and designers, building owners, and commercial FF&E suppliers—making for a more streamlined purchasing process. 
Source already has the largest FF&E catalog in the world and is a known brand in the space—and it’s still just getting started. There are over 65,000 architecture and design firms in the US, and Source is on its way to becoming an integral part of their workflows. 
With Source’s integrated search platform, commercial architects and designers can both build their FF&E plans and make purchases for large-scale construction projects. Designers can peruse thousands of inventory items in the Source library, create lookbooks, set budgets, automatically create purchase orders, and see lead times all in one place. On the supply side, suppliers can communicate with buyers, update stock availability, pricing, and lead times, and facilitate transactions. 
![Budget Source](//images.ctfassets.net/vcjxvx0h1a5n/1F4JqHNuo7GKV3QWLWkcOX/f9ec0ba652bdcd3c6785bb7b530f90eb/Budget_Source.png)Source helps designers keep track of budget as they buy. 
With Source, 1000+ line item purchase orders that used to take a week to compile can be finished in minutes. The Source product team has also begun integrating AI into its product recommendation engine and plans to launch an automated design assistant. 
Today, Source is servicing hundreds of projects across hospitality, office, multifamily residential, and commercial spaces. While each vertical has its own nuances, procurement can cause headaches across the space for both new builds and renovations, making Source a widely needed resource. 
As investors, what got us most excited about Source was the effusive customer feedback that we got from owners, architects, and designers across all of these categories. The customers we met sang Source’s praises—praises backed up by strong engagement data—and nearly every other designer or architect that we met with asked for an immediate introduction. 
![Rep Connect Graphic (2)](//images.ctfassets.net/vcjxvx0h1a5n/3cnQmdvZDclSWCE5gLv03X/4b9acc90e03197c3e47f4c1e450af184/Rep_Connect_Graphic__2_.png)
Source connects clients with representatives from over 1,900 brands. 
One reason for this enthusiasm is CEO Nicole Schmidt. When we first met Nicole, we were immediately impressed with her insight into the construction industry at large and design specifically. Her deep customer empathy and optimism that technology can create a better experience for everyone involved in the construction process has led her and the entire Source team to create a business that we knew we had to support. 
We are proud to have led Source’s $8.5M Series A, investing alongside our friends at Rogue Venture Partners, Oregon Venture Fund, Rise of the Rest, and Founders’ Co-Op. Notably, Source’s earlier investors have all been local to the Portland and Seattle ecosystems—and now, M13 is happy to represent Los Angeles and New York as we help Source continue its national expansion. To the entire Source team: we are grateful for your decision to partner with M13, and we can’t wait to get to work.

M13 leads the $8.5M Series A for Source, a B2B marketplace streamlining the furniture, fixtures, and equipment procurement process.

Investing in Source: Streamlining Construction Procurement for Architects, Designers, and Suppliers

Source is building the marketplace to bring together architects and designers, building owners, and commercial FF&E suppliers—making for a more streamlined purchasing process. 

M13 Leads Series A to Construction Marketplace Source

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M13 Team

Where there is capital, there is opportunity to build the future. Venture capital firms thus have a unique responsibility to build a diverse tech sector that reflects the composition of the larger community. 
With this in mind, [PledgeLA](https://pledgela.org/) is announcing “50 in 5,” a pledge to support the goal of investing 50% of all LA VC dollars in underrepresented (Black, Latinx, and female) founding teams by 2028. As new Chair of the PledgeLA Advisory Committee, M13 Partner Anna Barber announced the goal in conversation with will.i.am at the Social Innovation Summit during LA Tech Week. 
PledgeLA is a collective of 215+ Los Angeles-based VC firms and tech companies working to foster diversity—through efforts to increase access to capital and jobs for underrepresented communities and reporting to track LA’s progress and challenges. It is an initiative of the [Annenberg Foundation](https://annenberg.org/), which has long been committed both to Los Angeles and to supporting diversity and inclusion. 
“In the fifth year of PledgeLA, we are making a renewed commitment to achieving diversity in LA’s tech ecosystem by focusing on access to capital,” says Anna. “When underrepresented founders receive investment capital, the entire tech community benefits. Over the last two years, we have seen VC investment in women, Black, and Latinx founders decline from 2020 numbers. We are pledging to reverse this trend in LA with our new commitment.” 
Supporting diverse founders has long been a priority for Anna, who made her 100th investment at the end of 2022. “When I went back to look at the makeup of the founders I’ve invested in, I was very pleased to see that there were roughly 50% female CEOs and two-thirds underrepresented CEOs. Along with that, there was a strong throughline of investing in social impact, sustainability, and positive societal benefits.” 
“But it’s not about me,” she adds. “PledgeLA is driven by people like Austin Clements, who was the Founding Chair when we launched; by Miki Reynolds of [Grid110](https://www.grid110.org/), who has perhaps done more for underrepresented founders in LA than any other single person; by Jesse Draper, who champions investing in women; by other incredible leaders, like Marlon Nichols (one of our top seed investors in LA), Brentt Baltimore, Minnie Ingersoll, Spencer Rascoff, Marcos Gonzalez, Elianne Rodriguez, and Rick Smith; and of course the team at Annenberg, led by Director Cinny Kennard and the incredible team of Allison Holmes, Calvin Selth, and Lilia Jiminez." 
Initiatives like PledgeLA represent movement toward a more equitable, effective, and excellent tech ecosystem. While there is no other public-private partnership equivalent to PledgeLA today, the Advisory Committee hopes to set an example that other cities will follow. 
M13 shares the commitment to backing a diverse array of founders. “At M13, we’ve backed 39% non-white founders and 40% women founders—compared to the industry benchmarks of 28% and 11%, respectively,” Anna explains. “We see this number as progress toward a better status quo—and we look forward to seeing how initiatives like ‘50 in 5’ will further move us toward funding the underrepresented founders who will build the future.” 
_PledgeLA was launched in 2018 under the leadership of Executive Director Cinny Kennard in partnership with the office of then-Mayor Eric Garcetti, with the bold goal of building an LA tech ecosystem inclusive of the full LA community. It is guided by an Advisory Board of leaders from LA’s venture and tech communities. Members include Chair Emeritus Austin Clements, Managing Partner at [Slauson & Co.](https://www.slauson.co/); Chair Emeritus Qiana Patterson, Managing Partner at [NAYAH](https://nayahstudio.com/); LA serial founder and investor Spencer Rascoff; Halogen Ventures’ Jesse Draper; Vamos Ventures’ Marcos Gonzalez; MaC Ventures’ Marlon Nichols; and LA founders such as Shiloh Johnson and Beatriz Acevedo. See the full Advisory Board and read more about PledgeLA [here](https://pledgela.org/)._ 
_Read more about M13’s holistic approach to investing and ESG policy [here](https://m13.co/article/our-holistic-approach-to-investing-introducing-m13s-esg-policy)._

PledgeLA calls for 50% of LA VC investment dollars to go to underrepresented founders by 2028. 

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PledgeLA and M13 Partner Anna Barber Announce ‘50 in 5’ Call to Support Underrepresented Founders

During Los Angeles Tech Week, PledgeLA names Anna Barber Advisory Committee Chair and calls for 50% of LA VC investment dollars to go to underrepresented founders by 2028.

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PledgeLA Calls for VC Support of Underrepresented Founders | M13

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M13 shares insights on web3 and commerce, and why brands should consider a web3 strategy. 

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E-commerce founders are curious about web3. M13, an early-stage consumer tech VC firm, shares insights on how web3 will shape the future of commerce.

Anna Barber

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