Phillip Sarofim, the visionary force behind Trousdale Ventures, established the firm with a resolute commitment to planetary well-being. He invests in founders that are building a better tomorrow and that are empowering and enhancing both lives and the planet. Phillip's influence extends far beyond investment, as he actively shapes the trajectory of each venture, leveraging his operating expertise, serving on boards and working alongside founders in company building.

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Hinrich J. Woebcken provides invaluable support to drive portfolio companies from zero to one with best practices. Hinrich sits on various boards, including Meyers Manx, and serves on the advisory board of CesiumAstro and Coreshell. Recently, he was the President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America Inc., which included a family of worldwide brands: Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Electrify America, VW Credit, Inc. He also served as the CEO for Volkswagen across the North American Region. Prior to joining Volkswagen AG, he spent nearly 10 years with the BMW Group where he held senior leadership positions, including Global Procurement, Supply Chain Management, and Driving Dynamics at the Senior Vice President level.

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Before joining Trousdale, Marko served as a director at OVN Capital. Preceding this role, Marko was an associate the Park Hill Private Equity Group, which is the global alternative asset advisory and fundraising division of the investment bank PJT Partners. Marko, a graduate of UC Berkeley, earned a four-year scholarship as a midfielder on the Cal Soccer team.

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Jonathan oversees pre-seed and consumer investments. Prior to joining Trousdale, he served as the President of United Overseas Textile Corporation, where he managed the US and China offices. He also served as a founding partner of Unicorn Venture Partners, a Los Angeles based early stage venture firm. As a prolific angel investor with over 90 pre-seed and pre-IPO investments, he offers intuitive business guidance to startup founders. Jonathan believes in providing genuine mentorship to every portfolio, regardless of its size or niche. Jonny is an alumnus of the University of Southern California, the London School of Economics, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Michael is a dynamic and dedicated operator in the mobility space. His expertise lies at the intersection of operations and angel investing. Before joining Trousdale, he represented his family office which invested in a variety of sectors. Michael is a graduate of Clark University.

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Sachin Seth, PhD, most recently served as a Senior Finance Manager at Tesla Motors, which he joined after spending seven years at Texas Instruments. He received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology where the focus of his dissertation was high-frequency circuit design using Silicon-Germanium HBTs. He also holds an MBA in Finance and Marketing from The Wharton School. Sachin also completed a Public Policy fellowship and is a Senior Member of the institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

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Ted brings his experience in overseeing financial control processes and portfolio management to the operations team at Trousdale Ventures. Before joining Trousdale, Ted held positions as Vice President at Sandler O’Neill + Partners and Managing Director at Invemed Associates LLC, the Langone Family Office. Additionally, he serves on the board of Lemon Perfect, a company within the Trousdale portfolio. Ted is a graduate of Bucknell University.

Allison’s leads operations, communications, and human resources for the Trousdale team. Before joining Trousdale Ventures, Allison was part of the operating team at LA Golf. Allison is a graduate of Chapman University, and holds an MBA from University of Southern California.

Rahul Magan is the General Counsel at Trousdale Ventures. Previously, he served as Vice President of Legal at ShipBob, an omnichannel fulfillment platform, where he played a pivotal role in scaling the legal department to meet the demands of a company that doubled in size, expanded internationally, and saw its revenue double. His earlier career at Goodwin Procter LLP saw him as a trusted advisor to a diverse portfolio of clients, ranging from emerging startups to established public companies. Rahul holds a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, a Graduate Certificate of Business Economics and Public Policy from The Wharton School, and a B.A. in Business-Economics and Political Science from UCLA.

Tyler leverages his unique background spanning finance and entrepreneurship to foster strong relationships and drive strategic investments. Prior to joining Trousdale, Tyler served as the Chief of Staff at Endeavor. He is a graduate of St. John's University.

Jeni has held positions in operations and marketing at Global Eagle Entertainment, Warner Bros, and Disney. Jeni holds an MBA from Loyola Marymount University and BA from Emerson College. She also serves LMU's College of Business Administration Alumni Board, producing networking and career development events, and mentoring students on merging their creative skills to their developing business acumen.

Dave Lin, co-founder and current Managing Partner of Unicorn Venture Partners, is a hands-on adviser to numerous early-stage companies and enjoys diving headfirst into complex marketing, finance, and M&A issues. Prior to joining Trousdale and UVP, Dave was a venture investor at Upfront Ventures and GRP, an adviser to PPG and Shell Ventures, and an entrepreneur and operator at Pavemint, Maker Studios, CrowdTorch (acquired), OfferBuys.com, PriceGrabber (acquired), and eSalon. Dave is an alumnus of The Wharton School and UCLA.

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Sohila leads the firm's deep tech and life science practice. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley, received her doctorate at USC and completed a fellowship in Systems Neuroscience at Caltech and a fellowship in Biophysics & Theory at UCLA with Professor Raphael Levine. Zadran is also an experienced operator, building companies, including a women's health company in partnership with the California Institute of Quantitative Biology (qb3) and the Johnson and Johnson Innovation Center (Janssen Labs). Prior to joining Trousdale, Zadran spent time in venture capital working alongside Ray Lane at GreatPoint Ventures as an Associate Partner and as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Khosla Ventures. Zadran is also a venture fellow in Professor Bob Langer's lab at MIT.

Notable Deals