Laura Allen's Email & Phone Number

💼 Past Experience

Research Assistant, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars from June 2005 to August 2005Graduate Research Intern at Emerging Markets Private Equity Association from September 2006 to May 2007EMPEA is the leading industry organization for private equity fund managers, institutions, and other professionals working in the field of emerging markets private equity. Consultant (selected projects) at Development Gateway from June 2006 to May 2007Built out data analytics product for use in identifying traffic, marketing, and fundraising opportunities.VC & Start-Up Advisor; Investor at Self in San Francisco Bay Area Provide product management, financial, strategic, and investment advisory services to VC funds and start-up companies in need of additional bandwidth.Clients included: PRESIDIO PARTNERS (fka CMEA), 2 VC funds undergoing formation process; Kickwheel, Vicarious, etc.--Presidio Partners: My role focused on developing VC investment theses for the Energy Tech vertical (e.g., Grid edge, energy-related IoT/Advanced Automation, Solar, Storage, etc) in Presidio's third fund.Functionally, this includes: in-depth research, deal sourcing/pipeline build-out, due diligence, fundraising, and marketing activities.SELECTPIPELINE COMPANIES INCLUDING CNANO, CODEXIS, FORO ENERGY, INVESTMENT, NEXTRACKER, AND WILDCAT DISCOVERY TECHNOLOGIES.During my time at Development Gateway, I also helped manage multiple projects, including the merger and acquisition of a sister firm, One47, and the launch of a new product, Advanced Data Analytics. I also created and manage products for a competing firm, Vicarious AI. In my position at Kickwheel, I was also responsible for the company's strategic marketing and product management.Commercialization (Product Management, Finance, Strategy) at Vicarious AI from May 2017 to October 2018 (1 year 6 months) in San Francisco Bay Area. Vicarious is developing artificial general intelligence for robots with a deep bench of engineers, roboticists, and neuroscientists, and backed by investors including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. By combining insights from generative probabilistic models and systems neuroscience, our architecture trains faster, adapts more readily, and generalizes more broadly than AI approaches commonly used today.As part of the Commercialization Team, we work cross-functionally within Vicarious and with industry experts to identify the most promising industrial applications for flexible/highly adaptive robots to allow people to do the tasks that don't suck.I have been responsible for product and customer discovery, strategic partnerships, on-going product management, GTM, pricing, filling the funnel/growth strategy, negotiating contracts, and other steps to launch initial products.Vice President - Ventures at Auriga Capital Management from August 2014 to January 2016 (1 year 6 months) in Greater New York City AreaAuriga Capital Management (ACM) is a family office asset management firm with €450 million in AUM

🎓 Education

Prior to her education, Laura Allen had experience in the business world. She has worked as a financial advisor and has also had experience in the energy, resources, and environment industries. Allen also has experience in the Latin American and Venezuelan region. Allen has a Bologna Diploma from The Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor's degree from The Lawrenceville School. In 2004, she received her Masters of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2011, she also received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

💡 Technical & Interpersonal Skills

________TOTAL CURRENT AND PAST EXPERIENCE: Research Assistant at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in June 2005 to August 2005 (3 months).Graduate Research Intern at Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA) from September 2006 to May 2007 (9 months).EMPEA is the leading industry organization for private equity fund managers, institutions, and other professionals working in the field of emerging markets private equity. consultant (selected projects) at Development Gateway from June 2006 to May 2007 (1 year).Built out data analytics product for use in identifying traffic, marketing, and fundraising opportunities.VC & Start-Up Advisor; Investor at Self in San Francisco Bay Area.Provide product management, financial, strategic, and investment advisory services to VC funds and start-up companies in need of additional bandwidth.Clients included: Presidio Partners (fka CMEA), 2 VC funds undergoing formation process; Kickwheel, Vicarious, etc.--Presidio Partners: My role focused on developing VC investment theses for the Energy Tech vertical (e.g., Grid edge, energy-related IoT/Advanced Automation, Solar, Storage, etc) in Presidio's third fund. Functionally, this includes: in-depth research, deal sourcing/pipeline build-out, due diligence, fundraising, and marketing activities.Select portfolio companies include: Cnano, Codexis, Flextronics, Foro Energy, Inventure, NEXTracker, and Wildcat Discovery Technologies.VC & Start-Up Advisor; Investor at Self in San Francisco Bay Area.Provide product management, financial, strategic, and investment advisory services to VC funds and start-up companies in need of additional bandwidth.Clients include: Presidio Partners (fka CMEA), 2 VC funds undergoing formation process; Kickwheel, Vicarious, etc.--Presidio Partners: My role focused on developing VC investment theses for the Energy Tech vertical (e.g., Grid edge, energy-related IoT/Advanced Automation, Solar, Storage, etc) in Presidio's third fund. Functionally, this includes: in-depth research, deal sourcing/pipeline build-out, due diligence, fundraising, and marketing activities.Select portfolio companies include: Cnano, Codexis, Flextronics, Foro Energy, Inventure, NEXTracker, and Wildcat Discovery Technologies.