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Cleo Sham
In transition. Currently Board Member, Advisor and Investor in high-growth B2B & B2C Businesses | ex-Uber | Former COO | ex-Partner @ Stride.VC
Cleo Sham is a prominent figure in the venture capital and tech startup ecosystem, currently serving as a Venture Partner at Stride.VC. Her career spans various high-profile roles in technology, finance, and entrepreneurship.
Professional Experience
Cleo's professional journey includes several notable positions:
Venture Capital:
During her time at Stride.VC, Cleo has been involved in early-stage investing and board work across Europe, focusing on areas such as enterprise AI, health, fintech, proptech, and marketplaces.1
Operational Roles:
- Chief Operating Officer at Spotahome (January 2019 - November 2020)1
- Various roles at Uber, including Director positions
- Proprietary Trader at Merrill Lynch
- Business Development Director at Guanhong Lighting Technology Ltd (October 2010 - June 2011)1
Entrepreneurship:
- Founder and CEO of NinjaRooms (February 2012 - October 2012)1
- Cofounder of NatSent (February 2009 - August 2009)1
Education
Cleo Sham has a diverse educational background:
- MBA from The Wharton School
- BA from Rice University (Triple-major in Economics, Managerial Studies, and Sport Management)1
- Attended The Cheltenham Ladies' College1
- Studied at Beijing Language and Culture University (Intensive Business Chinese Course)1
Expertise and Investments
Cleo's expertise lies in areas such as:
- Go-to-market strategies
- Marketing
- Business operations
- International expansion
- Building and scaling high-performance teams
- Setting company culture
- Fundraising1
Her primary investment areas include B2B SaaS, Fintech, Consumer, Marketplaces, and Mobility/Logistics.1
Additional Roles
Beyond her primary positions, Cleo is also:
- An angel investor and advisor to various startups1
- A board member for companies like Huboo and WeGift2
Cleo Sham's diverse experience across multiple industries and her current role in venture capital make her a valuable asset in the startup ecosystem, particularly in guiding early-stage companies through growth and expansion phases.
Highlights
Had a great conversation with Yoann Benhacoun on the Upscalers podcast last week exploring some of the key decisions of my personal and professional journey to date, and how they came about. We also discussed our personal motivations for angel investing.
The questions were provocative and it would be very interesting to learn more about how others have come to make their pivotal personal and professional decisions as well. If you have any favorites resources, please feel free to share.
Check out the episode here: https://bit.ly/3RmB9r4
#upscalers #podcast #startups #scaleups #careergrowth #investing #angelinvesting
Excited to share some good news that DoorFeed has closed its latest Seed extension round, and to welcome aboard @Ramin at Motive Ventures!
Stride.VC had led DoorFeed’s initial Seed round in 2021, when James Kirimy came to me with a very impressive initial data engine that the team had been building. Having worked with James at Uber and at our last company, Spotahome, I was excited to partner with him again as he doubled down on his passion for real estate with DoorFeed.
What do they do? Addressing market inefficiencies with their data engine, DoorFeed enables institutional investors to invest into residential real estate assets with scale, speed and simplicity, across Europe. They are able to screen over 100,000 residential real estate opportunities daily, buy, renovate, rent and property-manage, eventually enabling investors to realize returns. At the same time, through their operations DoorFeed makes the properties more livable and better maintained, particularly in renter-dominated cities on the continent.
We are not re-inventing the wheel. Large-scale institutional investment in residential real estate existed before this, especially in the US with Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH), and SFR3 Fund in which I’m an investor - amongst other platforms in Europe. But what gets me excited is that DoorFeed’s tech platform, combined with their network of local partners a la Uber, enables them to deliver a solution that is far more scalable and seamless than what is available today. And this new round of funding will help to propel their development and eventually, their expansion across Europe.
Onwards!
