Mario Mena Email & Phone Number

New York, New York, Us

As a leader on the investment team at Liberty City Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on the transformative potential of blockchain across industries, I focus on shaping our investment strategy, sourcing and evaluating high-potential deals, and supporting the growth of our portfolio companies.Investments: Sourced and evaluated hundreds of deals from Seed to Series D, developing comprehensive due diligence frameworks that supported 30+ investments across our funds. Selected deals sourced or contributed to include Hex Trust (digital asset custody), Quantstamp (smart contract audit), Everyrealm (Web3 gaming infrastructure), and Figment (institutional staking infrastructure). Investment Areas of Focus:Blockchain: Infrastructure, interoperability, tokenization enterprise enablement, gaming, consumer applications, digital identity, cybersecurity & privacy solutionsData & AI: Data provenance, data governance, data infrastructure, data pipelines, AI enablement, compute, and AI-driven applicationsIncubation: Supported the GPs in the successful incubation of three Web3 companies from ideation to Series A.

New York, Us

1455 Ventures is a holding company for my personal investments into startups and SPVs that align with my investment philosophy and vision for the future.My personal investment thesis revolves around the convergence of AI, blockchain, and deep tech. I believe that AI will serve as the intelligent and intuitive front-end for a wide range of applications, while blockchain technology will provide the immutable, transparent, and secure backend infrastructure. Blockchain-based networks, in particular, have the potential to reshape the financial system by enabling the atomic settlement of traditional assets on-chain, streamlining processes, reducing counterparty risk, and unlocking new levels of efficiency and transparency. Deep tech, encompassing advancements in fields such as quantum computing, biotechnology, and advanced materials, will act as a force multiplier, accelerating innovation and unlocking new frontiers across all aspects of human progress.

New York, Ny, Us

LAUNCH is a pre-seed accelerator for founders to explore their blockchain concepts and turn them into reality. The program, operated by Columbia’s Lab-to-Market Accelerator Network, is the 8th technology accelerator launched by Columbia University in the past 5 years. The 10-week program exposes founders to a network of industry, technical, and business mentors focused on innovation and blockchain. It's also a chance for connecting blockchain and other emerging technologies (e.g., AI, quantum computing, cloud, etc.). I specifically advise on business models, monetization, and fundraising strategies. Send me a ping to find out about applying to the next cohort!

Menlo Park, California, Us

Tribe Capital is a venture capital firm known for its data-driven approach to investing. During my stint at Tribe, I developed the ability to distill complex investment theses into accessible narratives while deepening my understanding of quantitative methods for evaluating product-market fit.Key responsibilities:- Supported the launch of Firstlook, a platform providing global institutions, family offices, RIAs, and high-net-worth individuals access to co-invest opportunities underwritten and managed by Tribe- Translated Tribe Capital's extensive 80-page data science-focused investment memos into concise one-pagers for prospective limited partners (LPs)- Gained exposure to Tribe's rigorous quantitative approach to evaluating product-market fit across three key dimensions: Growth Accounting, Cohort Analysis, and Distribution of Product-Market FitBy distilling Tribe's complex quantitative investment frameworks into clear, concise narratives, I helped bridge the gap between the firm's sophisticated data-driven strategies and the understanding of potential investors. This experience reinforced the value of combining qualitative and quantitative insights to holistically evaluate investment opportunities and has undoubtedly made me a more effective investor and leader at Liberty City Ventures.Areas of Focus: [Enterprise Fintech, Enterprise Software, Life Sciences, Consumer Fintech, Consumer]

Aldavia Ventures is a private angel fund investing in early-stage startups in NYC that hold a strong technological advantage. We will invest in areas where we can be most helpful, leveraging years of experience in financial services. We look for unusually talented teams intent on building businesses that can scale explosively to create, transform or dominate an industry. I focused on investments in tech-enabled businesses, working across all aspects of the investment process, including sourcing, due diligence, transaction execution, and portfolio company support.

Boston, Massachusetts, Us

I credit my time at GMO for enabling me to quickly realize the value of blockchain networks for financial services settlement - a major theme that has guided my professional path since. At GMO, I gained a deep understanding of the complexities and inefficiencies in traditional trade settlement processes. I witnessed firsthand the challenges posed by disparate systems across counterparties, varying settlement rules for different asset classes, and the need for large operations teams to handle manual reconciliation and corporate action adjustments. The lack of seamless communication between trading and operations teams often led to errors and delays.I found myself asking why there wasn't a single source of truth? The answer lies in the fact that in the modern financial system, the exchange of value, the record-keeping system, and the rules governing an asset are all separate, with counterparties, sometimes even within a firm, keeping separate books of record and relying on complex legal agreements to enforce the terms of a transaction. This fragmentation leads to inefficiencies, increased risk, and a lack of transparency.This realization made it easier for me to see the potential impact of blockchain technology ahead of the 2017 bull run. By combining the exchange of value, record-keeping, and the rules governing an asset on a single, immutable ledger, blockchain networks could streamline processes, reduce errors, and provide unprecedented transparency and efficiency in financial market infrastructure. Smart contracts, in particular, could automate the enforcement of asset rules, further reducing the need for manual intervention and legal complexities. This transformative potential of blockchain technology to revolutionize financial services settlement has been a driving force in my professional journey ever since.

New York, Ny, Us

During my tenure as an Operations Analyst in the Equity and Fixed Income Settlements teams at Morgan Stanley, I gained invaluable firsthand experience navigating the intricacies and inefficiencies inherent in traditional trade settlement processes across asset classes.Key responsibilities:- Settled equity and fixed income trades, ensuring adherence to market-specific settlement cycles (T+2, T+3) and collaborating with counterparties, including broker-dealers, custodians, and clearing housesReconciled trade discrepancies and breaks, investigating root causes and working with counterparties to resolve issues promptly- Monitored and managed settlement risk, analyzing fail rates, tracking aged fails, and escalating high-risk items to management- Provided support for corporate action processing, including voluntary and mandatory events, ensuring accurate adjustments to client accounts- Collaborated with trading desks, middle office, and other operations teams to identify process bottlenecks, implement enhancements, and improve straight-through processing (STP) ratesWorking across both equity and fixed income settlements provided me with a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities for innovation in post-trade processes, setting the stage for my future interest in blockchain technology and its potential to revolutionize financial market infrastructure.

New York, Ny, Us

Bachelor Of Applied Science (Basc) And Bachelor Of Business Administration, Finance, Economics

Bachelor Of Business Administration (B.B.A.), Finance