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Garrett earned his B.Sc. in Management from the United States Air Force Academy and M.Sc. from Pepperdine University and is a graduate of Harvard's Executive Program in Venture Capital and Private Equity. He received the George Award as the Outstanding Student in Entrepreneurship from the Graziadio School of Business and Management. Garrett was later named a partner of Caltech's Computer and Mathematical Science Department. From 2017-2018, Garrett served as Managing Director of BLD Capital, where he crafted the fund's vision, managed investor relations, sourced opportunities, lead deals, and supported portfolio companies. BLD Capital invested in 12 seed-stage companies. For his efforts, Garrett was featured on the cover of the Orange County Business Journal and invited to speak internationally at the Global Accelerator Conference in Seoul, South Korea.
Currently, Garrett is an active angel investor through the Band of Angels, Tech Coast Angels, and Pasadena Angels. As the Chair for the Band of Angels LA and the Co-chair for the LA Venture Association Angel Advisory Board, he hosts monthly Pitch events in the LA area, where he vets early-stage opportunities. |
Garrett serves on the Board of Directors for UNest, a Series A funded fintech startup where he was the first seed investor. Other notable investments include Brius, Acorns, CNote, UNest, Irrigreen, Verifir, Lynx Bioscience, and Champions Round. He volunteers his time mentoring startups and at the Ronald McDonald House. Garrett is passionate about helping startups succeed and is always seeking new investment opportunities.
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EventsStartupMavericks hosts monthly pitch events in conjunction with the Band of Angels, Los Angeles Venture Association and Pitch Force for emerging early-stage technology companies.
band of angels 25th anniversary |
UpcomingPepperdine Alumni Pitch Hosted by StartupMavericks
Thursday February 17th, 6:00-7:30 P.M PST Band of Angels LA Virtual Pitch Thursday March 11th, 6:30-8:30 P.M PST (Contact for Invitation) SUM Pitch Event video |
Reviews
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"From the minute I first met Garrett, he has been a solid resource of insights, connections and introductions. He's one of those rare people who follows through with what he says he will do and simply gets things done. Extremely capable, competent and connected, especially in the startup space, Garrett has been an amazing resource to me and to LAVA. He's a true believer in entrepreneurial endeavors and is a champion of founders here in Los Angeles and the greater so cal region." - Darren Eng Executive Director LAVA
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Garrett is a visionary. He was the first investor to really understand and appreciate our vision at BRIUS Technologies. He made numerous introductions to other investors and angel groups and almost all of them invested in our round. We even met our series A investor in one of the meetings he invited us to. He hustled, followed up and never gave up and with his help, we closed two over-subscribed convertible note rounds within 4 months of his initial introductions which was amazing! -Sam Rad Co-Founder & COO LifeFoundry
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"As an investor into our company, Champions Round, Garrett has gone above and beyond to ultimately ensure he provides value well beyond simply capital. He's been an integral advisor throughout every facet of the business, has made a bevy of strategically-beneficial introductions, and has provided significant cache to our company simply by association. It's been an honor to have Garrett as a member of our team, and he provides tremendous value everywhere he goes. Thank you for being such a key part of our journey."
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"I was lucky to land several amazing colleagues and advisors from the fin-tech industry who helped to make introductions, highlight my credentials, and participate in the investment discussions behind closed doors. One person I want to specifically highlight was Garrett Gilbertson, who after our first meeting not only became a loyal U-Nest customer and decided to invest personally, but also went a long way to advocate for me and the company with various Angel groups and syndicates. He went above and beyond by sharing his personal excitement and bringing other investors on board. Having people like this helping with the process significantly increases your chances for a successful fundraising experience." -Ksenia Yudina Founder U-Nest
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"Garrett, is a tireless and truly altruistic supporter of small business and entrepreneurs. He's been remarkably helpful in making key introductions to partners in a wide range of industries. Here's a guy who is very happy to give and offer support while asking for very little in return. The entrepreneurship community in Los Angeles is better for having people like Garrett in it." -Robert Macauley Founder Lifeprint
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" Garrett has been a great asset to Lenny, his research has validated key aspects of our business model. He has been thorough in his analysis and made himself available whenever we needed his assistance." -Joe Bayen Founder Lenny Credit
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"Working with Garrett is an absolute pleasure. He has incredible follow through and his attention to detail is unmatched. Garrett approaches every conversation, task and challenge with thoughtfulness. Like most, Garrett aims to win and what sets him apart is his laser focus on identifying and achieving attainable goals. Garrett not only had a giant tool box of valuable resources, he also has no hesitation about jumping in and learning something new. I look forward to watching my company continue to soar with Garrett's guidance." -Kim Cavallo Founder LilSpace
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"Working with Garrett Gilbertson and Startup Maverick’s has been a dream comes true; they took on my project and transformed my vision into a reality with guidance, strategy and realistic goals to achieve every milestone within budget. Instapass went through a 2-year process of trying to gather the right team and Garrett was the missing piece of the puzzle. I am truly grateful to have worked with Start Up Mavericks whose passion, commitment and work ethic are unmatched in the tech space." -Damone Bush Founder InstaPasss
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"Garrett is an advisor to my start-up, Digital Bedrock. He stands out in the start-up community in that he immediately follows through on his words; he's not all talk, he takes action. With very little discussion, he understood the technical and business aspects of my company and its growth potential. I teach at UCLA, and I've experienced professors having difficulty grasping what Garrett understood right away. Garrett's insightful skills have made him an invaluable advisor." -Linda Tadic Founder Digital Bedrock
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"Garrett is a innate leader and mentor. He listens intently to make sure he understands exactly where he can add value and help. His blend of experience and network provides tremendous value to the entrepreneurs and businesses that he advises. He helped our company think outside the box and gave great direction where needed. He is a fantastic asset to any company lucky enough to have Garrett on its team." -Lindsey Miles Co-Founder & CEO Whil0
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"Garrett was a diligent and engaging advisor who helped us produce the best content for our pitch deck for ballparq.io. He delivered clear and concise ideas which helped ready us for our investor presentation. We were glad to have him and look forward to working with him again in the future." -Cary Chico Founder & CEO Ballparq
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"Garrett has been a great advisor and mentor. With his wide range of professional experience as an entrepreneur and now on the venture side, Garrett has insight that few people out there can offer. I really appreciate all the useful feedback and invaluable advice I've received from him. I'm excited to see how his new business ventures develop, and I look forward to further developing our business relationship in the future."-Elias Parisca Founder & CEO Anywr
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"Garrett has been a critical resource for my start-up Verde Circle. He not only helped me build my financial models, but provided critical feedback for developing my pitch. I didn't expect to receive this degree of fundraising support when I first signed up." - Jennifer Tracy Co-Foiunder Verde Circle
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ContactGarrett@startupmavericks.com
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