Team
Jeremy Gardner
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
In 2014, while attending the University of Michigan, Jeremy founded the Blockchain Education Network (BEN) which has become the renowned global educational nonprofit it is today. He left his studies at the University of Michigan to co-found Augur, the decentralized prediction market platform and lead their ICO—the first ever on Ethereum and first "utility token." In 2016, Jeremy founded a corporate cybersecurity company called SAAVHA while also working as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Blockchain Capital, where he sourced over a half dozen investments and helped structure the firm's landmark security token ICO. Jeremy has served as the founding editor-in-chief of Distributed magazine. He advises some of the top startups in the industry and is often cited in the press surrounding blockchain technology. Jeremy is currently the Managing Partner at Ausum Ventures, the only hybrid venture and hedge fund comprised of early-stage startups and crypto-assets for social good.
Bá Minuzzi
Co-Founder & General Partner
Bárbara is a former real-estate entrepreneur and financial advisor to ultra high net-worth families in Brazil. She has single handedly raised over $250M for real estate and high tech companies in Latin America and the United States and co-manages over $200M in assets.
Bá is the founder of BABEL Ventures, the first venture firm in Silicon Valley with a Latina founder and sole GP. She has been lauded for "breaking all the rules" and "rocking male-dominated Silicon Valley" by various mainstream publications. BABEL's first fund is focused on health tech and biotech. Bá recently partnered with Jeremy to launch the Ausum Blockchain Fund - focusing on social change through blockchain technology.
Orest Byskosh
Advisor
Orest Byskosh joined Ausum in 2018 as head of research for the firm, leading the due diligence process. With the fund deployed, he has since transitioned to an advisor role as of August 2019. He has been evaluating and investing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain investment vehicles such as ICOs and mining positions since 2013. Orest has published many articles relating to blockchain and cryptocurrencies in addition to advising projects on their white paper mechanics and token economics. Prior to joining Ausum Ventures, he launched his own Ethereum point of sales company in addition to participating in Ethereum auctions such as the Ethereum Name Service.
Aymard Dudok de Wit
Advisor
Aymard Dudok de Wit holds a Masters in Social Entrepreneurship, is a previous startup scaling consultant and co-founder of Serendipia’s social innovation camps. He’s now a managing partner at Esoteric Capital, a hedge fund applying behavioral economics to investing in cryptoassets. Aymard is also an angel impact investor and an advisor to multiple blockchain for social impact startups.
Brandon Goldman
Advisor
Brandon Goldman is a software engineer, entrepreneur, and angel investor. He has been in crypto since 2013 and currently runs a crypto quant fund in addition to advising several crypto startups. He formerly was one of the first employees at Box in 2007, and founded FreshPay, one of the first Bitcoin debit card companies, in 2013.
Adrian Fenty
Advisor
Adrian Fenty served as the fifth Mayor of Washington DC. Since leaving office, he has spent five years at both Andreessen Horowitz in Menlo Park and Perkins Coie in Palo Alto. Individually, he formally advises such noteworthy Silicon Valley companies as Box.com, OpenGov and Neighborly. Adrian is the General Partner of M Ventures.
