About Samara: 

Samara Mejia Hernandez is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Chingona Ventures, a Venture Fund that focuses on rapidly changing sectors and founders with experiences that uniquely position them to build startups in underserved growth markets.

The fund has $60MM in AUM and has made over 40 investments across technology sectors in Financial, Food, Future of Learning, and Health/Wellness. Before this, she was an investor at MATH Venture Partners, started her career at Goldman Sachs, and she is on the advisory boards for Coolwater, Camino Financial, and VentureFWD.

Episode Highlights: 

• What it was like growing up in an immigrant family and how that environment of helping others and building community impacted her today
• Tip for new firm builders - let relationships and mentorships happen organically, don’t force things but be proactive with your outreach and networking and then let it happen
• Look for opportunities to build, and don't be so rigid in your journey. Demonstrate the qualities that would make a sponsor want to sponsor you
• Tips for entrepreneurs; just get started!, don’t be afraid to fail, tap into your network and don’t be afraid to ask for help