Venture Partners to accelerate immigrant ambition
Manan, Samala, Alexis, Nitin, E'mani, Elisabeth
— Unshackled Ventures
We've are founders. And we are here to leverage our networks to bring more immigrant founders into our community.
People first
High trust, high integrity relationship are our number one.
Trust & Respect
We trust in our teammates. We respect divergent views, even in disagreement.
Candor
Communicating openly and directly, even (especially!) when there is disagreement or tension is crucial to growth.
Curiosity
We are perennial learners and maintain a steep learning curve.
Generosity & Kindness
We believe we produce our best work when we come from a place of abundance.
Empathy
It is our responsibility to treat everyone in our community as equals and to level the playing field by minimizing or, ideally, eliminating biases, systemic or otherwise.
Competition
We believe in fair play. We also believe that friendly, good-spirited competition makes us better at the things that matter to us.
Joy
We surround ourselves with people that know joy is crucial.
Unshackled Team
Manan Mehta
Founding Partner
Manan is a founding partner of Unshackled Ventures and has successfully launched a business with a co-founder on a visa. Prior to Unshackled Ventures, Manan ran marketing for ed-tech startup Kno (acq. by Intel 2013) that raised over $90M of funding from top VCs including a16z, First Round Capital, and Floodgate. Before Kno, Manan was an investment banker with $3B in transactions, including the $1.9B acquisition of Skype. Manan was born in Silicon Valley and received a double major at UCLA.
Manan Mehta
Founding Partner
Nitin Pachisia
Founding Partner
Nitin is a founding partner of Unshackled Ventures. He has successfully built businesses while on a visa. Prior to Unshackled Ventures, Nitin ran finance and strategy for ed-tech startup Kno (acquired by Intel in 2013) that raised over $90M of funding from top VCs including a16z, First Round Capital and Floodgate. Before Kno, Nitin immigrated from India to work at Deloitte where he focused on helping tech startups with growth, exits, and strategic initiatives.
Nitin Pachisia
Founding Partner
Shaherose Charania
Partner
Shaherose Charania is a former founder and operator turned early-stage investor. She is currently a Partner at Unshackled Ventures and is the host of First Funders, a podcast spotlighting the people shaping the future of venture. Previously, she was a Venture Partner at Cake Ventures and a Corporate Incubation leader designing and launching Nike’s first digital incubator. Earlier in her career, she founded Founder Labs, one of the first Lean Startup incubators and was the Founder & CEO of Women 2.0, a pioneering media and community platform for female founders. Shaherose spent the first half of her career as an operator in Product, Marketing and brand across three early-stage venture-backed startups.
Shaherose Charania
Partner
Alexis Zamira Maciel
Principal
Alexis is a pre-seed investor at Unshackled Ventures where she focuses on deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio support. Alexis previously worked at the nexus of business and policy working at international business advisory firm, McLarty Associates, the Department of Justice, and on Capitol Hill. Prior to Unshackled, Alexis traveled to Brazil as a recipient of the Department of States Critical Language Scholarship, working with early-stage founders at Brazil's top tech incubator, ACATE. Outside of investing, Alexis leads SomosVC's 'Breaking Into Venture Capital' fellowship - A program designed to help equip young Latinx professionals to break into the venture capital industry. Alexis graduated from American University with a B.A. in International Development & Economics. She grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico before moving to the Bay Area at the age of ten.
Alexis Zamira Maciel
Principal
Fernanda Sesto
Investment Analyst
Fernanda Sesto is a pre-seed investor at Unshackled Ventures, where she focuses on deal sourcing and due diligence. With a background as a quality engineer in software and experience running entrepreneurship programs at the University of Rochester, she has also interned at multiple VC funds supporting early-stage investments. Fernanda holds a Master's in Business Analytics and a Bachelor's in Business with a focus on computer science, combining technical expertise with financial insight to drive diversity and innovation in venture capital. Fernanda was born and raised in Uruguay and moved to the US in 2019.
Fernanda Sesto
Investment Analyst
Michael Serotte
Immigration Partner
Michael Serotte is the Founder and Senior Partner of Serotte Immigration Law. Michael serves as Immigration Counsel for Stanford’s StartX and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Duke’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, and numerous private accelerators including Alchemist and Founder Institute. In addition to his law degree, Michael is a member of the U.S. Alliance for International Entrepreneurs and holds a BBA in Accounting and Finance for the University of Miami.
Michael Serotte
Immigration Partner
Rita Georges
Immigration Partner
Rita Georges is the Managing Partner at Serotte Law. Rita is particularly focused on Treaty Trader and Treaty Investor (E-1/E-2), H-1B, and L-1 Intra-company transferee visa categories. Prior to Serotte Law, Rita held internships with the New York State Office of the Attorney General under Mario Cuomo. She is an immigrant from Lebanon and is fluent in English, French, and Arabic.
Rita Georges
Immigration Partner
In the media
The world is talking about immigrant founders and the importance of what we do for them
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