Our Team
A veteran of the software industry, Stephen has started and sold a number of software companies including DataEase (global DBMS company) and Sapphire, Inc. (emergency management software). He is a director /advisor to over 20 start-ups and is passionate about allying top entrepreneurs to finance and mentoring.
Angelika Burawska holds Master degree in Business Management from top European universities. Her professional career started with international brands in Poland and Italy. She merged into startup world after moving to London. Her experience covers starting, running and investing in businesses. She joined SFC in early 2014 as the Chief Operating Officer.
Joseph Zipfel joined Startup Funding Club in 2014 and is responsible for managing the execution and syndication of SFC's investments and supporting portfolio companies with their fundraising strategy. Joseph previously worked in Investment Banking focusing on corporate finance and global markets roles. Joseph holds a Master in Management from ESCP Europe.
Having graduated from Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Raphael joined SFC in 2017 and is responsible for investor relations. Prior to joining the team, Raphael worked in consulting in Switzerland. Before starting his career in Finance, he was leading a department and running the daily operations for several years, building his skills in operational management and process optimisation.
Rohallah Ghasemi holds a Master degree in International Political Economy from King's College London. He joined Startup Funding Club in 2018 as a Deal Flow Manager and is responsible for the screening and selection of candidates. He has previously been involved in different startups working as business developer and is a co-founder of Crowdpondent.com, the world's first social network for citizen journalists.
Carmelo joined SFC as part of the investment team, where he focuses on investor relations as well as sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities.
Prior to SFC, Carmelo managed an Innovate UK finance research project and helped Deliveroo launch in more than 20 locations nationwide as well as optimised their delivery riders recruitment system.
Carmelo holds a Master degree in Computational Finance from the University of Essex, as well as a Bachelor degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Bologna.
Ausra joined Startup Funding Club as an Executive Investment Assistant after completing a Master degree in Behavioural Economics and Finance at the University of Exeter. She is responsible for startup on-boarding and investment processes as well as for producing portfolio and investment reports. Before starting her Finance career, Ausra gained business management experience in the Hospitality sector, where she honed her leadership and business acumen skills.
Stefan joined the team in 2018 and holds a Master degree in Financial Services in Banking from University of Kent and has previously worked as a manager at a Chinese annuity insurance company. Stefan also has experience as an entrepreneur, having co-founded several luxury and fashion brands.
Marguerite has been working for more than two decades as a Management Accountant in the software industry and has been involved with supporting startups through Startup Funding Club for more than five years. She joined Startup Funding Club in 2017 to ensure credibility of SFC and its investee companies.
Stephen is co-founder and Head of Business Development at Ixty. Before moving to the angel investing and startup world, Stephen developed his career in financial services and sales and worked in countries like Singapore and France. His main role at Startup Funding Club is introducing new investors to tax efficient investing through the Fund and angel network.
JiaQiang joined the team in 2017 to manage the international arm of Startup Funding Club. With a PhD from University of Cambridge, he is acting as an expert bridge between UK startups and Chinese institutional investors. As Business Relationship Officer for South East Asia, his task is to develop connections with overseas investors and to find opportunities for the currently existing startup portfolio.
Mark is a Director of Startup Funding Club, a startup co-founder, and an experienced investor. Mark has co-founded and exited a technology startup as COO and has vast experience within the fund management industry, having overseen multi-million pound projects at Fidelity and New Star.
Gino is Professor of Pharmaceutical Innovation at King’s College London and Director of Rainbow medical engineering. Professor Martini has occupied many roles in like Senior Director of Preclinical and Pharmaceutical Development for Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific at GlaxoSmithKline. Gino advises SFC on medical and pharmaceutical opportunities.
