Sacha Ledan
San Francisco
Summary
Venture-focused professional with over nine years of hands-on experience in deal sourcing, operations, business development, and community building. Proven track record in evaluating early-stage ventures and leading cross-functional teams, successfully scaling accelerator programs in partnership with industry leaders such as Endeavor, Accel, Lightspeed, and Sequoia. These collaborations have supported over 250 startups, resulting in more than $1 billion in follow-on funding and the emergence of six unicorns post-program. Skilled in cultivating strategic relationships with founders, venture capitalists, professors, and other key industry leaders to drive innovation and growth.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Partner
Raisable Founders Hub
09.2025 - Current
- Raisable.vc is a Silicon Valley–based hub that helps global founders become investor-ready, validate ideas, build GTM strategies, enter top accelerators, raise funds from top tier VCs, attract top talent, and integrate into the U.S. startup ecosystem.
- My role is to lead all operations, partnerships, and define strategy with the managing partner.
Associate Director
Stanford Graduate School of Business
01.2022 - 09.2025
- Deal Flow & Investment: Participate in the admission and investment committees, reviewing 300+ startups annually.
- Portfolio Outcomes: Helped deploy $36M across 72 companies, leading to $1B+ in follow-on funding, 5 unicorns, and 4 acquisitions.
- Program Expansion & Leadership: Built and launched 4 new accelerator programs, generating $3.5M+ in annual revenue and supporting 200+ startups to date.
- Cross-Functional Management: Managing a team of program managers and leading cross-functional team across operations, finance, marketing, and admissions, to ensure program success.
- Led teams of up to 3 program managers, supervising daily performance as well as training and improvement plans.
Advisor & Consultant
Various startups + Corporate VC
12.2019 - Current
- Advising & consulting on Strategy, BD, Fundraising, and Operations
- PinMy [Seed stage, mobile app] - (Jul 2025 - current)
- GameTree [Seed stage, gaming social network] - (Feb 2024 - July 2025)
- Lazy.ai [Seed, AI text to code platform] - (March 2023 - March 2025)
- Stealth startup [Pre-seed stage, AI app] - (Jan 2024 - Dec 2024)
- XP Health [Series B, vision care] - (June 2022 - March 2023)
- Fullkitchen [Acquired, meal delivery] - (Feb 2020 - Dec 2021)
- Gen1E Lifesciences [Series A, biotech/AI] - (Oct 2020 - Dec 2021)
- Infect Health [Corporate VC, healthcare] - (Feb 2021 - Nov 2021)
- Ran a market research workshop for their analysts
- Startup scouting / market analysis
Business Development & Partnership Lead
WilmerHale
10.2019 - 01.2022
- Pipeline Building: Formed strategic partnerships with Stanford, UC Berkeley, Alchemist Accelerator, 500 Startups, StartX, Plug and Play, SkyDeck, IndieBio, and others, establishing a pipeline of vetted, high-growth ventures.
- Market Strategy: Led business development and partnerships for the West Coast Startup & VC practice, identifying, analyzing and reporting market and VC trends to the partners.
- Client Acquisition: Generated $1.8M+ in new revenue, signing 72 emerging-growth startups for the firm’s West Coast Startup & VC practice.
Corporate Innovation Manager
StartX
09.2018 - 10.2019
- Corporate Innovation: Collaborated with Fortune 500 executives and founders to launch POCs, pilots, corporate investments, and strategic acquisitions.
- Partnerships Negotiation: Negotiated $100K+ partnerships with F500 companies to engage with StartX’s startup community
- Revenue Generation: Delivered $350K+ in annual corporate sponsorship revenue through targeted business development and outside sales
- Innovation Programming: Co-designed founder-facing programming, connecting startups with key resources and mentorship to improve investor readiness.
Consultant
Alcimed
07.2017 - 08.2018
- Market Analysis: Developed and led go-to-market strategy, competitive landscaping, and budget planning for the new California office.
- Consulting: Led management consulting projects for big pharmaceutical firms (e.g., Gilead, Becton-Dickson, Moderna)
Founder & President
Young Leadership Forum
04.2015 - 03.2018
- International Growth: Scaled the organization to 5 countries (France, UK, Spain, Italy, Germany) while leading a volunteer team of 25+.
- Partnership Development: Partnered with Tesla, Henkel, Mazars, ESCP Europe, Bocconi, Cambridge, and more to host leadership summits and entrepreneurial workshops.
Education
M.Sc. - Business Management
ESCP EUROPE
01.2017
B.A. - Economics
UCLA
01.2012
Skills
- Investor Relations
- Corporate Innovation
- Strategy
- Operations management
- Community Building
- Business development
LANGUAGES
English (Fluent)
French (Fluent)
Spanish (Intermediate)
INTERESTS
Sports enthusiast: former stuntman, triathlete, marathoner, etc., Divemaster: scuba diving guide, Avid traveler (60+ countries)
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Co-Chair, Tech Committee, French-American Chamber of Commerce CA (2024 - Present)
- Jury & Judge for various Startup Competitions/Demo Days (2020 - Present)
- Board of Advisors, Chico State Executive Education (2022 - 2024)
- Board Member, Swipe Out Hunger (2018 - 2020)
Timeline
Partner
Raisable Founders Hub
09.2025 - Current
Associate Director
Stanford Graduate School of Business
01.2022 - 09.2025
Advisor & Consultant
Various startups + Corporate VC
12.2019 - Current
Business Development & Partnership Lead
WilmerHale
10.2019 - 01.2022
Corporate Innovation Manager
StartX
09.2018 - 10.2019
Consultant
Alcimed
07.2017 - 08.2018
Founder & President
Young Leadership Forum
04.2015 - 03.2018
B.A. - Economics
UCLA
M.Sc. - Business Management
ESCP EUROPE