Managing Partner Victor grew up in Indiana before moving to Chicago to study economics at the University of Chicago. Victor has always loved startups—he started a bubblegum vending machine business in 6th grade, a scooter company in undergrad and cofounded UChicago’s first student-run venture fund. A Kauffman Fellow (Class 22) and former leader in Hyde Park Angels, Victor founded M25 in 2015 and quickly grew it to become one of the most active venture firm in the Midwest. Victor lives with his wife and four kids on the South Side of Chicago, is an active member of Christ Church Chicago and is absolutely addicted to Strava (and is probably swimming across a body of water right now). If he can’t convince you to break a sweat with him though, he’ll usually succeed in getting you to try out a Euro-style board game (like Settlers of Catan) with his friends.
Uber Rating: 4.95
As a founding partner at M25, Mike has managed over 100 investments in early-stage companies. Outside of his responsibilities at M25, Mike serves on the board of BLCK VC, leading initiatives in the Midwest to connect, engage, empower and advance Black venture investors. Mike is also a proud Kauffman Fellow (Class 24). Prior to M25, Mike founded The Anvil, a co-working space and startup incubator on Purdue University's campus, where he helped launch the first Purdue startup to be accepted to Y Combinator, and many more that have gone on to raise venture capital and attain meaningful acquisitions. Mike lives in Chicago with his wife, Erikka, and in his free time, he enjoys food and wine, playing bad golf, following Chicago sports and traveling.
Uber Rating: 4.9
Abhinaya is a Partner at M25, where she’s spent the last nine years, and a graduate of the Kauffman Fellows Program (Class 28). She grew up an Indian immigrant in the Chicago suburbs and studied Finance and Mathematical Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she found her way into venture by starting a YouTube interview series with local startup founders. Alongside sourcing and investing in early-stage Midwest companies, she leads M25's internal AI efforts, building the workflows and tools the team runs on. She also works with the 1 for 2 Education Foundation, a pay-it-forward scholarship program for undergrads, and brings the Chicago community together through everything from ChiTechIRL to small dinners. Outside of work, she spends most of her time with her two-year-old daughter, cooking for friends, and exploring corners of the internet.
Uber Rating: 4.93
Before joining M25, Arianna spent five years as a Business Litigation Assistant, where she supported attorneys through legal research, document drafting and filing, and trial discovery preparation. More recently, Arianna served as the Community Coordinator for BLCK VC’s Midwest Chapter, helping create meaningful connections among members while developing onboarding for new members and community best practices for its growing network. Arianna is a proud graduate of Columbia College Chicago, where she studied Music Business and Public Relations. She made the most of her time on campus, serving as the Marketing Coordinator for TEDxColumbia College Chicago, leading sponsorship and communications for the college’s annual Urban Arts Festival, and representing the Business & Entrepreneurship Department as a Senator in the Student Government Association. Originally from the south suburbs of Chicago, Arianna now lives in Chicago’s South Loop with her husband. When she’s not working, you can probably find her adding to her Spotify playlists, settling in for a movie night, or joining friends for brunch.
Lyft Rating: 5
Ruth is a Floridian-turned-Midwesterner living on the north side of Chicago. She spent three and a half years at Ball State University and received her B.S. in Advertising. During her time at Ball State, Ruth worked as a student assistant to the Dean and helped plan various events and programs throughout the college. She spearheaded the Cardinal Courses initiative, fostering connections between high school teachers and college professors through enriching guest lectures. She also served as President and Treasurer of the Ball State chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF), where she represented the university in numerous nationally-recognized advertising competitions. Prior to joining the team full-time, Ruth started as an intern in the summer of 2021. When she’s not hard at work, you can find Ruth enjoying her free time in a lagree class, exploring new restaurants, curating her Spotify playlist, spending time with friends or building a new ikebana with fresh flowers.
Uber Rating: 4.92
Ryan Coon is an entrepreneur, advisor and angel investor. Most recently, Ryan led the Rentals business at Realtor.com after successfully selling his last venture-funded company to Realtor.com in December 2020. Prior to that, Ryan was the CEO of Avail, a platform that improves the rental experience for more than two million DIY landlords and renters. Before co-founding Avail in 2015, Ryan was an investment banking associate at BMO Capital Markets performing M&A and equity capital markets transactions for financial services firms. Outside of work, Ryan is active in the Chicago tech community with more than 50 angel investments and serves on the board of directors of La Casa Norte, an organization fighting youth and family homelessness in Chicago. Ryan earned Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting and finance with honors from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Ryan lives in Chicago with his wife, Nikki, and two kids, Mya and Hudson.
Guy is a St. Louis-based founder who’s spent the last decade building companies at the intersection of healthcare and tech. He’s currently the Co-Founder & CEO of SteadyMD, a B2B telehealth infrastructure provider that powers high-quality virtual care experiences for digital health companies in all 50 states. Since launching the company in 2016, SteadyMD has raised over $60M and grown into one of the biggest names in digital health. Before SteadyMD, Guy founded and led HigherNext, an edtech company that was acquired by ProctorU in 2013. He now brings his deep experience to M25 as a Venture Partner, helping support Midwest founders—especially in healthtech, infrastructure and go-to-market strategy.
JP is Director of Go-to-Market Initiatives at Shopify, where he drives AI enablement across the company's commercial and GTM functions. With over 13 years of experience in ecommerce, digital transformation and strategic initiatives, JP is deeply passionate about leveraging AI and emerging technologies to enhance commerce and customer engagement. Previously, JP founded Loop Returns, scaling it into a leading e-commerce returns platform within the Shopify ecosystem. He also founded Rocket Code, an early Shopify Plus agency, and served as Chief Evangelist at BVA, advising numerous direct-to-consumer brands. JP also serves as a Venture Partner at M25, the Midwest's most active early-stage venture fund, JP scouts and supports promising startups, particularly within Central Ohio, providing mentorship, strategic advice and guidance on effective leadership and board communication. His passion lies in mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs, helping them navigate growth, leverage innovative technologies and cultivate strong, sustainable businesses. He's a husband of 15 years and dad. When he's not working, you can find him running, weightlifting and golfing—each offering its own flavor of sanity.
Brian is a proud graduate of the Syracuse Engineering School, where he earned his degree in engineering before going on to become an attorney. After practicing law, he founded PactSafe—a legal-tech startup that simplified the way companies manage online and high-volume contracts, particularly clickwrap agreements. Under his leadership, PactSafe grew into a leading platform in the legal-tech space and was acquired by Ironclad, a top provider of Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) software. Following the acquisition, Brian joined Ironclad’s leadership team to help scale the combined platform. He spends his free time as a dad of two teenage daughters, gardening and building legos.
Tom is a St. Louis-based founder and technology enthusiast who's spent several years building companies from the ground up. He's the Founder of Ryvit, an integration platform that connected construction and field service software, which was acquired by Trimble. Since the acquisition, Tom has focused on advising, working with founders across a range of industries and bringing a deep understanding of how different operating models drive success within their verticals. He's especially energized by partnership: taking on complex problems, enabling unique solutions and simplifying the path to success. Outside of work, Tom is a proud father of two sons and a self-proclaimed athlete, and he brings that same drive to helping Midwest founders at M25.
