Rafael is a recent MBA graduate from USC Marshall currently living in West Hollywood. He was born in the Dominican Republic, and he grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He spent the entirety of his previous career leading go-to-market and operations management strategies in the consumer products space. After working for large enterprises, he decided to pursue his interests in helping founders and startups. Rafael was drawn to venture capital because of the ability to work with multiple companies solving countless problems in society. After experiencing venture capital through the Watertower Ventures Ventureship Scholars program, he fully joined the team after business school to continue to best position entrepreneurs for success.

Rafael is also an avid reader, deeply interested in traveling, and he enjoys playing board games with friends and family (he is always in favor of playing a competitive game of Settlers of Catan). He is also a passionate follower of motorsports like Formula One and MotoGP and has been to several races worldwide.

Go to App?
Robinhood – I am hooked.

What inspires you?
Learning from others every day, especially from people who have overcome tremendous adversity.

5-year Goal?
Become proficient in multiple programming languages.

Want to improve?
My long-distance running abilities. I need to continue to take advantage of SoCal weather.

Notable quality?
Being highly collaborative and positive.