Lewis Burik joins TechNexus Venture Collaborative as an Analyst focusing on strategy and venturing. As a Chicago native, he’s excited to not only be back in his hometown but to join a company that partners with both entrepreneurs and entrenched corporations with a mission to advance venture-enabled growth initiatives. We took a moment to chat about his background, what he’s looking forward to, and more. Read our full conversation below.
Josue Ortiz: Tell me about your background? How did you get to where you are today?
Lewis Burik: I am a born and bred Chicagoan. I grew up in Old Town and graduated from St. Ignatius before heading to Stanford to study Management Science and Engineering. I also joined the football team. It’s at Stanford where I fell in love with the idea of tech entrepreneurship. What a sliver of magic to witness my peers and alums identify problems of consequence and breathe life into entirely new businesses (or industries) to solve them. I was lucky to spend a few years after Stanford as an investment banking analyst in San Francisco, advising high-growth tech companies as they contemplated capital raises, mergers/acquisitions, and other strategic initiatives. I’m even more excited to be joining the TechNexus team now to partner with both entrepreneurs and entrenched corporations alike with a mission to advance venture-enabled growth initiatives.
JO: Why were you interested in joining TechNexus Venture Collaborative?
LB: TechNexus’s unique value proposition, serving both ventures and corporations, is a game-changer in the venture ecosystem. As a highly active investor with core strategic focus areas, I’m confident that TechNexus can be a much more additive venture shareholder as opposed to the venture capitalist next door. Ideating, executing, and accelerating venture-enabled growth initiatives with corporate partners is a unique, challenging, and rewarding problem set as well. Plus, the opportunity to come home to Chicago made this a slam dunk!
JO: Tell me about the specific focus of your new role?
LB: My time will primarily be spent in three core areas:
- Collaborating with corporate partners to define and refine strategic focus areas for venture-enabled growth.
- Discovering and diligencing new opportunities for venture investment.
- Supporting the existing venture portfolio to accelerate business growth.
I’ll be spending lots of time with companies in the AudioTech, Future of Work, and transportation technology verticals.
JO: How does your background fit into this new endeavor?
LB: In my academic and professional career, I have always loved working with and advising founders as they tackle the herculean challenge of building a business. I’m excited to continue growing in this arena while developing deep and meaningful partnerships with portfolio companies.
JO: What’s a fun fact about you?
LB: I claim to make the best homemade pasta sauce (gravy) in the continental U.S.
JO: Anything you’d like to say to the TechNexus community?
LB: I am thrilled to be joining the TechNexus community at a time when the ecosystem has so much positive, forward momentum. I’m a true believer in the approach and value prop – and can’t wait to start developing partnerships with corporations and the next generation of great founders to identify and build businesses for technology’s next frontier!
To read more about Lewis, visit the TechNexus team page.
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