Katherine Zhang officially joins us full-time as the latest member of our investment team. Working alongside Aditi Maliwal in our new San Francisco office, read on to learn how she applies her experience working at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to her work today, and why SF is a great city for venture and tech.

How will you be adding value to Upfront and the portfolio?

I am excited to leverage my prior experience in financial regulation at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to provide a unique perspective to Upfront and our portfolio. During my time at the FRBNY, I led the Fed’s stress test, which deep-dived across multiple business lines of the largest global financial institutions. I ran scenario analysis, built financial models, and analyzed tactical and strategic initiatives - all skills, in some form or another, that I found surprisingly helpful in my role as an Investor! In my day-to-day responsibilities, I will be working alongside Aditi Malilwal to support our portfolio companies at their earliest stages, serving as a thought partner and sounding board for our founders. I will also be building out new theses in areas that fuel a deep passion or curiosity. If you are building with either of those characteristics, please reach out (katherine (at) upfront.com)!

Why were you excited to join the Upfront team?

I have had the privilege of working with Upfront since January 2021 while I was at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. I found the internship as much of an academic experience as my MBA education. As a perpetual student, I felt an immediate sense of belonging surrounded by people who were constantly curious and incredibly passionate about exploring difficult problems. More importantly, the deep level of empathy and thoughtfulness I saw among the team in supporting founders at their earliest stages was a testament to Upfront. At the end of the day, it truly does come down to people for me and to say that I am incredibly honored to join the Upfront team is an understatement.

Why is SF a great city for venture and tech?

I grew up in the Bay Area during a time when the terms “disruption” and “innovation” were becoming more closely tied to venture and tech. As someone raised through crises (the dot com bubble burst, the 08/09 financial crisis, and now most recently the pandemic), it was impressive to see the many SF Bay Area companies that were built in response to and during downturns. This kind of resilient innovation is why I believe the SF Bay Area will always be a great hub for venture and tech. After spending the past 8 years in NYC (6) and Chicago (2), I am thrilled to be in San Francisco and look forward to being reacquainted with the Bay Area.

What gets you excited about meeting a new company or startup?

What gets me most excited about meeting a new company is the passion and drive of the founders who are solving problems that seem unsolvable to most. Most often than not, if you dig a little deeper, what is underlying this kind of contagious energy is a backstory that inspired a greater purpose and that is at the core of why I get so excited about this job. A mantra that resonated the most with me during my time at the Federal Reserve was “mission first, people always” and while there are certainly differences between central banking and venture capital, I find that that mantra still applies for me when it comes to this job.

What areas will you focus on or do you really love?

I am looking forward to focusing a large portion of my time in fintech, while having the opportunity to develop theses in other verticals. Having spent the first part of my career as a financial regulator, I picked up a unique vantage of the traditional financial system from looking under the hood of the world’s largest financial institutions. I saw what worked and what didn’t work. From the latter, it really fueled my interest and passion in fintech, particularly in businesses and products that focus on solving problems like financial exclusion and inequity. However, for these systemic and cross-functional problems, there are many adjacent verticals that play a part of the solution and I am also excited to explore those areas as well.

If you had to eat one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

My mom’s dumplings!! I connect a lot of my favorite foods with experiences or memories. Growing up, one of my cherished family traditions was sitting down at our kitchen table watching my mom pleat a perfect dumpling and then eventually, learning how to make them myself. Above all, it was dedicated quality time with my family. When I moved away from the Bay to NYC and Chicago, whenever I would get homesick, I would host dumpling making parties to bring together friends and build my home away from home. And I would argue over time, my dumpling pleats have become a close second to my mom’s :)