Hi, my name is Nicole Ripka. I am obsessed with supporting founders and discovering life-changing technology. I am an early-stage investor, operator and entrepreneur.

More on me —

  • My background as a founder and operator has naturally led me to realize a passion for early stage investing. While at Peloton, PredictSpring, Matte Projects and Pomp (previously Maya’s Flowers), I contributed to early-stage product, community, partnerships and brand growth.

  • I’m passionate about working with creatives and empowering people to tell stories. Ever since I started an art gallery I’ve had one foot in the art world. At Matte I managed large creative teams of the best talent in the city. I believe “you can’t be what you can’t see which is why I started GayJoy” and why I’m so passionate about visibility in content and community.

  • Since I graduated from my MBA in May 2024 I’ve enjoyed spending my time consulting across a number of projects and roles with Bluebirds Capital, Parade Ventures, Visual Electric, next play and Godling.Studio. It has been the most valuable to help me hone in on what I really love and want to go 110% in on.

  • The year before I was in business school and the Managing Partner for Dorm Room Fund (DRF) where I led investments in Baton, CassVita, Velvet, Jones and Cityline.

  • I’m a deal junkie! In addition to managing the 16-student NYC and Midwest DRF team, I am in the top 1% of deal sourcers across the entire partnership. I speak to about 10 founders a week and connect them with dozens of VCs in my network.

  • I’m the founder of GayJoy (5,000+ person queer media company/community). Where I’ve hosted dozens of queer events parties with the likes of Soho House, Lex, Maude, Ace Hotel, Them that Have been featured in the NYT and the Cut.

  • I am passionate about advancing equity in entreprenurship. I recently volunteered to lead DRF’s six week Female Founder Track and participated in Galvanizer, Stanford’s female founder incubator for my work with GayJoy.

  • I am a true extrovert, constantly expanding my network, building deep relationships quickly. You can find me participating in my Lesbian Backgammon League, spinning records at Superior Elevation in East Williamsburg, playing Downtown Girls Basketball or grabbing a coffee with a new friend.