Zachary Kushel

Founder & Managing Partner

Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures

Zach’s professional experience spans from Wall Street to Washington, DC to Silicon Valley to putting down firm roots in the North Bay.

He founded MSIV in April 2020 to bolster the North Bay’s economic future via investments in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Over the past half decade leading MSIV, the organization has cemented its position as the go-to-resource for Marin + Sonoma startup founders. MSIV now manages over $17.7 million in assets under management across two venture capital funds, having secured support from 93 Limited Partners. To date, MSIV’s investments arm has deployed over $8,665,000 into 22 North Bay startup companies.

Under Zach’s leadership, MSIV’s community arm has cumulatively supported 433+ Marin + Sonoma startup founders via its North Bay Founder Network, and its Executive Network of C-level mentors has cumulatively activated 75 experts who together have lent thousands of hours of pro bono expertise to support local entrepreneurs.

Prior to founding MSIV, Zach served on the executive team as Head of People & Corporate Operations at SmithRx, a San Francisco based startup company in the pharmacy benefits management (PBM) space. Prior to SmithRx, Zach was Head of Business Development at Mill Valley’s Glassdoor, the world’s most transparent jobs and careers community, and served tech-icon Cisco in San Jose building partnerships with the global public sector and advising the company’s senior executives on public policy matters.

Zach also worked in fixed income sales at Citi’s New York City trading floor, co-founded video opinion startup company eyeponti, and has a wide range of political experience that includes the U.S. Senate, The White House, and the late Senator John McCain’s 2008 campaign for U.S. President.

He currently serves on the Board of Advisors at the Lepage Center for Global Innovation in San Rafael and formerly served for seven years on the Marin Economic Forum Board of Directors, for five years on the Board of Advisors at Dominican University’s Barowsky School of Business, and for two years on the Citizens Oversight Committee for Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART).

In 2023, Zach was honored for his work building MSIV by the North Bay Leadership Council when he received the “Leaders of the North Bay” award for Innovative & Entrepreneurial Spirit. He has received commendations from the North Bay’s representatives in the U.S. House, California State Senate, and California State Assembly, as well as from the County of Marin, for his efforts leading MSIV.

Zach earned his Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University. A native of New Jersey, he now calls northern California home and resides with his wife and two sons in Corte Madera.

He can be reached at zkushel@msivfund.com.