We’re delighted to promote Yash Patel to Partner and Saad Siddiqui to Principal. Yash and Saad, both based in San Francisco, are continuing to drive the growth of Telstra Ventures in the USA and complement our teams in China and Australia.
Yash Patel joins Mark Sherman, Matthew Koertge, Steve Schmidt, Chris Pu and Marcus Bartram as the sixth Partner of the firm. Yash joined Telstra Ventures in January 2014 and focuses on investing in high-growth consumer and SaaS-related companies. Yash drove the following investments for Telstra Ventures in BigCommerce, Near, OpenGov, Singular, Skillz, Snap, SnapTravel, Swish Analytics, and Team SoloMid.
“Yash is an emerging leader within our firm and the venture community. He has built strong CEO relationships and thought leadership in consumer, particularly in the sports domain,” said Mark Sherman, Managing Partner at Telstra Ventures. “We are thrilled to announce his promotion.”
“Yash has been a tremendous partner to Skillz since he led TV’s investment. His hustle and commitment to helping Skillz in any way, from fundraising to key introductions, has been greatly appreciated. Any entrepreneur would be lucky to have Yash on their side,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO of Skillz.
The firm’s second new appointment is the promotion of Saad Siddiqui to Principal. Saad joined Telstra Ventures in April 2016 with a focus on Big Data, Machine Learning and Cloud Infrastructure. Saad currently works with portfolio companies including Boomtown, CoFense, Incorta, NS1, Ripcord and Trifacta.
“Saad has developed a strong network within the Founder and Entrepreneurial community, not only through the work he does at Telstra Ventures, but more broadly, participating in programs such as Kauffman Fellows” said Mark Sherman, Managing Partner at Telstra Ventures. “His connections bring invaluable insight back into our business.”
“Saad works tirelessly to support us in every facet to make sure we are successful. I can call him anytime of the day and he will make himself available. Saad is very knowledgeable about our space and has helped us hire for our leadership team, find the best investors and connect with customer’s. “ Osama Elkady, Co-founder & CEO of Incorta
These two promotions demonstrate Telstra Ventures’ commitment to investing in people and fostering a culture of highly motivated investment professionals. “It’s important that we nurture and recognise our top talent in this rapidly evolving venture capital environment” said Matthew Koertge, Managing Director at Telstra Ventures. “Both Yash and Saad are widely recognised as leaders in their fields with strong ties into the community. We are excited to celebrate this achievement with them.”