Miriam Rivera
Ulu Ventures
CEO, Co-Founder and Managing Director
The journey from underdog to successful investor defines my life. Growing up in poverty, with Spanish as my first language and a mother with limited education, I faced domestic violence, crime, and trauma. Despite being written off by many, great teachers and faith—both spiritual and personal—helped me persevere.
From Head Start to graduate school, I earned four degrees from Stanford including the JD/MBA, co-founded a VC-backed startup, and helped develop a revenue model at Google that generated billions. Now, at Ulu Ventures, we apply decision analysis—a proven methodology in industries like life sciences—to venture capital. Our focus is inclusive investing, often in teams overlooked by traditional VC.
Underinvestment in diverse founders costs the U.S. economy trillions. Despite 40% of pension funds coming from diverse populations, less than 2% of capital goes to non-white male-led asset managers. This gap stifles innovation and job creation. Ulu Ventures bridges this gap by using data-driven methods to mitigate bias and reduce risk at the seed stage. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed person has an advantage—decision analysis gives us that edge.
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