The Beginning
Founded In 2022...
1809 Capital became the first and only Miami University alumni–backed venture capital firm based in Oxford, Ohio. At 1809 Capital, we invest in growth-stage technology companies globally, partnering with a Network of Miami Alumni-managed venture funds and Miami Alumni-managed startups.
With deep experience across operating, investing, and board leadership, our team offers more than capital. We provide strategic guidance, executive recruitment, partnership connections, and support for follow-on funding to help portfolio companies scale.
Fueled by an engaged alumni network, we leverage unique deal flow and co-investment opportunities with top venture firms, positioning 1809 Capital as both a strategic partner and a driver for entrepreneurial growth.
Why We DO IT
OUR MISSION
Our mission goes beyond returns. By reinvesting 60% of our carried interest back into Miami University and providing experiential learning opportunities, we’re helping to drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and long-term impact for the next generation.
Meet the Team
The Partners
Mark richey
1809 Managing Partner
MU ’80
Mark Richey
Mark is an experienced technologist, executive, founder, and venture investor. He is founder/Managing Director of West Capital Advisors, a corporate innovation and venture investment advisory firm, and West Capital Partners, a venture investment vehicle for family offices. He also served as a Managing Director at Draper Triangle Ventures, an early-stage venture fund.
Mark has operationally been involved in many entrepreneurial ventures. He was Founder/CEO of Synchrony Communications, raising $38 million in funding from leading VCs, including Charles River Ventures, APAX Partners, and GE Equity. In prior years he served in management roles with a series of venture-backed Silicon Valley companies, including Gain Technology (sold to Sybase), Siebel Systems (IPO), and Genesys Telecommunications (IPO). After graduate school, he worked in management consulting with Theodore Barry & Associates (Los Angeles). Mark began his career as a software engineer with Cincom Systems (Cincinnati).
Mark currently serves as an observer on the Boards of ShareThis and LabelInsight, and is an Advisory Council member for the GreenLight Foundation Cincinnati. He holds an M.B.A. from The Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University and graduated in 1980 from Miami University with a BS in Systems Analysis.
Kevin Mendelsohn
1809 Partner
MU ’96
Kevin Mendelsohn
Kevin is an experienced executive having investment, financial and operational management, and commercialization roles in early stage technologies. He was a founding member of the investment team at JumpStart Inc., a northeast Ohio venture development firm that provides entrepreneurial support, corporate innovation strategy, and early stage investment capital for regional technology companies, and currently serves there as a healthcare Venture Partner.
Previously, Kevin led finance and corporate development at CardioInsight Technologies, a medical device company that developed and commercialized a unique non-invasive electrocardiographic mapping technology to treat atrial fibrillation. CardioInsight was a spin out from Case Western Reserve University, co-founded by JumpStart and Draper Triangle Ventures, and ultimately acquired by Medtronic. Kevin also served in management roles in product development and finance at Athersys, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company developing novel stem cell, small molecule and protein therapies.
Kevin holds an MBA from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Business and earned a BS in Zoology and Economics from Miami University in 1996.
Kim Walker
1809 Partner
MU ’80
Kim Walker
Kim has served for 14 years as a board and audit & risk committee member of Commerce Bancshares, Inc., a $33 billion asset bank holding company which ranks among the top 50 largest banks by assets in the US and among the top 20 largest US banks by market capitalization. She also serves as a member of the Advisory Group of NISA Investment Advisors, a $250 billion institutional asset management firm.
Kim’s career was focused on institutional asset management. She served as Chief Investment Officer at Washington University in St. Louis for 10 years, helping to grow its endowment from $4 billion to over $6 billion during that period. Previously, Kim was President of Qwest Asset Management Company where she was responsible for the investment of Qwest’s (now Century Link) employee benefit assets with a combined market value of $14 billion.Following graduate school, Kim worked in various financial positions at General Motors Corporation, her last as Director of Equity Strategy responsible for the construction of the public and private U.S. equity portfolio within General Motors’ $70 billion defined benefit pension plans. Across all these roles, Kim approved investments in dozens of private equity and venture capital funds.
Kim has served on the investment committees of many non-profit organizations, including the Miami University Foundation, where she served as President from 2001-2002. She currently serves as Chair of the St. Louis Symphony Foundation Board of Trustees.
Kim earned a BA in economics and public administration in 1980 from Miami University, where she graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Betta Kappa. She also holds an MA in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA with distinction from The University of Michigan. She has been a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder since 1993.
John Gardner
1809 Partner
MU ’84
John Gardner
With 20+ years in venture capital investing and passion about digital health and changing the face of healthcare for the better, John has led and managed investments in companies across the information technology spectrum, including enterprise software, carrier software, systems and component companies. He has been a partner at NGP Capital for 14 years.
John came to NGP Capital from BlueRun Ventures, where he was one of the founding partners. Prior to that, John held a senior business development role at Nokia and has over 20 years of experience advising and working with start-up and emerging businesses, including extensive transactional experience in mergers, acquisitions and venture capital investments.
John earned a BS in economics and political science from Miami University in 1984. He also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati – College of Law.
Senior Advisors
Jim ryan
Founder
MU ’80
Jim Ryan
Jim Ryan is an investor and advisor to growth businesses through his own venture capital fund as well as partnering with other venture and private equity firms. Jim currently serves on the Board of Trustees of DePaul University (and previously served as its Chair), and is a former CoChair of the Business Advisory Council for the Farmer School of Business at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Jim is also involved with a number of philanthropic projects focused on creating access to quality education, social support, work experience and job training for students from underserved communities.
Jim spent his career at W.W. Grainger, a Fortune 500 industrial supply company with operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia. In 2017 Jim retired as W.W. Grainger's Chairman of the Board, a role he held since 2009. In addition, he served as Grainger’s CEO from 2008 through 2016. Jim’s other senior roles at Grainger included serving as President, Chief Operating Officer, Group President of the US, and EVP of Marketing, Sales and Service. Notably, during his tenure he oversaw Grainger’s e-commerce business grow from start-up to over $6B in revenue.
Jim graduated from Miami University in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in business. He also earned a master's degree, with distinction, in business administration with a concentration in marketing from DePaul University in Chicago. In 1999, he was awarded the Distinguished MBA Alumni Award by DePaul University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology recognized him as the 2006 Outstanding Leader in Industry.
Investment Committee
Greg barns
Parter at Hyde Park Venture Partners
MU ’03
Greg Barns
Greg is a partner at Hyde Park Venture Partners, an early stage venture fund focused on software startups in the Mid-continent, and has been with the firm since 2014. Greg has led and manages a number of HPVP investments, including Hubdoc (acquired by Xero), Pear Deck (acquired by GoGuardian), Provi, and Frank, among others, and sourced their investments in ShipBob and VNDLY.
Prior to HPVP, Greg was the COO of Piece & Co., which provides sustainable employment to artisans and underserved populations around the globe, and spent six years as a Senior Director of New Ventures at Redbox, where he led the strategy team before leading new venture development and corporate venture investing. Previously, he also held analyst positions at Straightline, DiamondCluster International, and a senior role at Culligan International.
Greg is currently a Board Observer for BlackCart and Malomo, a Board Member for Kooltra, and an Advisory Board Member for RedHawk Ventures, a student-led venture capital fund at Miami University.
Greg graduated from Miami University in 2003 with a BS in finance.
Aaron ryan
Founder of Belden Avenue Advisors
MU ’94
Aaron Ryan
Aaron Ryan is currently the President of NorthRock X, a first of its kind personal office that manages athletes and entertainers.
Ryan previously served as Commissioner & President of Overtime Elite (OTE), the global basketball league for the next generation of athletes and fans.
Ryan also served as Chief Operating Officer at Relevent Sports Group, the owner and operator of the International Champion Cup, where he oversaw all internal business functions, focusing on the continued growth of the largest privately owned soccer company in North America and Asia.
This followed a notable 22-year career at the National Basketball Association, where he helped manage business operations of numerous properties within the league. Ryan most recently served as Senior Vice President of the NBA 2K League, the first official esports league operated by an American professional sports league. At the NBA 2K League, Aaron led all sales, marketing strategy, and branding efforts associated with the launch of the league and the 17 inaugural franchises, leading to tip off in 2018.
Prior to the NBA 2K League, Ryan managed the overall business operations for USA Basketball including sponsorship sales and marketing for the Men’s and Women’s Olympic basketball teams. He also oversaw the NBA’s Marketing Solutions, Activation, and hospitality groups responsible for building partnership concepts and solutions for new global prospects as well as current marketing partners across all NBA properties.
Ryan received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Miami University, where he was a member of the men’s soccer team, and an MBA from Cornell University.
Ryan formerly held the role of Vice President of the NBA’s industry-renowned Team Marketing & Business Operations department, cultivating day-to-day league business relationships with several NBA franchises and advising those franchises on ticket sales, sponsorship development, customer retention, digital sales and marketing. He joined the NBA in January 1996 and spent time as Senior Manager of Live Production and Entertainment, where he served as lead producer and the chief production liaison for NBA marquee events.
Prashant Gangwal
Chief Financial Officer at Altos Ventures
MU ’03
Preshant Gangwal
Prashant is an experienced financial executive in the alternative investments space, with expertise in private valuations, scaling back offices, and SEC compliance for registered advisors.
Prashant is currently the CFO of Altos Ventures, a venture capital firm, and SEC Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) with more than $8 billion in regulatory AUM.
Previously, Prashant was the CFO and CCO of NewView Capital. Prashant oversaw compliance and a flexible investment approach to stay nimble to the needs of entrepreneurs.
Before joining NewView Capital, Prashant served as Chief Financial Officer at the SharesPost 100 Fund, where he was responsible for valuation, financial strategy, and SEC reporting. He also worked for more than a decade at Deloitte in their Financial Services Audit practice across San Francisco, New York and India.
Prashant holds a Masters in Accountancy from Miami University, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Commerce from the University of Madras in India.
KIm Walker
Chief Investment Officer, ret.
MU ’80
Kim Walker
Kim has served for 14 years as a board and audit & risk committee member of Commerce Bancshares, Inc., a $33 billion asset bank holding company which ranks among the top 50 largest banks by assets in the US and among the top 20 largest US banks by market capitalization. She also serves as a member of the Advisory Group of NISA Investment Advisors, a $250 billion institutional asset management firm.
Kim’s career was focused on institutional asset management. She served as Chief Investment Officer at Washington University in St. Louis for 10 years, helping to grow its endowment from $4 billion to over $6 billion during that period. Previously, Kim was President of Qwest Asset Management Company where she was responsible for the investment of Qwest’s (now Century Link) employee benefit assets with a combined market value of $14 billion.Following graduate school, Kim worked in various financial positions at General Motors Corporation, her last as Director of Equity Strategy responsible for the construction of the public and private U.S. equity portfolio within General Motors’ $70 billion defined benefit pension plans. Across all these roles, Kim approved investments in dozens of private equity and venture capital funds.
Kim has served on the investment committees of many non-profit organizations, including the Miami University Foundation, where she served as President from 2001-2002. She currently serves as Chair of the St. Louis Symphony Foundation Board of Trustees.
Kim earned a BA in economics and public administration in 1980 from Miami University, where she graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Betta Kappa. She also holds an MA in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA with distinction from The University of Michigan. She has been a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder since 1993.
Limited Partner Advisors
MIKE FITZGERALD
Co-Founder & Partner of High Alpha
MU ’92
Mike Fitzgerald
Mike Fitzgerald is currently a Partner at High Alpha, a leading venture studio that launches, scales and invests in software companies. Prior to co-founding High Alpha, Mike served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for ExactTarget and then Salesforce after its acquisition of ExactTarget in 2013. Mike co-founded Octiv (formerly Tinderbox) which was acquired by Conga in 2017.
Mike currently serves on the board of directors for Anvl, Castiron, Encamp, High Alpha Innovation, The Juice, Lessonly, Logicgate, Luma, Mandolin, Rheaply, Shaker and Terminus. He is also a Board Member Emeritus for the Orr Fellowship. Mike graduated from Miami University in 1992 with a degree in Communications.
BRIAN WOLFE
Parther at Kirkland & Ellis
MU ’00
Trish Lukasik
Operating Partner at Atlantic Street Capital
MU ’92
Trish Luka
Trish Lukasik is the Operating Partner of Atlantic Street Capital Advisors, LLC, an active group of senior executives who provide strategic guidance and operational expertise to the portfolio of companies owned by Atlantic Street Capital. She is also a member of the board of directors at the Gorilla Glue Company and Sargento Foods, Inc.
Prior to Atlantic Street Capital Advisors, Trish was the CEO of Luxury Garage Sale. She had a 17 year career at PepsiCo, leaving the company as Senior Vice President & Chief Customer Officer. Trish graduated from Miami University in 1992 with a BS in Finance and Economics. She also holds an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.
DAVID SCHWAB
Executive Vice President at Octagon Sports & Entertainment Network
MU ’94
David Schwab
David Schwab is an Executive Vice President of Octagon Sports & Entertainment Network. He has spent 25 years advising brands, non-profits and agencies on the value of celebrity/influencers and when (or when not) to use them. He is an advisor and investor to Territory Foods, Hilo Nutrition Inc. (founded by a Miami alum) and an advisor/mentor to Stadia Ventures. Additionally, he has been a contributor to Forbes since 2015 and created Beyond High Street, a podcast focused solely for Miami University alumni and students. David graduated from Miami University with a BS in Marketing in 1994.
Student Interns
Connor Oviatt
Venture Capital Investment Competition MU ’26
Max Porrino
2022
Venture Analyst at 1809 Capital (2022-2024)
Baruch College Full-Time MBA Student
MU ’22
