Back to team
ASSOCIATE
McKenzie Parks
People are at the heart of every great company and investing at the earliest stages enables me to work closely with incredibly talented founders which is extremely rewarding.
My Philosophy
I’ve always loved learning how things are created: taking apart electronics and putting them back together, having my dad teach me how to use every tool in the shed. The process of building a company around innovative software naturally fascinated me in the same way — I learned how to code and was constantly tinkering on new projects throughout college. I had never heard of Venture Capital until I stumbled into a recruiting info session and am grateful I was in the right place at the right time – I love the fast pace and constant innovation that venture fuels. People are at the heart of every great company and investing at the earliest stages enables me to work closely with incredibly talented founders which is extremely rewarding.
Experience
Before joining Costanoa, I spent two years investing in growth stage software companies at Insight Partners where my investments included Flutterwave, Dotmatics, Ably, ParcelLab, Element5, Rewind, and Esper. I spoke to a couple thousand founders in those years and I was constantly discovering new spaces and categories that excited me. Jumping into those conversations at a fast pace taught me to keep an open mind, listen more than you speak, and to look for founders who have a unique perspective on the market they’re going after.
Education
B.A. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science with high honors from Harvard College, Cum Laude
Outside of Work
When I’m not working you can find me reading (historical fiction is my favorite), trying out new restaurants in SF, visiting art galleries, or doing yoga. I’m also a lover of movies, my family’s two dogs, and traveling. Ask me about my latest hobby - past examples include floral arranging, jigsaw puzzles, embroidery, and baking!
