Chris Hollod is a venture capitalist, angel investor, and advisor in Los Angeles.[1][2] Hollod was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Tailwind Acquisition Corp. which merged with Terran Orbital in March 2022 in a $1.8 billion deal.[3][4][5][6] Over the course of his career, Hollod has completed more than 150 deals across five different investment entities, including investments in Uber, Airbnb, Houzz, Spotify, Pinterest, Duolingo, Airtable, Oscar Health, Flexport, Casper, and Warby Parker.[7][8]
Chris Hollod | |
|---|---|
 Hollod in 2016 | |
| Born | Chris Hollod December 9, 1982 Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Venture capitalist, angel investor, advisor, CEO |
| Years active | 2010–present |
Early life
editHollod graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University with a degree in economics.[9] Hollod grew up in Atlanta. He worked as an investment banking associate at Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, NC, and after being laid-off during the financial crisis of 2007-2008, ultimately moved to Los Angeles in 2009 to work for investor Ronald Burkle.[10]
Career
editHollod worked with Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, and Ronald Burkle as the managing partner of their venture capital fund, A-Grade Investments.[11] In 2012, A-Grade Investments raised money from David Geffen and Mark Cuban, among other investors.
Hollod also worked for The Yucaipa Companies for eight years and oversaw Ron Burkle's venture capital investments and was referred to in the press as "Burkle's right-hand man."[12][13] Hollod was first introduced to the world of venture capital by working on a deal with Puff Daddy and Mark Wahlberg, for their bottled water start-up, AQUAhydrate.[14]
Hollod is a founding partner of Inevitable Ventures with D.A. Wallach where they invested in such companies as 8i, Upside Foods, and Thrive Market.[14] [15]
Hollod was named one of the 32 most influential investors of 2013 (outside Silicon Valley)[16] and received a Visionary Award in 2018.[14]
Fortune included Hollod in its "Meet the Uber Rich" article as an early investor in Uber[11] and the LA Times published a feature on him entitled "How I Made It: A Billionaire's Right-Hand Man."[17] He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal,[15] Forbes,[18] and LA Times as a venture capital expert,[19] and he has judged several start-up competitions including Global Startup Battle and Start-Up Weekend Los Angeles.[20]
Hollod promotes brands and entrepreneurs on his Instagram page[21] and has written about using Instagram to source and diligence new investment opportunities.[22]
Hollod is currently the founder and managing partner of Hollod Holdings, a venture capital and advisory entity that has invested in companies such as Magic Spoon, MUD\WTR, JuneShine, AMASS, Jinx, and De Soi.[23][24][25][26]
Personal
editHollod lives in Hollywood's Sunset Square neighborhood in a bungalow purchased from Glee star Lea Michele in 2015.[27] Hollod is writing a book entitled "Big Fish Big Pond," providing advice for millennials.[28] Hollod collects wine and judged the Millennial Wine Competition in 2020.[29] Hollod is married to Bianca Vierra.[30]
References
edit- ^ Yeung, Ken (November 7, 2012). "Startup Weekend begins its 2012 Global Startup Battle, aims to build 1,200 companies in over 130 cities". The Next Web.
- ^ "Venture Capitalist Chris Hollod on Why He is Investing in the 'Alternative Alcohol' Space". Brewbound. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
- ^ "Casper Sleep's CEO Krim Files for $300 Million Blank-Check IPO". Bloomberg.com. 2020-08-18. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
- ^ Sheetz, Michael (29 October 2021). "Space company Terran Orbital to go public via SPAC at $1.8 billion valuation". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
- ^ "Tailwind Two Acquisition Corp. Shareholders Approve Previously Announced Business Combination with Terran Orbital". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
- ^ "Tailwind Two Acquisition Corp. and Terran Orbital Announce Completion of Business Combination". www.businesswire.com. 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
- ^ Hudson, Subrina (10 January 2018). "Visionary Venture Capitalist Chris Hollod Steps Out On His Own". CSQ. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "Tailwind Acquisition Corp. IPO Investment Prospectus S-1/A". SEC.report. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ "Leadership". Tailwind Two Acquisition Corp. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- ^ "Chris Hollod On Investing With Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, and Ron Burkle - socaltech.com". www.socaltech.com. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- ^ a b Griffith, Erin. "Meet the Uber Rich". fortune.com.
- ^ "Global Startup Battle". Global StartUp Battle. Archived from the original on 2015-03-24. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
- ^ "Ashton Kutcher And Guy Oseary Launch Sound Ventures, The Successor To A-Grade Investments". Retrieved 14 March 2015.
- ^ a b c Hudson, Subrina (10 January 2018). "Visionary Venture Capitalist Chris Hollod Steps Out On His Own". CSQ. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ a b Kahn, Howie (23 February 2016). "Investor D.A. Wallach Aims to Make an Impact". WSJ. Magazine.
- ^ Selby, Monica. "32 Most Influential Investors of 2013 (Outside Silicon Valley)".
- ^ "How I Made It: Billionaire's right-hand man Chris Hollod on becoming a big fish in a big pond". LA Times. 4 November 2016.
- ^ Ward, Tom. "The Influencer Marketing Trends That Are Coming In 2020". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- ^ Dave, Paresh (1 February 2016). "Venture capitalists increase scrutiny on start-up deals amid stock market anxiety". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Startup Weekend Los Angeles". Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ Latif, Ray (2019-04-12). "Taste Radio Insider Ep. 29: Why This Two-Second Business Pitch Is So Powerful". Taste Radio. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- ^ Hollod, Chris (2020-03-03). "Why This Venture Capitalist Uses Instagram To Source New Business". CSQ. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
- ^ Wurth, David (2023-04-03). "Meet The L.A. Power Couple with a Shared Passion for Investments, Innovation & Wellness". C-Suite Quarterly. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- ^ "Chris Hollod, Founder at Hollod Holdings". The Proof. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
- ^ "Five Months In, Magic Spoon Closes a $5.5M Round". NOSH. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
- ^ "Terran Orbital to open a $300M satellite manufacturing and component facility on Florida's Space Coast – TechCrunch". 27 September 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ^ David, Mark (2019-10-09). "Lea Michele Lists Custom-Renovated Brentwood Home". DIRT. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
- ^ Siegel, John (2017-06-15). "Prolific VC Chris Hollod talks angel investing, rejection and the deal that got away". Built In Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2017-06-17. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- ^ "Chris Hollod – The Millennial Wine Beer & Spirits Competition". Retrieved 2020-09-11.
- ^ admin (2023-12-08). "A Dream Elopement Experience in Lake Como for Venture Capitalist Chris Hollod & Fashion Model Bianca Vierra". WedLuxe Media. Retrieved 2024-10-30.