Built for the Frontier.
Capturing a generational opportunity demands institutional discipline paired with builder speed.
Our team brings both: decades spent allocating capital at scale, underwriting across asset classes, applying complex systems analysis to innovation ecosystems, and founding companies globally. 1200vc is what happens when those worlds collide


The discipline of an institution.
Leadership that allocated more than $2 billion of fund-of-funds capital across two decades, an independent investment committee in place before it was required, and underwriting, governance, and impact measurement built to allocator standard.
Institutional rigor
The discipline of an institution.
Leadership that allocated more than $2 billion of fund-of-funds capital across two decades, an independent investment committee in place before it was required, and underwriting, governance, and impact measurement built to allocator standard.
Institutional rigor
The speed of the founders we back.
The data and automation backbone behind the platform was built in-house, for a purpose and with the drive of the entrepreneurs we are at heart. Institutions run on precedent, this team runs on iteration that compounds.
Startup metabolism
The speed of the founders we back.
The data and automation backbone behind the platform was built in-house, for a purpose and with the drive of the entrepreneurs we are at heart. Institutions run on precedent, this team runs on iteration that compounds.
Startup metabolism
The team behind the strategy.

Adriana Tortajada
CEO, Managing Partner, IC Member
San Diego, USA

Jose Miguel Cortes
COO, Managing Partner
Mexico City, Mexico

Paul Clastre
Partner, Investments & Platform
Mexico City, Mexico

Sam Sadowsky
Partner, Investments
New York City, USA

Esteban Coppel
Partner, Non-Executive
Mexico City, Mexico

Patricia Grey
IR Coordinator
San Diego, USA

Francisco Ramos
CTO, Data Science
Guadalajara, Mexico

Micaela Kim
Associate
New York City, USA

Roberto Tessada-Arnaiz
Analyst
San Diego, USA

Adriana leads 1200vc's fundraising, LP relationships, and firm strategy, as well as being involved in the connectivity initiatives of the firm with the wider ecosystem. She is widely regarded as one of the architects of Mexico's venture capital ecosystem; in 2004 she created Mexico’s first public capital vehicle for science and technology entrepreneurs, she then co-founded INADEM (the National Entrepreneurship Institute) within Mexico's Ministry of Economy where she directed over $280M in public resources toward entrepreneurship programs, catalyzed 45+ new investment vehicles, and supported 900+ high-impact startups. As previous Head of Venture Capital at Fondo de Fondos ($2B+ AUM), she led the early-stage deployment strategy into Fund Managers and strategic Startups for the region, and launched the first thematic impact Fund-of-Funds in Latin America alongside Sun Mountain Capital and Sonen Capital. She later led Global Entrepreneurship at Grupo Santander, building Santander X as the bank's first global innovation and entrepreneurship network. A Kauffman Fellow and speaker across the US, Europe, and Latin America, she has spent nearly two decades at the intersection of public policy, institutional capital, and venture investing.
Adriana Tortajada
CEO, Managing Partner, IC Member
San Diego, USA

Jose Miguel oversees fund governance, LP reporting, operations, compliance, and deal execution across 1200vc's investment vehicles, and co-leads fundraising alongside Adriana. As former CIO of Venture Capital and Impact Investments at Fondo de Fondos ($2B+ AUM), he led the allocation, monitoring, and reporting of institutional capital across 60+ fund and direct investments at one of Latin America's most established PE and VC platforms. He started his career at Citi's treasury department in Mexico City, overseeing trading desk operations and institutional sales, and co-founded a digital procurement marketplace. As president of AMEXCAP's VC Committee (2022-2023), he helped shape industry standards for Mexico's private capital market. He holds degrees from TEC de Monterrey (Industrial and Systems Engineering), EADA Business School and IPADE in association with MIT/LAVCA.
Jose Miguel Cortes
COO, Managing Partner
Mexico City, Mexico

Paul leads 1200vc's platform strategy driving execution on operational architecture, technology infrastructure, data strategy, firm positioning, and portfolio connectivity, while co-leading investment activity alongside Sam. The range of Paul is what makes him uncommon in VC: an entrepreneur and systems thinker who has lived and worked across five continents, he supported mid-sized companies with their GTM digital strategy in China back in 2015, worked with early-stage startups early growth strategy, then founded a youth employability venture operating across Africa, built the first engineered bamboo operation in Senegal for construction and biomass, and has been advising UHNWIs and Family Offices across the EMEA region in their VC and Impact investments throughout his most recent career. A World Economic Forum Global Shaper, he studied in Boston, at the London School of Economics, and at Oxford University's Said Business School. He is Spanish/French from Barcelona, and leads EMEA relationships for the firm.
Paul Clastre
Partner, Investments & Platform
Mexico City, Mexico

Sam leads 1200vc's investment pipeline, deal execution, and co-investment routing. Known in the ecosystem as a connector who opens doors before being asked, Sam pairs an unusual depth of self-taught technical fluency in deep tech and frontier science with active public and private markets experience that sharpens how he evaluates opportunities. He is one of the few investors in the emerging LP space who can discuss semiconductor physics, synthetic biology pathways, and satellite architecture with founders and then translate that into an investment thesis and diligence priorities. Before 1200vc, he co-founded and sat on the board of Odyssey, a FinTech investment platform, led Global Digital Marketing, and drove revenue growth across five brands at McIntosh Group. He is a board member of Sadowsky Guitars and has served as an advisor to Talipot Family Office since 2014, investing and underwriting across venture capital, private equity, and public markets. He is a native New Yorker.
Sam Sadowsky
Partner, Investments
New York City, USA
Our independent investment committee.

Rodrigo Garcia
IC Member
San Diego, USA

Stacie Olivares
Independent IC Member
Los Angeles, USA

Christopher Schelling
Independent IC Member
Austin, USA

José J. Pacheco
Independent IC Member
Boston, USA

Rodrigo brings over 20 years of leadership in corporate finance, asset management, and sustainable investing. Before joining Talipot Family Office, he served as Deputy State Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer for the State of Illinois, the fifth-largest economy in the US, where he directed $52 billion in investment portfolios and oversaw $275 billion in banking operations and payment services. Prior to state government, he held roles at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Morgan Stanley. Rodrigo is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute's Global Finance Leaders program, an Adjunct Professor of Public Finance at Northwestern University, a TEDx speaker, and co-founder of Angeles Investors. He sits on the corporate boards of Canela Media and Latino Media Network, and is a member of the Milken Institute Global Capital Markets Group.
Rodrigo Garcia
IC Member
San Diego, USA

Stacie operates at the intersection of finance, climate, technology, and policy. Nominated by President Biden to the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (overseeing the world's largest defined contribution plan), she previously served as Governor Newsom's appointee to CalPERS, the largest US public pension fund ($500B AUM). She was CIO of Lendistry, a minority-owned CDFI, and Senior Advisor on blockchain implementation to the world's fourth-largest insurance market. She has overseen or advised on assets spanning $1.4 trillion in retirement funds and $29 billion in sustainable investment. She serves on the corporate boards of Core Scientific (NASD: CORZ), Kroll Bond Rating Agency, and Mission Advancement Corp.
Stacie Olivares
Independent IC Member
Los Angeles, USA

Chris is an institutional investor, author, and educator who applies behavioral finance to investment decision-making. He has allocated roughly $6 billion across 3,500+ managers, generating top-quartile to top-decile returns across hedge funds, real assets, private credit, and private equity. Most recently Chief Investment Strategist at Venturi Private Wealth ($2B AUM), he was previously Director of Private Equity at the Texas Municipal Retirement System and Deputy CIO at the Kentucky Retirement Systems. Author of "Better than Alpha: Three Steps to Capturing Excess Returns in a Changing World."
Christopher Schelling
Independent IC Member
Austin, USA

Jose has over 20 years of experience in innovation-centered businesses, from academic spinoffs to family-owned enterprises. He is Co-Director of MIT's Advanced Manufacturing and Design Program and was Sr. Manager of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center, where he supported entrepreneurial education across MIT Sloan, international networking, and the angel and VC community. His expertise centers on scaling design into mass production and bridging the US-LatAm technology transfer corridor. Affiliated with Harvard, Stanford, and Politecnico di Milano.
José J. Pacheco
Independent IC Member
Boston, USA

Rodrigo brings over 20 years of leadership in corporate finance, asset management, and sustainable investing. Before joining Talipot Family Office, he served as Deputy State Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer for the State of Illinois, the fifth-largest economy in the US, where he directed $52 billion in investment portfolios and oversaw $275 billion in banking operations and payment services. Prior to state government, he held roles at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Morgan Stanley. Rodrigo is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute's Global Finance Leaders program, an Adjunct Professor of Public Finance at Northwestern University, a TEDx speaker, and co-founder of Angeles Investors. He sits on the corporate boards of Canela Media and Latino Media Network, and is a member of the Milken Institute Global Capital Markets Group.
Rodrigo Garcia
IC Member
San Diego, USA

Stacie operates at the intersection of finance, climate, technology, and policy. Nominated by President Biden to the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (overseeing the world's largest defined contribution plan), she previously served as Governor Newsom's appointee to CalPERS, the largest US public pension fund ($500B AUM). She was CIO of Lendistry, a minority-owned CDFI, and Senior Advisor on blockchain implementation to the world's fourth-largest insurance market. She has overseen or advised on assets spanning $1.4 trillion in retirement funds and $29 billion in sustainable investment. She serves on the corporate boards of Core Scientific (NASD: CORZ), Kroll Bond Rating Agency, and Mission Advancement Corp.
Stacie Olivares
Independent IC Member
Los Angeles, USA

Chris is an institutional investor, author, and educator who applies behavioral finance to investment decision-making. He has allocated roughly $6 billion across 3,500+ managers, generating top-quartile to top-decile returns across hedge funds, real assets, private credit, and private equity. Most recently Chief Investment Strategist at Venturi Private Wealth ($2B AUM), he was previously Director of Private Equity at the Texas Municipal Retirement System and Deputy CIO at the Kentucky Retirement Systems. Author of "Better than Alpha: Three Steps to Capturing Excess Returns in a Changing World."
Christopher Schelling
Independent IC Member
Austin, USA

Jose has over 20 years of experience in innovation-centered businesses, from academic spinoffs to family-owned enterprises. He is Co-Director of MIT's Advanced Manufacturing and Design Program and was Sr. Manager of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center, where he supported entrepreneurial education across MIT Sloan, international networking, and the angel and VC community. His expertise centers on scaling design into mass production and bridging the US-LatAm technology transfer corridor. Affiliated with Harvard, Stanford, and Politecnico di Milano.
José J. Pacheco
Independent IC Member
Boston, USA
- “
1200vc brings exactly what a frontier-focused fund wants in a partner: a sharp eye for emerging managers and a real taste for where deep technology is heading. Their annual event was a highlight for me and had a great number of outstanding co-investors and founders there, but that's just one expression of the network and judgment they consistently bring. We're fortunate to have them in our corner.
WZWill ZengUnitary Foundation | ex-GP Quantonation VC - “
Sam and team are very unique investors; they have direct visibility into our company and unique empathy for the challenges and work we have to do with our own investors. They go above and beyond in activating their own network, professional and personal, to accelerate critical path items for the companies, and their global reach is extremely differentiated as companies look outward to achieve the scale needed to compete today. Above all, they are honest and of high integrity, traits which remain scarce in today’s environment.
AGAbhi GodavarthiFounder & CEO | General Biological - “
1200vc is where the future gets funded. The team has the vision to see foundational technologies before the market does, the discipline to execute in early-stage deeptech, and the conviction to underwrite the systemic shifts that create lasting value.
SOStacie OlivaresInvestment Committee | Independent Member
- “
1200vc brings exactly what a frontier-focused fund wants in a partner: a sharp eye for emerging managers and a real taste for where deep technology is heading. Their annual event was a highlight for me and had a great number of outstanding co-investors and founders there, but that's just one expression of the network and judgment they consistently bring. We're fortunate to have them in our corner.
WZWill ZengUnitary Foundation | ex-GP Quantonation VC - “
Sam and team are very unique investors; they have direct visibility into our company and unique empathy for the challenges and work we have to do with our own investors. They go above and beyond in activating their own network, professional and personal, to accelerate critical path items for the companies, and their global reach is extremely differentiated as companies look outward to achieve the scale needed to compete today. Above all, they are honest and of high integrity, traits which remain scarce in today’s environment.
AGAbhi GodavarthiFounder & CEO | General Biological - “
1200vc is where the future gets funded. The team has the vision to see foundational technologies before the market does, the discipline to execute in early-stage deeptech, and the conviction to underwrite the systemic shifts that create lasting value.
SOStacie OlivaresInvestment Committee | Independent Member