Member Highlight

Meet Lindsay: Managing Partner, Chief Legal Counsel, Proud Dog Mom

Meet Linsday Karas Stencel – a woman of many hats. She’s co-founder of W Fund, Adjunct Professor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Partner and Chief Legal Counsel at NCT Ventures and COO of Launch NY.  Lindsay has worked in venture capital for over 15 years splitting her time between Buffalo, NY and Columbus, OH. Since joining Launch NY, the firm has become the most active seed fund in the State of New York with over 60 transactions in less than two and a half years. This stellar record shines bright and is hard to go unnoticed; Lindsay won Upstate Capital’s Dealmaker of the Year award two years in a row!

“I love the wild pace of investing in seed and early stage startups. It is so cool to be on the forefront of very new and exciting technology across the country that could be the next amazing thing to change the world. Trust me, it can be stressful, but it is incredibly worth it to build and develop businesses and entrepreneurs as we change the economies and lives of people in second tier cities and ecosystems.”

While she’s not helping to change the Upstate New York investment ecosystem, Lindsay is a proud rescue dog momma to four dogs (she admits this may be too many pups), Ogie (12), Molly (5), Matti (4), Lucy (3). “They are my heart. I work hard so that they can have amazing lives. They deserve it.”

Lindsay is also a member of the Board of Directors for Upstate Capital. Lindsay says, “Being an Upstate Capital member is so important to me because being a part of a healthy ecosystem is one of the primary keys to investment success. As a member, I have instant access to dozens of later stage investors that I know well, know what they are looking for and with whom I can share deal flow. This is critical to the success of my companies and great for those investors because I can share trusted deal flow with them.”

Upstate Capital knows that relationships are vital to business – and we are committed to highlighting the successes of our members because, “We all need to work together to build the Upstate NY ecosystem,” Lindsay says. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the work of Upstate Capital, contact us at info@upstatecapital.org.