OUR TEAM
Will Swenson
Will Swenson is an Advisor at Context Ventures. He is retired from the US military after over twenty years of distinguished service. His career spanned multiple combat deployments to the Middle East and Central Asia, as well as diplomatic assignments throughout Latin America. As a result of his actions in combat overseas, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama.
Will is now involved with private equity and venture capital, bridging the divide between industry, innovation and national security. He is active on numerous veteran non-profit boards and holds leadership positions in several. He is a graduate of Seattle University, and the Naval Postgraduate School. He and his family reside in Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA.
Lenore Karafa
Lenore Karafa is a Venture Partner at Context Ventures. She graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2000 and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. During seven years of active duty she served as a Deputy Provost Marshal, Warfighting Instructor at The Basic School, and team leader in Iraq. Lenore continued her service to the veteran community through co-founding Veterans on Wall Street (VOWs) and serving on the board of Bunker Labs.
Lenore received her MBA in Finance from The Wharton School and began her post-military career in investment banking at Bank of America. In 2013, Lenore joined McChrystal Group (MG) with a desire to change how business was done with her generation of veterans. She and her peers brought the best of small team leadership to global organizations leveraging the Team of Teams consulting methodology she helped to develop. She became a Managing Partner at MG overseeing clients in the technology, healthcare, and financial services sectors. Lenore was recruited from MG to join the Global Equities team at Citadel responsible for talent transformation, culture, and leadership development for the investing teams. In 2022, she moved to venture capital firm First In as a partner focused on the selection and development of high performing leaders and teams in the security technology sector.
Lenore is a former CFR Term member, 2017 Presidential Leadership Scholar, 2023 Journey to Lead fellow, and recipient Patriot Award from the Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation. She is married to Kris Karafa, a West Point graduate and former US Army Special Forces officer. They currently live in Park City, Utah with their young children.
Warren Cheng
Warren Cheng has been an investment analyst specializing in Consumer companies the last fourteen years at hedge fund Elm Ridge Capital and investment bank Evercore ISI. Previously, Warren was a management consultant at Oliver Wyman. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Operations Research & Financial Engineering. Warren lives in New York with his wife and two daughters.
Helen King
Helen King is the Chief of Staff at Context Ventures, where she helps with behind the scenes event operations and special projects, leveraging her background in accounting, data, and finance. Helen holds a BBS in Accounting and Finance from Southern New Hampshire University. She also contributes to the partnerships team at Media Mobilize. She is based in Raeford, North Carolina. Helen enjoys small family adventures with her husband (Air Force veteran), two children, and two dogs.
Holden Lindblom
Holden Lindblom is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Context Ventures. His career transitioned from serving in the US Army as a Forward Observer with the 173rd Airborne to studying at Stanford University, where he embraced entrepreneurship. He co-founded a startup in the ZX Venture's incubator and established Picomart, a VC-backed company that innovated in fresh produce accessibility with smart-fridge kiosks.
Carina Cho
Carina Cho is an associate at Context Ventures. With a background in VC, marketing, and design, she enjoys meeting with founders & entrepreneurs across different industries. Carina has a BBA in Strategic Design & Management from The New School and is also the COO of Media Mobilize (an online ad network, marketing agency, and media company). Based in New York, she is very attached to her dog, Sunny.
Brendan Aronson
Brendan Aronson is an associate at Context Ventures. He is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of The Military Veteran, a community for military veterans who are business professionals. Brendan holds an MBA from The Wharton School of business and graduated with distinction from the US Naval Academy. He served for 6 years as a Marine infantry officer, completing deployments to Japan and Iraq.
tIM hsia
Tim Hsia is a distinguished honor graduate of West Point and was commissioned as an infantry officer in the US Army. Tim deployed twice to Iraq: he served as an infantry platoon leader in combat with 1-24 Infantry, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division in Mosul, Iraq. As an executive officer with 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (3/2 SCR) he helped the unit move from Ft. Lewis, WA to Vilseck, Germany. He then served as a logistics officer for 3/2 SCR during its fourteen month deployment in support of the surge in Iraq and earned a Bronze Star.
Tim transitioned from active duty in 2010 and graduated from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and Stanford Law School in 2014. While at Stanford he taught ROTC to cadets at Stanford and Santa Clara University.
Tim is the CEO & Founder of Media Mobilize (an online ad network, marketing agency, and media company).
Tim is the founder and Managing Partner of Context Ventures, a venture fund that invests in military veteran founders and also in consumer startups. Tim’s startup investments prior to Context Ventures include Workflow (acquired by Apple), Morning Brew (acquired by Business Insider), The Hustle (acquired by HubSpot), Thredup (IPO), Proterra (SPAC), Bright Cellars, FabFitFun, Verb Energy, Lime (scooter), and Secureframe.
Tim is a board member at Service to School (co-founder), Bunker Labs, and the Marine’s Memorial Association (Marine Memorial Club and Hotel in San Francisco). He is also a Pat Tillman Foundation Scholar.
Tim is a published writer in the Infantry Magazine, Small Wars Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times (two op-eds and first military writer for the New York Times At War blog).
Tim and his family live and work in San Francisco. He enjoys running, reading, and spending time with his family.
Andrew Zellman
Andrew Zellman is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Context Ventures. Andrew graduated with distinction from the United States Naval Academy in 2014. He served as a submarine officer for 6 years, completing 1 deployment to the Western Pacific and qualifying to operate 3 distinct classes of submarine-based nuclear reactors. After leaving the US Navy, Andrew completed his MBA at UC Berkeley where he focused on energy and sustainability topics. Upon graduation, Andrew joined McKinsey & Company in San Francisco as a management consultant, primarily working with startup and renewable energy companies.