Mark Volchek

Founding Partner at Las Olas VC

Speaker

Mark is a Founding Partner of Las Olas Venture Capital, which he started in 2016, and is now investing out of its second fund. Prior to starting Las Olas VC, Mark spent about 15 years at Higher One, a company he co-founded in 2000 while a senior in college. In his roles as CFO, Chairman and then CEO, Mark had a major hand in steering the company from its first round of seed funding and multiple rounds of venture funding all the way to its successful IPO in 2010, and beyond. He helped grow Higher One from just three founders to profitability, more than $250MM of revenue and over 1,000 employees. When Mark left in 2014, Higher One’s products and services supported more than 1,900 schools and approximately 13 million enrolled students.

Between 2008-2016 Mark was an active angel investor and invested in over 30 companies personally. He was also a Director of the Founder Institute – South Florida, where he helped budding entrepreneurs get their companies started. Mark is the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2010 New England Financial Services Award winner and was an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 National Award finalist. He has been a regional and national judge for the program 2012-2024.

Mark holds a BA and MA in Economics from Yale University. He was a founding officer of the Yale Entrepreneurial Society and on its board from 2000 to 2010. This nonprofit organization promotes entrepreneurship among Yale students, faculty and alumni, and sponsors an annual business plan competition. Mark’s past civic roles include serving as Chairman of the Tweed New Haven Airport Authority, and positions on the Florida Board of Take Stock in Children, the New Haven Economic Development Committee. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Florida Venture Forum, and is also Chair of the Fort Lauderdale Aviation Advisory Board.