# Chaz Flexman

> Chaz Flexman is the CEO and co-founder of Starday Foods, a Scottsdale-based company that combines consumer data, machine learning, food development, and retail execution to identify gaps in shelf-stable grocery categories. His career has moved through Silicon Valley Bank, Andreessen Horowitz, Wink, PCH International, and Pattern Brands before Starday, where he and co-founders Lena Kwak and Lily Burtis have launched four brands, raised an $11 million Series A in 2025, and opened the company’s internal innovation platform to retailers and food companies.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder at Starday Foods
- **Organizations:** Starday Foods, Pattern Brands, PCH International, Wink, Andreessen Horowitz, Silicon Valley Bank, Mu Ventures
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Studies in political science, finance and entrepreneurship, Santa Clara University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Starday Foods with Lena Kwak and Lily Burtis., Built a portfolio of four shelf-stable food brands and 14 products by the time of Starday’s 2025 Series A announcement., Raised a $4 million seed round for Starday in 2021.

## Career timeline

- **2007-2011** — Held roles connected to Silicon Valley Bank and SVB Capital.
- **2011-2014** — Worked at Andreessen Horowitz, including as a partner focused on platform and portfolio support.
- **2014-2015** — Served as general manager at connected-home company Wink.
- **2015-2017** — Served as a vice president at product-development and supply-chain company PCH International.
- **2017-2020** — Joined the founding team of Pattern Brands and helped launch consumer brands including Open Spaces.
- **2020** — Co-founded the remote-first company that became Starday Foods.
- **2021** — Starday announced a $4 million seed round and launched its first brand, Gooey.
- **2023** — Starday’s portfolio had expanded to four brands, and Flexman discussed its data-science model publicly.
- **2025-04** — Starday announced an $11 million Series A financing and plans to expand 14 products across four brands.
- **2025-09** — Starday launched Starday Innovation, opening its AI-assisted product-development tools to food and beverage teams.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Starday Foods with Lena Kwak and Lily Burtis.
- Built a portfolio of four shelf-stable food brands and 14 products by the time of Starday’s 2025 Series A announcement.
- Raised a $4 million seed round for Starday in 2021.
- Raised an $11 million Series A financing for Starday in 2025, bringing reported total equity and debt funding to $20 million.
- Expanded Starday products into major retailers including Target, Walmart, Sprouts, Whole Foods Market, Kroger, The Fresh Market and Hannaford.
- Helped launch Open Spaces while on the founding team at Pattern Brands.
- Helped establish the early VC Platform community while at Andreessen Horowitz.

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Appeared on How I Raised It to discuss Starday’s financing process, including investor-pipeline management and diligence preparation.
- **2025-09** — Announced Starday Innovation at Groceryshop, making the company’s product-development tools available to outside food and beverage teams.
- **2025-04** — Starday announced an $11 million Series A financing led by Slow Ventures and Equal Ventures and plans for wider retail distribution and platform partnerships.
- **2025-04** — Appeared on the My Food Job Rocks and Legends N Leaders podcasts to discuss AI, product development, co-founder selection and Starday’s long-term plans.

## Links

- Website: https://www.stardayfoods.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cflexman
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Cflexman

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/chaz-flexman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-27