# Steve Reale

> Steve Reale is General Partner & CFO at Ulu Ventures, a Palo Alto-based seed-stage venture firm with $400M+ AUM known for backing diverse founders using a rigorous, data-driven decision analysis framework. A Kauffman Fellow (Class 14) with a CFA designation and 25+ years of Silicon Valley experience spanning equity research, early-stage startups, and venture investing, Reale brings an unusually analytical lens to seed-stage bets - applying probability-weighted risk modeling borrowed from pharmaceutical R&D and oil & gas exploration to evaluate founders and markets. His portfolio work spans 10 unicorns including Guild Education, BetterUp, and Figure.

- **Role:** General Partner & CFO at Ulu Ventures
- **Organizations:** Ulu Ventures, Madison Bay Capital Partners, Levensohn Venture Partners, Kauffman Fellows (Class 14)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in International Politics and Economics, Middlebury College, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), CFA Institute, Kauffman Fellow, Class 14, Kauffman Fellows Program
- **Known for:** Kauffman Fellow, Class 14, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, General Partner at one of the largest Latina-led VC funds in the US

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Equity research analyst at Robertson Stephens, Van Kasper & Company, and JP Morgan covering industrial, business services, and payment processing small-cap companies
- **Late 1990s** — Early employee and Director of Finance at ZuluSports.com, involved in strategy, capital raising, and operations during the dot-com era
- **~2000-2014** — Investment Partner at Levensohn Venture Partners (LVP) for 14 years; board seats at BigFix (acquired by IBM), Broadlogic (acquired by Broadcom), Capella (acquired by Alcatel Lucent), and others
- **~2014** — Co-founded Madison Bay Capital Partners, a growth/expansion equity firm for late-stage, mid-market technology and consumer products financings
- **Fund II era** — Joined Ulu Ventures as Partner & CFO, overseeing financial and operational functions
- **Fund III era** — Elevated to General Partner at Ulu Ventures
- **2025-02** — Ulu Ventures closes Fund IV at $208M, bringing total AUM past $400M; portfolio reaches 10 unicorns

## Achievements

- Kauffman Fellow, Class 14
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation
- General Partner at one of the largest Latina-led VC funds in the US
- Helped build Ulu Ventures portfolio to 10 unicorns including Guild Education, BetterUp, Figure, Homelight, and Everlaw
- Contributed to closing Ulu Ventures Fund IV at $208M - a 50% increase over Fund III
- Co-developed Ulu's proprietary decision analysis framework for venture capital investing
- Guest lecturer on venture capital and decision analysis at Brown University, USC Marshall School, and University of Rochester Simon School of Business
- 14 years of investment experience at Levensohn Venture Partners with successful exits including BigFix to IBM
- Board seat experience at companies acquired by IBM, Broadcom, Alcatel Lucent, and Microsoft

## Latest updates

- **2025-02** — Ulu Ventures closes Fund IV at $208M, 50% larger than Fund III, with backing from MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Pivotal Ventures
- **2024-06** — Featured in CNBC coverage of Ulu portfolio company Irrigreen, commenting on AI-driven water conservation technology for the 80-million-lawn US market
- **2024** — Palantir, an Ulu Ventures portfolio company, was added to the S&P 500 in October 2024

## Links

- Website: https://uluventures.com/who-we-are/steve-reale/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-reale-8454651

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/steve-reale
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17