From Johannesburg to London, Panama to Dubai. This year 1.200 people will have gone through the Fund Manager! Simulation, learning how to run a VC fund from idea to successful 10-15 year operations. Today, Fund Manager! is used globally in business schools and Masterclasses, GP accelerators and VC education.

But how did it get started? What have we learned and where is it going from here?

A big thanks to Rick Rasmussen for the collaboration, Jolene Foo-Hodne , for brilliant design,  as well as Scott Newton , Elisabeth (Iren) Øvstebø Ljubisa Petrovic and Enrico Maset for the tireless work, contributions and support.

“Why is it that everyone is speaking, but no one seems to be speaking about the same thing?”

The feeling had been nagging me for weeks. The team at 2X Global had convened a truly impressive, 120+ people strong co-creation team. Global experts across the GP, LP and regulatory landscape came together online, in the middle of Covid, to co-create a structural solution to the gross imbalance around gender-financing and gender-smart funds.

How could we get many more women-led, women owned funds in the market?

These were serious experts. 20+ years experience, 35+ year experience. Former CEO’s of DFI’s, large capital allocators, emerging fund managers. Everyone was investing their time, coming together. But somehow, we were not speaking the same language.

A few months earlier I had been invited to work with the 2X Global team to help co-create and co-facilitate this global 2X design sprint. A superb task, with an impressive team. Now, we were in the middle of it, having run multiple sessions, started to fill up Miro boards and early sketches.

Yet, the conversations were also a bit all over the place. Some talked about capital formation, some talked about lack of exits. Some talked about access to LPs, or lack of, others talked about the challenges of building up a lasting GP team. Others again talked about the lack of working capital, while others talked about the challenges of creating liquidity in secondaries. Some talked about angel networks, while others was all over the challenges of working with DFIs. We were, if you will, speaking, but speaking all over a 10-15 year fund timeline.

It was almost as we were not even having the same conversations.

Then it struck me. We are completely lacking a basic, common visual language. Everyone is speaking from their own, expert position, based on what they see in the market. But we have, so far, not been able to ‘get on the same page, and speak the same language’. It was, what Dan Roam and Alex Osterwalder would call “Blah, blah, blah”. Not for bad will or lack of skills. No, the audience were all domain experts.

But we were lacking a common, visual canvas we could work off of.

We needed, a shared visual artefact.

This was the insight back in 2021, that would ultimately lead to the development of the VC Series, a collection of 115 visual canvases and the Fund Manager! simulation.

Today, these canvases are in use by 100’s of investors, angel networks, GPs, LPs and investment firms. They have been downloaded and shared 1000’s of times. The Fund Manager! Masterclass has been delivered in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas and widely used to teach a generation of new fund managers.

But, how did we get there?

Step one, developing the first VC Series canvases (March-April 2021)

The very first sketches starting come on paper in late March, early April 2021. It was early days, early sketches. Initially, we were just trying to develop something that would allow us to capture the conversation in the 2X Design Sprint.

Sketches would quickly turn into the First-time Fund Manager Map, Capital Landscape and My LP Map. Over the following weeks, more complex visuals, like the Fund Journey Map (my personal favorite), the LP Stack (most people’s #1) and Five Fundraising Tranches come to light.

Things started developing. At this point, I was having nearly daily working sessions with our dear friend, Rick Rasmussen, as we hashed out the concepts and iterated on design, use case and user friendliness. These sessions were instrumental to the work that would follow.

Today, the VC Series contains 115 canvases, used by 100’s of investment firms, fund managers and VC programs around the world (download – 100% free)

Part II: From Canvases To…. Something More Significant

The insights came from another deep discussion with the 2X Global team in the early spring of 2021. We needed something…. Something that could really help, even kickstart emerging fund managers.

But it was also bigger than that.

We needed something that would also help emerging LPs, people that have not previously invested into SME/PE/venture funds understand. Could we possibly build on our experiences with developing the Strategy Tools simulations, like Scale Up! And Transform!?

Could we develop a brand new, Fund Manager! simulation? Could we develop an immersive, experiential experience, putting people into the shoes of a first-time GP team, as emerging manager, and let them experience the full journey themselves?

How It Started (Stavanger, Norway, April 2021)

The first working session, in our offices, took place Thursday April 29th.

The ideas had been maturing for a few days. It seemed pretty straightforward. Just structure a Fund Manager experience, based on our work with the Scale Up!, Transform! and Supercluster! Simulations. At  the time, we had been developing and running the first three Strategy Tools simulations for a couple of year, completing less than 200 sessions.

“Would it be possible, to develop a similar solution for venture capital and fund investors?”

The first sketches came to life pretty easy. The key building blocks with a board, boom, bust were well known from our initial sims. We needed LP cards, Super LPs, and deal flow, lots of deal flow. From day one, we were developing this with a global audience in mind, and the content had to reflect that.

During the first day, back on April 29th, the whole thing came to life pretty quickly, in between online Masterclasses, client calls and a late working session in Washington.

Then we waited.

Development did not happen instantly.

In June, we cracked the ‘how to win mechanism’. We brainstormed. We worked deeply on the 2X Design Sprint, now evolving into its second phase. I spent extensive time, working with, learning from and listening to all the key stakeholders, from GPs, LPs, domain experts and investment managers.

The writing really took off in September.

I had spent the summer reading, putting notes together. Thinking about the content in detail. By that point, we had 100’s of handwritten pages with content, concepts and cards.

The real work started in October this year. Together with Rick (content), Jolene (design) and Adelina (project), we rapidly developed 100’s and 100’s of cards.

Rick’s wealth of knowledge in all things venture capital proved to a goldmine. Months of working closely with the 2X Global team and the 120+ global experts provided a unique, no-bar-holds access to the deep end of bust scenarios for emerging managers.

We wrote and wrote. Jolene, at the time, had her hands full trying to design the elements that came flying her way at all hours.

Did you know, Fund Manager has more than 1.400 unique content cards?

First Digital Test Session (December 2021)

By December, we were ready. We pulled together the content on a digital platform, Miro. Rick, Enrico Maset, Nir Melamud and myself were the first first test drivers.

Would it work? Did we strike the right balance? Did it even make sense?

The first board was set up December 19th. My notes say I closed out the session at 3 am.

Our second test was held December 28th. This time, with Jessica, Javier, Ljubisa, Jay, Enrico, Nir, Rick and me. We were getting the hang off it.

World Premier – Boost (January 5th 2022)

On January 5th, we were ready to launch. On Miro. 100% digital. 25+ participants, world premier, during the 2022 Strategy Tools Partner Boost Summit. For most, this was the first  time they were exposed to the complex and fascinating world of venture financing.

Re: Fund Manager (A Must) (January 2022)

“Hi rock stars! Today we launched the new Fund Manager! simulation to the world….. you really need to try this out”, that was the gist of the e-mail I fired off to the team at 2X Global January 5th 2022.

It was live, it was time to give it a go. After all, the 2X Global team and size of challenge were were trying to tackle was a key source, maybe the key source of inspiration for starting the work that led to Fund Manager!.

Between January and May that year, we would run a series of discovery sessions and mini-bootcamps. After all, we still had to learn how to fly this plane we had built.

Unboxing, First Print Edition (Stavanger, Norway, March 2022)

Unboxing, is always a highlight. The same here. March 17th the 50+ kg of printed materials arrived at the office. From early sketches nine nearly a year ago, we had finally arrived at our first, printed, physical kits.

Of course, the big question was, where do we go from here?

First Run In The Wild (London, April 2022)

I had first gotten in touch with Eleanor in late January. We had a zoom call. Discussed Europe’s venture capital landscape. I introduced Fund Manager! She mentioned a team session they were planning to run.

The pieces came together quickly from there. Parts of Sifted’s London team would be our first ever Fund Manager! in the wild. In London. Scott and I would be running it. Yeah!

Eleanor made sure we understood.

There was zero chance of an article here. Even if this was good. Maybe, just maybe, if the found it up to Sifted standards, and then only maybe would they write a small piece on it. But only if it was interesting enough.

When “Can you teach VC? Two dudes with a board and some card think you can” came out in April, it instantly circulated across social media.

This is also where it got picked up by our friends in Egypt, but that comes later.

Getting Going (Multiple Online Fund Manager! Bootcamps)

April turned into May, we were starting to move with this thing. In May we launched the pre-session Fund Manager Mini Bootcamp video.

Fund Manager Mini Bootcamp: Intro

We were starting to run multiple sessions per month. It was working.

People were intrigued, engaged and utterly competitive when it came to building and leading VC firms, even if it was just a simulation.

First Ever 2X Ignite Fund Manager Bootcamp (July 2022)

Our journey came full circle in July that year. 20 participants from the 2X community signed up for our first ever 2X GP Sprint dedicated program. After all, this was the reason we started this thing to begin with.

We  knew this would be a tough crowd. Experienced. Would we be able to live up to their expectations? At the same time, we had come to learn that anything that helps emerging managers build insights around LP fundraising and strengthen the value creation-to-exit focus would be valuable.

The feedback was clear. It worked. Understanding the full fund manager journey. Thinking exits and paths to liquidity. These were things people really appreciated. Feedback was also becoming consist, “we need more time” and “the platform is challenging”. Would this be better if we focused on running it in in person?

Picking Up The Pace  (London, September 2022)

September took us back to London. Scott and I were working with Founder’s Intelligence. For the first time we ran two boards, two rooms, 8 teams. After all, we did print two sets, right?

An incredible engaged crew at Founder’s Intelligence outperformed our wildest expectations. “Hey, we truly can teach VC with a board and some cards”, we thought. The FI team also seemed to appreciate it. We have been with them twice since.

Hello, Middle East  (November 2022)

We did not know it at the time, but our first ever collaboration with Falak Startups, Hazem, Tarek and the team, would be the start to a great, long-term collaboration. We first started talking just after the Sifted article came out. Things took its time. But there was genuine excitement in the air to get this done. Cairo, Egypt, Fund Manager.

Rick and I would be going. The dates were set for December 2022. It was still year one, but we had managed to run a significant number of sessions already. But Egypt, this was new.

It was loud. It was busy. It was warm. Our setup on the rooftop venue (mostly glass) on the top floor of the Consoleya in old town, Cairo, was unique. We would pack two tables, two setups, nearly 50 people into one, single room.

But it worked. In fact, it more than just worked. The feedback was superb. We want more. I learned so much. Amazing. Later we would learn that the Falak team had run a pretty active Instagram, something that would lead us to Dubai in less than a year.

Wrapping Up 2022

We closed out 2022 on a high note. Thanks to our early work with 2X Global, 100’s of hours spent with Rick, Jolene, Adelina and Scott, we had developed Fund Manager!, as far as we knew, the best and only VC simulation in the world. Things were working. It was still just year one.

It was impossible to know as we closed out the first year, but 2023 would bring us to Singapore, Dubai and London.

From Pilots To Classroom (London, June 2023)

During the first half of 2023 we spent significant time to develop the teaching content, the pre-work,  case studies, toolkit and handbooks. This become key when the team at Newton Venture Program invited us to run the first ever NVP in-person Fund Manager at London Business School’s Marylebone campus.

Again, Scott and I packed up our bags and flew in. Only thing, as this was the middle of summer and school holiday, I also brought along our Fund Manager Summer intern, my 11-year old son Alex. Who says VC skills can’t be developed early in the career?

Again, our setup was 1,5 days, with 8 teams in two classrooms. This gives us an incredibly fast-paced format, as we need to truly sprint through the 10+ year fund journey. Despite the pace, the format worked as we continued to iterate on content and tweak the format. By now we had run enough sessions to find the flow and get teams into high-performance mode, fast. (Truly appreciate the collaboration with Newton Venture Program. We’ve now run 4-5 sessions together and can’t wait for the next ten!. If you are new to the world of VC, check out their excellent programs)

2X GP Sprint,  Singapore (November 2023)

In November, we came full circle yet again. The 2X GP sprint, our 6-month GP accelerator program was convening for the first time in-person, and we were doing LP meetings, SuperReturn Return and Fund Manager!

For the first time, we brought together emerging managers, Limited Partners, Family office and DFIs, with Australian DFAT representatives.

This, we suddenly realized, would become the new normal, where the Fund Manager! Masterclass would be the perfect platform for bringing GPs, LPs and regulators together. Bring down the barriers. Remove the roles. Mix real-life GPs and LPs on the same time. Let them work together, just as the partnership model was supposed to work. (huge thanks to 2X GP Sprint team for making this happen!)

I could not have known it at the time, but the meet up in Singapore would eventually put us on the path to Fiji, via the development of the Pacific Islands Fund Manager…

From Asia To The Middle East (November 2023)

We wrapped up our Singapore program. I snatched a coconut. My flight was in just hours. Next, Dubai and the Dubai Future District Fund.

Meeting The UAE Ecosystem, Starting Our Work On VC Ecosystems

We did not know it in advance, but the 40+ participants in Dubai would be our most experienced, our most advanced group since we launched Fund Manager! Half of them were working full-time at the Dubai Future District Fund, Dubai’s FoF, and a cornerstone in the ecosystem. The other half were portfolio fund managers with DFDF.

Thanks to a partnership with AWS and Knowledge Fund, we were able to structure a full sized, 3-day Masterclass. Rick flew in from California, via Paris, where he was fundraising for Ukraine Phoenix Tech Fund.

What really impressed us in Dubai was three things;

1. The depth of pre-existing knowledge

Everyone in the room knew venture capital. In most previous programs we had always had to explain the basics. Not here. The fundamentals were all here. This really shone through in absolutely world-class GP pitch decks and LP update presentations. Well done, everyone!

2. Pace

The pace was twice what we would normally see, allowing us to cover extensive amounts of content, exercises and canvases. We dove into portfolio outcomes, exit paths and outcome analysis. People aced it!

3. Collaboration

Dubai, with DFDF, was the first time we really saw the benefits of multi-stage collaboration. Up to this point, people had mostly “traded”, I’ll give you this, if you give me that. Not in Dubai. The winning team(s) nailed the big idea behind the venture capital ecosystem. Only by collaborating, building trust and sharing deals across stages are we able to scale companies and create massive wealth.

Shoutout to Mahmoud and Karim for taking this to the next level. The insights from Dubai also led us onto our research on venture capital ecosystems. A different story….

Wrapping 2023

2023 was a wrap, having taking 100’s of new participants through Fund Manager! The tools, the exercises, the simulation, it was really starting to come together in a fantastic way.

What would 2024 hold? Well, as we would come to learn in the new year, Johannesburg, South Africa, Belgrade, Serbia, Lausanne, Switzerland, back to Cairo, Egypt and the Canadian Venture Capital association were just some of the highlights that awaited us.

Back On The Road With 2X GP Sprint, Hello Johannesburg (April 2024)

It’s not often I can go on a lion safari in South Africa and call it work. But the 2X GP Sprint, Africa cohort II started off with an in-person deep dive session in Johannesburg. Emerging managers, LPs, DFI’s and ecosystem builders came together for our launch module in Johannesburg.

Having learned from our experience in Singapore, mixing GPs, LPs and fund experts was proving to be a fantastic mix, While in Singapore, we ran the Fund Manager! at the tail end of the 6-month program; here it was a part of the grand opening, providing a unique opportunity for team building and getting to know each other in a friendly, yet competitive setting.

The safari? The day after the Fund Manager! ended, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to continue the discussions with the team from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) in the jeep while exploring the Pilanesberg National Park and discussing DPI expectations in fund-of-fund structures.

A Truly Unique Location: IMD @Lausanne (September 2024)

My first visit to Lausanne had been some 11 years ago, for a Strategic Management Society conference in April 2013. Now, we would be heading back, to run Fund Manager! as a pilot within the VAM – Venture Asset Management Program at IMD.

Venture capital, in our view, is not sufficiently taught across Europe. At IMD, it would take an American with a life-long connection to IMD to launch the Venture Asset Management program, a short, executive program for capital allocators and others with a growing recognition that VC might just have a place in the asset allocation mix.

It was a LinkedIn post by Daniel Keipper Knorr that first put VAM on the map. Our mutual friend Bill Fischer made a friendly introduction. Jim was positive. Let’s try it out.

Scott, Henrik and me flew in for the weekend. It would prove to be a superb fit with the program. A mix of senior executives, board members (many from pension- and capital allocation organizations), with a few high-caliber MBA mixed in, this was a true high-performance group.

Sharing the deeply held view that venture investments should be taught more widely across Europe, we are honored to expand the collaboration with Jim, and teach the Fund Manager! twice a year, as a part of the Venture Asset Management program at IMD. Thanks Daniel, Bill and Jim for making that happen.

Back To Cairo, Our Second Fund Manager Masterclass! (November 2024)

Our return to Cairo, to work with the wonderful team at Falak Startups again was one of the highlights of the year. They had evolved. We had learnt. Fund Manager had had 18 expansion packs (!!) since our first print.

The team had done an absolutely stellar job to convene the who’s who of the VC ecosystem in Cairo. VCPE Association, fund managers, business angels, international investors, family offices, even faculty; the group in Cairo was diverse. More than that, they were tuned in, ready to go, ready to win. Out of the gates, this was a fast-paced, hyper competitive 3-day Masterclass. Fund Manager! – in the 3-day Masterclass format – was really coming into its own.

DAY 1:

Foundational content – check

Keynote speakers – check

VC panel – check

Launch of simulation with 8 team – check, check

Day 2:

GP pitch sessions – check

Fund models and portfolio updates – check

Dealmaking  and capital deployment – check

Day 3:

LP updates – check

Value creation – check

Exits, through IPOs, secondaries and M&As  – check

Ultra-competitive teams, realizing to win we actually need to collaborate – check, check

Looking back, seeing the evolution of Fund Manager! since our first visit to Cairo, just two years earlier, a lot had happened.

Emerging Europe, Western Balkans (November 2024)

When it comes to Europe, there is much work to be done to grow the VC ecosystem. In certain parts, like the Western Balkans, even more work is needed. In November we partnered with our friends at EBRD to run the first ever in-person Fund Manager! in the region.

Up to that point, we had done several online programs in partnership with both EBRD and SwissEP. Now, for the first time we could gather a wide representation of the ecosystem together.

Ljubisa, Kyrre, Scott and myself were met with an eager, enthusiastic group, hungry to learn, hungry to launch new funds in the region. There were structures with EIB. Structures with Israeli partners. A need to awaken local banks. We got a chance  to share our ongoing research on VC ecosystems. We compared notes on the Star Venture program.

Participants formed six teams, working round the clock, achieving closings, doing capital calls, deploying, exploring a fund number two, syndicating deals together, driving exit discussions and moving towards high net DPI figures.

What had started out as a first design prototype just two years ago, was now a fully fledge ecosystem development program, rapidly earning its marks around the world. EBRD wanted us back. Participants wanted more. And I jumped the last flight with Turkish Airlines.

Next stop, 2X GP Sprint Program in Cape Town.

2025 – Time To Scale

2025 started off differently. Something had changed. Fund Manager! was finding its foot in the market. But not by me, but our global partners. It was not more than just me. There was a growing movement. In 2025, we realized, we were on track to run 17, maybe even 20 Fund Manager Masterclasses around the world, in close partnership with our global Strategy Tools partners.

In Canada, Michael and Stuart had partnered with the CVCA – Canadian Venture Capital Association to change how new VCs were being trained in Canada.

In London, our friends at Newton Venture Program hosted yet another global Fund Manager! bringing together truly diverse participants under the NVP umbrella.

In the Balkans, SwissEP hosted an online Masterclass. In March, for the first time ever, two Fund Manager! programs were being delivered, at the same time, but to different clients and delivered by different partners. In May, we were back at IMD, for the ‘best program ever’, together with Jim Pulcrano and 25 incredibly engaged participants.

In June, Fund Manager! went to Latin America for the first time, thanks to a collaboration between Glenn Tjon, Stuart and Michael.

In June, Fund Manager! would also get its first sibling, the Pacific Island Fund Manager!  (When we publish this, this still might be a secret, so don’t tell anyone). Developed in close collaboration with Jodi Smith, Partner & Fund manager at Fiji-based PE/SME fund Matanataki, Pacific Islands Fund Manager! is designed 100% based on the challenges and realities of raising and running an investment fund in the Pacific, focusing on sustainable ocean companies, reef restoration, sustainability, circularity and building sustainable communities in the Pacific.

Never, did we image Fund Manager! would get a younger sister. But ever since we first met in Singapore nearly two years earlier, Jodi has been the driving force behind this vision.

Honestly, I can’t wait to write you a four-year birthday memo on the Pacific Islands Fund Manager in 2029.

So, What’s The Secret? Why Do People Take So Well To Fund Manager?

It is a question we have asked ourselves many times. We believe it comes down to three things.

1.      Experience a full fund journey

One of the pillars in Fund Manager! is understanding the full 10-15 year fund journey.

To  most, this is too long a time horizon. It becomes abstract.

Not in Fund Manager! In just 3 days, we zip through 10-12, even 15 years, the full life span of a fund. One day equals around five years. People age fast. You feel that.

One of the most consistent feedbacks we have been getting is a deep appreciation for understanding “the full journey”, and notably the importance of “getting the exits right”.

Not bad, doing 15 years of work in just 3 days?

“Very enlightening about the VC end to end process!!!” – Fund Manager! Masterclass participant, July 2022.

2.      Hungry to learn more about venture capital

VC is something everyone speaks about. In the startup world, it is everyone, all the time. Yet, we find, few people actually know and understand it. Surface level, yes. Deeper, like portfolio outcomes, structuring term sheets for follow-on success and making the power law come to life, no, most people don’t know it, but boy, are most hungry to learn.

Fund Manager! is packed with real-life, advanced learning content. One example is the 50+ unique GP Tasks, topic deep dives into selected topics, ranging from entry-level to truly complicated.

Here is one such GP Task, LP Outcomes.

Meet Heidi, she is investment director at Zurich Cantonal Bank. After a lengthy pitch deck, she asks for an analysis of her possible return scenarios, fully modelled out.

Recently, speaking with one of the most active seed investors in Europe, he said “…even my most senior people would need ages to complete this. This is difficult”.

Yes, it is, and in the Fund Manager! Masterclass participants have 15. To 20. Minutes to complete the GP Task with Heidi.

Fun fact: most ace it. In large part thanks to the visual tool, the LP Outcome Canvas we provide.

3.      Collaborate to build the venture ecosystem

Ultimately, we believe the people that show up for Fund Manager! have a deep desire to help build out their respective ecosystems, even countries. We see this again and again. But to do so, we need to work together, collaborate.

Fund Manager! was designed to get everyone on the same page, speak the same language, to work better together. From Cairo to Canada, Dubai to Belgrade, we have seen this again and again. Bringing GPs, LPs, ecosystem developers, regulators, angel networks, DFIs and family offices together, we build the collaborative tissue that make up the core of any venture ecosystem.

“Collaboration matters!!”

– Fund Manager! Masterclass participant, July 2022.

Going Global – 2025  And Beyond

So, what’s next?

Having spent the better part of four years, getting to this point. Having worked with more than 250 emerging fund managers across different strategies and markets. Having run three GP Accelerator programs, and taken 1.000 people through Fund Manager! Having spent 100’s and 100’s of hours, many of them in deep discussion with Rick, developing the early content and Scott, delivering and teaching around the world, finding new and better ways to explain the inner workings of a venture fund; what’s next?

Well, this year, we will pass 1.200 people, maybe even 1.300 people having completed the Fund Manager! We are only just beginning.   The hunger for learning about fund management is global. We have only scratched the surface of potential here. Over the next two years, we hope to run Fund Manager! in a number of new locations, build new relationships and strengthen established ones.

We need to train more people, preferably women, to run Fund Manager! We need to develop new partnerships, with venture capital associations and business schools. We need to work with new ecosystem partners.

On our end, we need to write more, publish more and share more from the inner workings around Fund Manager! Fund Manager! will continue to evolve. AI and security are well covered today, but what are the waves of tomorrow?

How will the field of venture capital continue to evolve and how do we capture it? And, going back to our original problem-statement, how do we get everyone to speak the same language as we build a more balanced investment landscape around the world?

Work to be done.

Interested in joining the journey? Get certified to run Fund Manager!

Want to partner to run Fund Manager Masterclasses? Get in touch.

Bring Fund Manager! to your classroom or ecosystem program? Don’t hesitate to ping us.

We are just getting started.

Fund Manager! Would Not Have Been Possible Without….

A big shout out to key partners to bring Fund Manager! To life, and into classrooms and Masterclasses around the world. 2X Global , 2X Ignite , EBRD , The World Bank , Newton Venture Program , IMD , Dubai Future District Fund , Falak Startups Community Falak Startups , Swiss EP – Swiss Entrepreneurship Program , Sifted , EUVC , Invest Europe , Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) and the large number of people that took the time to talk, discuss and answer my many, many questions in the early days as we were putting this together.

Long, but incomplete list: Jen, Jessica, Marijn, Elena, Ayodele, Alyanna, Marc, Daniel, Eleanor, Eleanor, Bill, Jim, David, Andreas, Hazem, Tarek, Sharif, Abeer, to name a few.