meet nvp logo

Brandi Copeland
community and administrative manager
Sean Simons
senior associate
Dan Borok
managing partner
Vaughn Crowe
managing partner
Tom Wisniewski
managing partner
Chika Ogele
Jennifer Solomon
communications, media relations

Brandi Copeland

Brandi is the Community & Administrative Manager of newark venture partners. She promotes a community culture that encourages morale.

Brandi studied performing arts and communications at HBCU Bethune Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL. She received her B.A. in Mass Communications-Broadcast Journalism Concentration. She is a proud member of Sigma Alpha Pi, The National Honor Society of Leadership and Success.

Aside from her work at nvp Brandi is a brand ambassador and has partnered with many luxury brands in Miami and New York. She is considered a micro-influencer and runs the “Places to go, people to meet” social media account where she highlights trendy places to visit, Instagram-worthy backgrounds, and people to know.

Sean Simons

As Senior Associate at NVP, Sean responsibilities include sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities. He also supports portfolio companies and has a strong interest in industrials, supply chain, maritime, defense, and “offline” industries. He is eager to explore deals with companies enabling the physical world.

Prior to joining NVP, Sean worked various roles. These range from sales positions at Pre-Seed to Series A startups including 212 Brewing and Photoshelter to more “dirty” roles such as working at a scrap yard and maintenance within private aviation sector.

Sean holds a bachelors degree from Quinnipiac University. While at university, he co-founded the school’s club hockey team and served as captain.

Dan Borok

Dan is a Managing Partner at newark venture partners. He has been a venture investor since 2005, starting his career in later-stage venture before going all-in on seed-stage investing in 2016.

While Dan has invested up and down the venture maturity curve, his focus has consistently been in B2B software — driven by the belief that good software creates value not only by driving productivity but also by making the lives of employees better. This belief is based on first-hand experience as a B2B end user, starting his career out in business operations at pre-IPO Google, where Dan had to rely on a range of software with varying degrees of usability. Ask him about Act CRM or Crystal Reports!

Today Dan focuses on the opportunity created by the replatforming of critical legacy industries, driven by transaction friction and a changing workforce. Dan is a board member/observer at 1Huddle, Backbone.ai, Calibermind, Homevision, Quiltt, Upwell, Veritonic, Vulcan Elements, Walnut and has invested in notable companies including Bigcommerce (Nasdaq: BIGC), Envivio (Acquired by Ericsson), Yodle (Acquired by Web.com), Janrain (Acquired by Akamai), WatchDox (Acquired by Blackberry), Vydia (Acquired by Gamma) and Seamless.ai.

Dan has an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from the University of Vermont.

Vaughn Crowe

Vaughn Crowe, a proud son of Newark, NJ, is a Managing Partner at newark venture partners. Before officially joining the team in 2020, Vaughn was a founding LP in nvp on behalf of the Ray Chambers family office, Wesray. He has been a champion of the nvp mission and a critical partner to the firm since day one.

During his 15+ years at Wesray he led investments in businesses and funds across various asset classes. In addition to his investment responsibilities, Vaughn served as Executive Chairman of a $300m+ portfolio company, which, under his leadership, experienced the most profitable year in the company’s 55-year history.

Vaughn currently serves as Vice Chair of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, a RWJ Barnabas Hospital; on the New Jersey State Investment Council, the governing structure for the State’s $80b+ pension assets. He also serves on the boards of Princess House Inc., Blue Note Restaurant Group, Clockwork Logistics, Pair Team, and Handspring Health.

Vaughn earned a BA in Political Science from Colgate University (Go ‘Gate!) and attended Harvard Business School.

Tom Wisniewski

Tom Wisniewski is a Managing Partner at nvp, whose investment work is currently focused on B2B Commerce, B2B Marketplaces, and Enterprise Software. Previously, Tom was an entrepreneur and held senior positions in multiple VC-backed companies. Tom’s angel investments include Pond5 (sold to Stripe Group, 60x), Anvato (sold to Google, 19x), Jackpocket (85x). He serves on the board of nvp portfolio companies Volition, Gearflow, Agilis, and Wellsheet.

Today, Tom is active in several early-stage Angel and tech innovation groups, including the Black and Latino Angel Investment Fund in Newark. Tom’s passion lies in fostering collaboration within the VC and tech ecosystems, where he actively mentors aspiring entrepreneurs and investors. He also enjoys building in wood and stone, creating cocktails and fine food, and serving as the family Math/Science tutor.

Tom has an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and a BA in Physics and Philosophy from Clark University.

Chika Ogele

Chika, a Newark, NJ native, started his venture career as a founder. He founded ComeUp, a music technology startup before graduating with degrees in Finance and Economics from NYU. Following graduation, Chika joined Goldman Sachs, where he furthered his knowledge of and passion for finance over four years. After Goldman, Chika transitioned to ventured-backed Eight Sleep as Chief of Staff to the COO.

As an associate at nvp, Chika leverages his experience as a founder and in finance to source and connect with best-in-class founders.

Jennifer Solomon

Jennifer L. Solomon is an accomplished communications professional with experience in media strategy, community relations, and event planning and execution. Jen works with companies across the nvp portfolio as a resource on all communications and media matters, often guiding them through fundraising announcements and helping to promote their achievements to our communities of co-investors, LPs, and beyond. She also leads all media relations for nvp.

Jen is a graduate of SUNY Binghamton University and earned a Master’s Degree in Strategic Marketing Communication from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business.

Brandi Copeland
community and administrative manager
Sean Simons
senior associate
Tom Wisniewski
managing partner
Dan Borok
managing partner
Vaughn Crowe
managing partner
Chika Ogele
Jennifer Solomon
communications, media relations

Brandi Copeland

Brandi is the Community & Administrative Manager of newark venture partners. She promotes a community culture that encourages morale.

Brandi studied performing arts and communications at HBCU Bethune Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL. She received her B.A. in Mass Communications-Broadcast Journalism Concentration. She is a proud member of Sigma Alpha Pi, The National Honor Society of Leadership and Success.

Aside from her work at nvp Brandi is a brand ambassador and has partnered with many luxury brands in Miami and New York. She is considered a micro-influencer and runs the “Places to go, people to meet” social media account where she highlights trendy places to visit, Instagram-worthy backgrounds, and people to know.

Sean Simons

As Senior Associate at NVP, Sean responsibilities include sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities. He also supports portfolio companies and has a strong interest in industrials, supply chain, maritime, defense, and “offline” industries. He is eager to explore deals with companies enabling the physical world.

Prior to joining NVP, Sean worked various roles. These range from sales positions at Pre-Seed to Series A startups including 212 Brewing and Photoshelter to more “dirty” roles such as working at a scrap yard and maintenance within private aviation sector.

Sean holds a bachelors degree from Quinnipiac University. While at university, he co-founded the school’s club hockey team and served as captain.

Tom Wisniewski

Tom Wisniewski is a Managing Partner at nvp, whose investment work is currently focused on B2B Commerce, B2B Marketplaces, and Enterprise Software. Previously, Tom was an entrepreneur and held senior positions in multiple VC-backed companies. Tom’s angel investments include Pond5 (sold to Stripe Group, 60x), Anvato (sold to Google, 19x), Jackpocket (85x). He serves on the board of nvp portfolio companies Volition, Gearflow, Agilis, and Wellsheet.

Today, Tom is active in several early-stage Angel and tech innovation groups, including the Black and Latino Angel Investment Fund in Newark. Tom’s passion lies in fostering collaboration within the VC and tech ecosystems, where he actively mentors aspiring entrepreneurs and investors. He also enjoys building in wood and stone, creating cocktails and fine food, and serving as the family Math/Science tutor.

Tom has an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and a BA in Physics and Philosophy from Clark University.

Dan Borok

Dan is a Managing Partner at newark venture partners. He has been a venture investor since 2005, starting his career in later-stage venture before going all-in on seed-stage investing in 2016.

While Dan has invested up and down the venture maturity curve, his focus has consistently been in B2B software — driven by the belief that good software creates value not only by driving productivity but also by making the lives of employees better. This belief is based on first-hand experience as a B2B end user, starting his career out in business operations at pre-IPO Google, where Dan had to rely on a range of software with varying degrees of usability. Ask him about Act CRM or Crystal Reports!

Today Dan focuses on the opportunity created by the replatforming of critical legacy industries, driven by transaction friction and a changing workforce. Dan is a board member/observer at 1Huddle, Backbone.ai, Calibermind, Homevision, Quiltt, Upwell, Veritonic, Vulcan Elements, Walnut and has invested in notable companies including Bigcommerce (Nasdaq: BIGC), Envivio (Acquired by Ericsson), Yodle (Acquired by Web.com), Janrain (Acquired by Akamai), WatchDox (Acquired by Blackberry), Vydia (Acquired by Gamma) and Seamless.ai.

Dan has an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from the University of Vermont.

Vaughn Crowe

Vaughn Crowe, a proud son of Newark, NJ, is a Managing Partner at newark venture partners. Before officially joining the team in 2020, Vaughn was a founding LP in nvp on behalf of the Ray Chambers family office, Wesray. He has been a champion of the nvp mission and a critical partner to the firm since day one.

During his 15+ years at Wesray he led investments in businesses and funds across various asset classes. In addition to his investment responsibilities, Vaughn served as Executive Chairman of a $300m+ portfolio company, which, under his leadership, experienced the most profitable year in the company’s 55-year history.

Vaughn currently serves as Vice Chair of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, a RWJ Barnabas Hospital; on the New Jersey State Investment Council, the governing structure for the State’s $80b+ pension assets. He also serves on the boards of Princess House Inc., Blue Note Restaurant Group, Clockwork Logistics, Pair Team, and Handspring Health.

Vaughn earned a BA in Political Science from Colgate University (Go ‘Gate!) and attended Harvard Business School.

Chika Ogele

Chika, a Newark, NJ native, started his venture career as a founder. He founded ComeUp, a music technology startup before graduating with degrees in Finance and Economics from NYU. Following graduation, Chika joined Goldman Sachs, where he furthered his knowledge of and passion for finance over four years. After Goldman, Chika transitioned to ventured-backed Eight Sleep as Chief of Staff to the COO.

As an associate at nvp, Chika leverages his experience as a founder and in finance to source and connect with best-in-class founders.

Jennifer Solomon

Jennifer L. Solomon is an accomplished communications professional with experience in media strategy, community relations, and event planning and execution. Jen works with companies across the nvp portfolio as a resource on all communications and media matters, often guiding them through fundraising announcements and helping to promote their achievements to our communities of co-investors, LPs, and beyond. She also leads all media relations for nvp.

Jen is a graduate of SUNY Binghamton University and earned a Master’s Degree in Strategic Marketing Communication from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business.

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