Mike Krenn

Mike Krenn is a lifelong champion of San Diego’s innovation ecosystem, dedicated to ensuring the region thrives for future generations. He is the founder of NuFund (formerly Tech Coast Angels, established in 1996), one of the nation’s first angel investment networks. He founded what became EvoNexus (originally CommNexus) in 1998. In 2001, he launched Venture Pipeline, the first venture business unit housed within a law firm.

Mike has led numerous high-impact initiatives to attract venture capital and talent to San Diego. In 2015, he launched the Cool Co’s program to bring venture capitalists into the region, followed by creative campaigns — including billboards along the 101 and a job fair staged across from Google headquarters — to draw engineering talent to the area. In 2017, under his leadership, San Diego became the first city to open a startup-dedicated office in San Francisco, free for local companies to use. His efforts culminated in 2022 with the launch of Innovation Day, the region’s largest innovation gathering, taking over all of Petco Park. That same year, he helped launch the XEO program, a bold DEI initiative to help accelerate the careers of talented individuals across the region. And most recently, he spearheaded the TreeLady Fund, a venture philanthropy fund designed to seed local startups. 

Through these efforts, more than 200 venture capitalists now visit San Diego annually. Under Mike’s leadership, the local startup capital market has grown from $1 billion to over $5 billion annually. He has worked closely with hundreds of entrepreneurs, helping more than 100 companies raise in excess of $1 billion in early-stage funding — at no cost to the startups — through the nonprofit Connect organization.

Mike also brings direct startup experience to his work, having served as COO of a venture-backed startup. He’s also a limited partner in Sequoia Fund XII (which did pretty well.)

He values action, humility, and people who are committed to doing good for the next generation rather than seeking recognition. Passionate about genuine impact, Mike brings a grounded and community-driven approach to all he does.

Earlier in his career, Mike was once a ​“pretty good” basketball player. He can still hoop on his kid, which gives him great joy. Among his most meaningful accolades, he proudly recalls being called a ​“bargain” by his kids — a reminder of his motivation to help build a San Diego that they, and all San Diego kids, will be proud to inherit.