Ïma Essien
Principal | Leading Investment & Fund Operations @ B Ventures
About
▸ I work with organizations navigating growth, transition, or complexity—often at moments where systems, incentives, and capital must be re-aligned. ▸ I've led strategy, diligence, and execution across public, private, and venture-backed environments globally—and now advise leadership on high-stakes decisions and capital allocation.
United States
Oakland
Venture Capital & Private Equity
New Fund Development, Investment Thesis Creation, Financial Modeling, Deal Terms, Public Speaking, Investing, Syndicate Management, Emotional Intelligence, Deal Sourcing, Due Diligence, Investment Strategies, Venture Capital, Interpersonal Communication, Healthcare Industry, Healthcare, Globalization, Lean Process Improvement, Strategic Planning, Cross-functional Alignment, Research
Experience
Principal | Leading Investment & Fund Operations
B Ventures
Courtyard Ventures, institutionalized.
Venture Fellow | Life Science
VC University
Pursuing specialized VC training in life science deal structuring, cap tables, and valuation to sharpen how I assess early-stage biotech, digital health, and care delivery startups.
Founder & CEO
Startup
I help leaders at critical inflection points build systems that outlast them without losing stakeholder alignment, through interdisciplinary strategy and capital sequencing—enabling decisive entry into new markets and operating models.
Board Fellow
Bay Area Global Health Alliance
Advised the board on governance design while leading the creation and launch of the inaugural Student Advisory Council—establishing a durable structure for intergenerational leadership that embeds student and junior faculty voice into organizational strategy.
MBA Candidate | Sustainable & Impact Finance
University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
Venture Partner
VU Venture Partners
• Investments: AdrenoMed, Kangaroo, Neuralink, Anduril
Associate
VU Venture Partners
San Francisco, California, United States
Conducted* or supported due diligence for the following investments: • Healthcare: AOA*, contraline (follow-up), healx • FinTech: Rain*, Luable* • Frontier: Biofire*, Touchcast, Turion Space • Consumer: Dr. Treat, EQUII
Fellow | MBA Consortium
The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management
Fellow | Professional Development
Management Leadership for Tomorrow
MBA Exchange | Global GTM Strategy & Innovation
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
Focused on how brands and businesses drive growth across borders through strategy, cultural intelligence, and go-to-market (GTM) innovation.
General Partner | Fund III
Courtyard Ventures
Berkeley, California, United States
I’m a General Partner at Courtyard Ventures Fund III, where we invest in early-stage startups founded by UC Berkeley entrepreneurs while training the next generation of investors. Our model creates a flywheel that supports Cal founders shaping the future and builds real-world VC experience for students on campus.
Education
University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
Sustainable and Impact Finance
The University of Edinburgh
Global Health & Public Policy
Dissertation | Strategic Pluralism: Advancing Africa’s Health Goals Through Aid Diversity — Leveraging Traditional and Emerging Donors to Realize the Africa Health Strategy, 2016–2030
Carnegie Mellon University
Social Determinants of Health & Biomedical Engineering
HKUST Business School
Electives: Management Consulting, Negotiations, Platform Competition, D2C Marketing
Ïma Essien's Contact Information
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