nafisa istami

Hey y'all, I'm Nafisa! 🤠

I'm Nafisa (she/her). I'm a Senior Innovation Manager at the Rice University Office of Innovation in Houston, TX. I focus on strategy and investments, supporting the commercialization of Rice startups! It's great to be back at my alma mater, where I graduated with a B.A. in Sociology in 2021.Everyone asks "why sociology?" and it's become one of my favorite questions. I loved my major. Sociology studies people, their interactions with institutions, and social movements. It utilizes several other disciplines to get a holistic qualitative and quantitative viewpoint into why people do what they do.I want to use the sociological imagination to support high-growth ventures. My role gives me the unique superpower of being able to understand the background, landscape, and future of an entrepreneur's journey while having the leverage, network, and resources to support founders through inflection point on their road to success.

What I'm Doing

Currently: Senior Innovation Manager @ Rice University Office of Innovation

Previous:
Senior Analyst @ Mercury Fund
Venture Associate @ Houston Angel Network
Venture Fellow Cohort 1 @ Republic Ventures
Venture Fellow @ The Wiress
Venture Scout @ Score3 Ventures
Investor Relations + Community Associate @ Envision
Marketing Intern @ indipop
University Ambassador @ Morning Brew
Investment Analyst @ Texas Children's Hospital Endowment
Community Manager @ OwlSpark
Field Intern @ Laura Moser for Congress

Projects:
I built and was Managing Director of Rice Ventures. Rice Ventures is Rice University's student-led and student-built entrepreneurship ecosystem and tailored startup accelerator. I managed programming, the founder pipeline, mentor relationships, relationships with other entrepreneurship organizations, and our biweekly newsletter.I was the Chair of the Theatre Committee at Sid Richardson College. I produced First Date: The Musical and was assistant stage manager to the virtual production of Hello Hamlet. I also produced an original play, Space Axed, a murder mystery radio show set in outer space.

Reach out!

My LinkedIn DMs are always open, so feel free to ping me for a chat.#googleuyghur

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