Management Team
Isaac Arnold
Isaac
Arnold
Vice President
Isaac is an Vice President with 11 Tribes responsible for managing the diligence and investment committee process. Before joining 11 Tribes, Isaac worked as an Analyst and Senior Analyst at Capital Creek Partners, a multi-family office serving a number of prominent families. Isaac spent two years in Management & Strategy Consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”). There, he served financial services clients as an Associate and Senior Associate. He focused on helping clients define and implement their go-to-market, market-entry, product, and customer strategies. Isaac graduated Summa Cum Laude from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Marketing.
Jeff Baxter
Jeff
Baxter
General Partner & Head of Platform
Jeff is a Partner and the Head of Platform at 11 Tribes Ventures. As Head of Platform, his primary focus is catalyzing the firms relationships and resources to foster the growth and flourishing of our portfolio companies. Collectively, we believe that investing into the resilience of our founders will lead to more durable and profitable businesses being created.
Prior to 11 Tribes, Jeff served as Head of Investor Relations at T2 Capital Management and before that with his alma mater, Wheaton College, as the Director of Principal Gifts. During his time at Wheaton, Jeff cherished his time spent with families who had a vision for their resources beyond their own self promotion.
Jeff, his wife Emily and their three children live in Charleston, SC where they enjoy serving in their church, playing tennis and hitting the beach for all around fun.
Mark Phillips
Mark
Phillips
Managing Partner
Mark Phillips is the Founder and Managing Partner of 11 Tribes Ventures. In his role, he supports the team’s efforts across all aspects of the firm including investing, fundraising, and operations. His personal passion lies in helping those around him – whether it’s the 11 Tribes team or the founders they invest in – discover and activate their unique purpose in life. These moments of connection and clarity are the most rewarding aspects of his work.
Mark’s journey to venture capital was anything but conventional. He began his career as a strategy consultant, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Recognizing that the ceaseless travel was not a sustainable path, he pivoted to pursue his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
While at Booth, Mark embarked on his entrepreneurial journey by launching his first company. The experience that followed was a profound lesson in the volatile and unpredictable nature of the founder’s path, ultimately culminating with the company’s failure. While grappling with the disappointment of this business outcome, Mark found himself even more shaken by the identity crisis that had crept its way into his mind. He was crushed under the weight of being a failed founder. It was in this season of reflection that he began to grasp the meaning of the ancient truth “what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
Motivated to help others avoid, or at least mitigate, this same pain, Mark set out to build 11 Tribes, the firm where capital and care are focused on the founder. Today, Mark lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with his wife Emily and their three boys. He is learning to love the quiet of the early morning, has become a passionate consumer of all things leadership, and is fascinated by what he calls the power law of people.
Jonathan Woodrow
Jonathan
Woodrow
Senior Analyst
Jonathan is a Senior Analyst with 11 Tribes, where he supports the firm’s investment process with a focus on diligence and investment evaluation. Prior to joining 11 Tribes, Jonathan worked as an Analyst at Capital Creek Partners, where he sat on the investment team underwriting fund and direct investments across venture capital, private equity, private credit, real estate, and energy & natural resources. He also gained additional experience through roles at CAZ Investments and the Ambassadors Impact Network.
Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Business degree in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Baylor University. He believes that when people are put first, strong and enduring businesses naturally follow. Jonathan intentionally seeks out environments where he can learn from those who are smarter, more experienced, and relentlessly curious, and he approaches his work with the conviction that excellence is never accidental but the result of preparation, discipline, and consistent effort.
Advisory Board
Sharon Amezcua
Sharon
Amezcua
Chief Growth Officer, LuxMods
As a serial entrepreneur and serial investor for 39 years, Sharon has created, built, accelerated, invested in and exited hundreds of companies across the globe employing and/or working closely with other entrepreneurs, sector experts and financiers to achieve a strong return on investment (“ROI”) track record.
The beginning of Sharon’s career was focused on commercial banking as well as on building and growing energy-related companies in lighting, HVAC control systems and alternative energy. Following her extensive global experience in these sectors and in creating energy saving solutions as one of the youngest senior executives in the energy sector at that time, Sharon founded the first-of-its-kind “demand-side management solutions advisory company tailored for the utility sector in North America” called “Presentations” to capitalize on deregulation of the electricity industry in the US and Canada. “Presentations” successfully launched many Energy Saving Companies (“ESCO’s”) for the largest utilities in America, and Sharon was invited to become a Co-Founder of New Energy Ventures in Los Angeles, CA which she and her team grew from zero to a billion dollars in revenue run rate in the first 18 months. That company was then sold to AES. New Energy (as it became known), is still the largest ESCO in America and owned by Constellation.
Sharon subsequently Co-Founded MCC Global NV (“MCC”), an old-style global merchant bank that was built over a 13-year period and listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange in 2006. MCC offered a proprietary incubation and acceleration “de-risking” process that Sharon developed and then implemented in hundreds of emerging and established companies with a track record of success that was unmatched in the industry at that time. MCC employed experts in 14 vertical markets who also had deep horizontal expertise in products and services and a presence in major geographical locations around the world to build, invest in and exit over 500 companies successfully. As Vice Chairman of Moore Clayton Capital Advisors, Inc. and Vice President of Equus II, MCC Global’s fund management company and its NYSE-listed private equity fund, respectively, Sharon was instrumental in increasing the overall net asset value and ROI of this highly regulated BDC.
After exiting MCC, Sharon Founded ESE Partners, LLC and Co-Founded ESE Fund Ltd., a future financial services company with a closely-held seed/growth fund that has an above-industry track record. Sharon also Co-Founded SSG, LLC, a technology transfer company, owned and managed by women, to build companies in the US and the Middle East/North Africa region of the globe. SSG, LLC morphed into a women-owned, women run boutique merchant bank, The 1920 Group, LLC (1920G) which focuses on MedTech, FinTech, EnergyTech and Deep Tech/AI.
Sharon recently Co-Founded LCS7, LLC (Lifecycle Systems) , which is developing a technology platform to automate and manage services for entrepreneurial companies as they go through the lifecycles of growth from emerging to established companies to exit. LCS7 will streamline the processes and timing for selecting companies, building/growing companies and taking companies through liquidity events.
Sharon’s passion (besides dancing!) is working with young people through business and philanthropy to enhance their entrepreneurial skills and assist them in executing their dreams. She is also an active Advisory Board member of many emerging and established companies across the globe and was educated in technology and finance at the University of Florida (BSBA) and Georgia State University (General MBA studies).
John DeAngelis
John
DeAngelis
Co-Founder & President, DeAngelis Diamond Construction
John was born and raised in West Virginia before moving with his family to Naples, Florida, where he completed high school. He then joined the University of Florida’s Gator Nation, graduating from the Rinker School of Building Construction.
In 1996, John co-founded DeAngelis Diamond in Naples, Florida. An innovative, nationally recognized construction management firm with eight offices and licensed in 37 states. The company has garnered significant acclaim, including appearances on the INC5000 list, high rankings in ENR, and numerous “Best Place to Work” awards.
John’s contributions have earned him personal recognition as well. He was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, named “Man of the Year” by Gulfshore Life, and has been a frequent honoree on Naples Illustrated’s “Naples100” list. Alongside his leadership at DeAngelis Diamond, he has successfully ventured into real estate, development, technology, and various other sectors.
John and his wife, Kelly, have participated in numerous Christian mission trips to China, Cambodia, Haiti, and South America, focusing on supporting orphans and advocating for women and children escaping human trafficking. In 2013, John founded the Ephesians 320 Foundation, which provides adoption grants and financial support to adoptive families. He is also a founding Elder of Summit Church.
When not engaged in business or ministry, John cherishes time with his family, enjoying time with his wife, 5 children, and 6 granddaughters.
Tim Jenkins
Tim
Jenkins
President, Colchuck Companies
Tim Jenkins is President of Colchuck, a purposeful private investment company based in Leavenworth, WA. Tim is also a co-founder and past CEO of Point B, Inc., a national management consulting firm based in Seattle, WA. Tim sits on the boards of Point B, Parametrix, Inc., an employee-owned engineering, planning and environmental services company with several offices in the Western U.S., and the boards of several smaller companies. Tim is also an active investor with Lenora Capital, the private investment arm of Brighton Jones, an RIA with over $8B AUM. In 2022, Tim will serve as the fund manager for the Flywheel Investment Conference, one of the larger venture competitions in Washington State. In 2010 Tim was recognized as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in Services for the Pacific Northwest.
Tim holds a BA in Economics, magna cum laude, from the University of Washington and an MBA in Marketing & Finance from the Booth Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago. He is listed as a “Notable Alumnus” on websites associated with both institutions and was named the 2016 Distinguished Alumnus in Economics at the University of Washington. Tim and his wife Christi have three children and live in Leavenworth, WA. Tim is an avid hiker, mountain biker and skier and a big fan of football and soccer.
Brett Verkaik
Brett
Verkaik
West Highland Capital, CIO
Brett brings deep agricultural industry expertise to the team and a proven ability to identify, refine, and scale ag-tech focused companies.
Brett is the founding partner of The Standard Market a Chicago based upscale “groceraunt” with over 200 employees. He is also a partner at West Highland Capital where he has lead investments across all asset classes.
Prior to that, Brett was the National Sales & Merchandising Director for WM. Bolthouse Farms. He earned his MBA from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management and his B.A. at Calvin University.
Operating Partners
Jay Black
Jay
Black
Founder, Honos Capital
Jay Black currently serves on the Supply Chain and Procurement Operations team at WaterStreet Healthcare Partners and is the founder of Honos Capital, a mission focused consulting and advisory firm.
Jay has over 15 years of value creation experience working extensively with private equity firms and portfolio companies. Having held leadership roles in management consulting and group purchasing organizations in both the US and Europe, Jay brings a deep background in business development, supply chain, and operations. He is married to Catherine, and they have two children in Nashville.
Myers Dupuy
Myers
Dupuy
Founder, Scratch Advisors
Myers Dupuy is a seasoned startup executive who specializes in not specializing. Over a 30 year career, Myers has held C-Suite roles across the entire range of functional roles of a growing business, including Product, Sales, Finance, Technology, Operations and Leadership. Myers also has a deep background in Fintech product development, and 0-1 product development.
Currently he is an independent consultant helping CEOs and executive teams solve growth problems such as strategic alignment, communications, cross-functional efficiency, scale, tech stack, team structure, executive mentoring.
Brandon Hendrix
Brandon
Hendrix
Founder & CEO, Cross Connect
Brandon Hendrix is a serial entrepreneur, operator, and investor who has spent his career building companies at both extraordinary heights and humbling depths. He has founded and scaled multiple businesses across consumer, technology, and brand-driven industries. He knows firsthand the exhilaration of momentum and the weight of rebuilding. Those seasons shaped not only his operating instincts, but his understanding of identity, resilience, and what truly endures.
As a member of the founding team and former Chief Marketing Officer of Thrasio, Brandon helped build one of the fastest-growing consumer companies in history. At its peak, Thrasio was valued at nearly $10 billion, pioneering a new model for acquiring and scaling digital-native brands. He built and led brand strategy, performance marketing, and scalable growth systems across a broad portfolio — gaining deep experience in what it takes to build, finance, and operate at institutional scale.
Beyond his own ventures, Brandon has advised and partnered with high-growth consumer brands including Lovepop, Warby Parker, Away, CrowdHealth, Quip, Glossier, and multiple Shark Tank companies — helping founders clarify positioning, accelerate demand, and build durable growth engines.
He has also experienced the realities that come with hypergrowth: organizational complexity, capital pressure, leadership strain, and the subtle ways success can become entangled with self-worth. That chapter sharpened his ability to scale and clarified his priorities.
Today, Brandon is motivated not simply by building large companies, but by helping founders build real, profitable, enduring businesses without losing themselves in the process. He believes sustainable growth requires disciplined execution and grounded identity and that ambition should never come at the expense of family, faith, or personal well-being.
Brandon lives in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina with his wife Payson and their two children. He is a student of leadership, fascinated by how people grow under pressure, and increasingly convinced that the most meaningful compounding in life happens internally long before it ever shows up on a cap table.
Scott Toney
Scott
Toney
Advisor, Toney & Associates
Scott is a serial entrepreneur and advisor. He has built, scaled and led three successful exits as CEO across various technology spaces. The latest being Camstar, a B2B enterprise software company, which was acquired by Siemens. Scott has most recently advised companies in the SaaS space for both B2B and B2C markets, to include ed-tech learning platforms, revenue operations, social media, machine automation and medical software spaces- each with unique and differing business challenges, GTM models and value propositions.
Scott is a graduate of Georgia Tech and began his career with ten years at Procter and Gamble serving and leading in six different roles during that time before transitioning to leading and building software companies. Scott mentors a number of technology founders and is actively involved in helping them build their companies to achieve their personal and professional goals. He is married to Carla and they have three married children, all living in Charleston, SC. He spends most of his time learning and teaching.
Scott Weiss
Scott
Weiss
Former CEO, Evenflo
Scott was the founding CEO of OCEAN Accelerator which has grown into a multi-dimensional entrepreneur training program attracting high-tech and main-street start-ups from around the world. He is passionate about equipping founders with commercial skills, preparing them to mitigate isolation, and readying them to create culture.
Prior to that, Scott served as CEO of The Evenflo Company and led the successful turnaround and sale of the business in three different global transactions. He also served as Managing Director or President for Foster’s Wine Estates Americas; for four separate Clorox Company divisions including Brita Products, Asia Middle East (Hong Kong), Clorox Canada, and Hidden Valley Ranch; and for Bristol Myers Pty. Ltd. (Australia).
Scott spent half his career living and leading businesses in the Pacific Rim. He now serves as a Director at InLine Plastics Corp, The Garage Group, and OCEAN Programs. He has been married to Charla for 42 years, and they have three adult children. He is an avid bicyclist and ready participant in mission trips that promote entrepreneurial activity. Scott holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BA from Indiana University.
Carolyn Wilson
Carolyn
Wilson
Former COO, UChicago Medical Center
Carolyn was most recently the COO at Beaumont Health, Michigan’s largest health care system. In this role, Wilson oversaw all operations for Beaumont Health, its eight hospitals, pharmacy and laboratory.
Wilson came to Beaumont in 2016 from Fairview Health Services in Minneapolis, where she served as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Before joining Fairview, she held a series of increasingly responsible positions at the University of Chicago and University of Chicago Medical Center from 1998-2011, including UCMC chief operating officer and associate dean; vice president for faculty practice administration; chief operating officer for the University of Chicago Practice Plan; and director of managed care operations.
Wilson has served on the Metro Governing Council of the American Hospital Association and on the Vizient AMC Affinity Board of Managers. She has been frequently recognized as a “hospital and health system leader to know” and as a “woman health care leader to know” by Becker’s Hospital Review.
Wilson earned her Master of Business Administration from Benedictine University, a bachelor of science in Nursing at Rush University and a nursing diploma from Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids.