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Our Syndicate
Rough Diamond Capital is an angel investor syndicate managed by Sam Lee. Sam is an experienced investor, analyst, and business operator who has been a founder, co-founder, or key member of three different startups, two of which had successful exits. Through his diverse business experiences, he has accumulated vertical domain expertise in Consumer/Retail, Travel & Hospitality, and Business Services, and functional expertise across marketing, finance, strategy, and operations.
As a group, the other members of the syndicate each have decades of experience in starting, building, selling, and investing in companies across a wide range of sectors including enterprise software, video gaming, adtech, hospitality, fashion, manufacturing, and commercial real estate. They are amazing operators and entrepreneurs who wield a broad range of skills, deep domain knowledge, and vast global networks.
We are always looking to add great people who can add value to our team. If you are an accredited investor with operating or investing experience that is interested in joining our mission, please email us: sam@roughdiamondcap.com.
Prior to founding Rough Diamond Capital in 2017, Sam led the Research & Data Analytics team at L2 Inc., a digital intelligence and benchmarking firm acquired by Gartner in 2017. From 2010 to 2014, he worked as an equity research analyst on a top-ranked team first at Credit Suisse, and then at Evercore ISI. Prior to business school, he served as Vice President of Marketing for Oth Couture, a fashion startup that was acquired in 2007. From 2002 to 2005, Sam owned and operated Paragon Colorworks, a commercial printing services agency that was one of the leaders in transitioning the industry from analog to digital. Sam started his career as an investment banking analyst for the famed M&A boutique firm Wasserstein Perella & Co. (now part of Commerzbank).
Sam earned an MBA in Finance from the Kellogg School of Management and a BA in Economics from Stanford University.
Sam Lee
Founder & Managing Partner
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