Juan Sebastian De Vivo, PhD
Managing Partner
Sebastian’s interests center on social impact. He is particularly focused on implementing models that generate measurable returns and cut through the for-profit/non-profit and private/public dichotomies. He has fifteen years of experience in economic development, generating $29.5M in public funding for a variety of programs, including business development, workforce development, youth opportunities, and Veterans assistance. He has received commendations from Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City of LA for his work in business development and advocacy for Veterans. Since 2015, Sebastian has also collaborated with the Mayor’s Office for Economic Development to promote entrepreneurship among underserved populations throughout LA. His published studies include an overview and analysis of the Information Technology industry in Los Angeles in collaboration with Bixel Exchange, an upcoming analysis entitled “Access to Capital Among Minority-Owned Startups in Los Angeles”, and the publication of the first granular data source on Access to Capital among minority-owned small firms in Los Angeles.
Sebastian received his PhD in Classics from Stanford University, an MA in Cultural & Social Anthropology from Stanford University, and a BA magna cum laude in Liberal Studies from California State University, Los Angeles. His academic work has been published by Palgrave McMillan and the Stanford Archaeology Center. In addition, he has been awarded fellowships by the Getty Foundation, Getty Research Institute and New York University. He is a mentor with the SBDC Startup LAunch and the L.A. Chapter of StartOut, sits on the dealflow committee of the L.A. Chapter of Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs, and is assisting the Kapor Center on the Tech Done Right Challenge.
Melvin E. Rubio
Managing Partner
Mel’s focus is growth capital across industry verticals. He specializes in debt financing for minority-owned small businesses, implementing strategic plans to leverage debt for measured growth. He has extensive experience with loans from $100,000 to $5M+, developing trajectories to take companies from ‘survival’ mode to profitable, growing enterprises. Prior to founding List Ventures, Mel was a Business Consultant under a City of LA contract targeted at underserved entrepreneurs, looking at all aspects of operations and management. These included financial reporting, tax planning, IRS and FTB issues, capitalization, and other barriers to growth. Throughout his career, he has worked with firms in manufacturing, wholesaling, retail, entertainment, and organic food production, among others. He is bilingual English/Spanish, with additional business consulting experience in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, and Argentina.
Mel is a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles. He received a BA with honors in Business Management, Marketing Management & Research. He is currently a graduate of the Latino Business Action Network at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and designed the Future Entrepreneurs in LA (FENLA) program with the City of Los Angeles. Mel volunteers as a soccer coach for at-risk youth in East Los Angeles, and is currently collaborating with Acelera L.A. to develop a loan fund designed to target the needs of minority-owned small businesses through low-cost capital combined with AI-driven technical assistance.
Elianne Rodriguez
Managing Partner
Elianne Rodriguez is a serial entrepreneur with 15yrs of experience in small businesses, education and tech. Elianne believes entrepreneurship and technology are great disruptors to build accessible and equitable ecosystems. Elianne fosters community and designs culturally competent programming to connect diverse talent to opportunities that reflect the intersectionality of Los Angeles across racial, socioeconomic, gender, education, sexuality, and immigration status.
Elianne is currently LEEAF’s Technical Assistance Director at CalStateLA, a Managing Partner at LIST Ventures, and a Strategic Advisor for the LA SBDC Network where she supports tech startups, small businesses and community projects at large. Her collaborative work and commitment to recruit teams of diverse advisors and operators, has led to a successful launch of 20+ initiatives to serve communities of color. Through these initiatives she has served 5,000+ clients, launched 100+ businesses, and supported 12,000+ jobs. In her work, 200+ entrepreneurs have accessed over $40,000,000 in capital while growing program diversity 10% year over year, 80% referral rate, and 70% programmatic retention rate. Elianne serves on several advisory boards of grassroots organizations, small business collaboratives, educational institutions and tech advocacy groups. Elianne is a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles. She received a BS in Human Resource Management, Economics, & Anthropology.
Daniel C. Johnson
Managing Partner, Emeritus
Dan specializes in strategic planning and organizational design through effective management of financial and human capital. He is focused on all aspects of operational efficiencies, including resource management, team building, procurement, supply chain management, cost structures, and benchmarking. In addition, Dan has over ten years of experience in the real estate and energy sectors, specializing in pro forma analysis of investment properties and prospective development of wells for the sale and lease of oil and gas assets. Dan is passionate about small business development, founding workinnLA in San Pedro to incubate local firms serving the surrounding Port of LA community. Prior to List Ventures, Dan was engaged in program design and management of multiple programs in economic and workforce development, leveraging public funding to develop private-public partnerships focused on small business growth through business consultation and apprenticeship. Awarding agencies include the federal Department of Labor, the State of California, and the City and County of Los Angeles.
Dan is a graduate of Arizona State University, where he combined his interest in entrepreneurship and social impact by receiving a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies in Business & Justice Studies. He serves on the Review Committee of the Crail Johnson Foundation, whose mission is to promote the wellbeing of children in need through human and financial resources. He also participated in the development of OpenTech LA, an initiative funded by the US Department of Labor to develop pathways for at-risk youth into careers in tech through apprenticeship.