Rick Zullo
Investment committee @ Northwestern University
New York, United States
Rick Zullo is a Series A investor at Northwestern University in New York focused on Software and SaaS. Rick is a General Partner and Co-Founder of Equal Ventures, a thesis-driven, seed stage venture firm focused on bridging the digital divide. Currently on Board of Leap, Threeflow, SmartHop, David Energy, Starday Foods, Ghost, MVMNTPreviously on Board of ClearCover, Riskmatch, Benchprep, SnapsheetLightbank VC investments: Neumob, Catalytic,Expel, Vettery, Riskmatch, ClearCoverAngel investments: Project 44, WorkRise (fka Rigup)
- Total investments:
- 25
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 32%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Rick Zullo invests in
Stages Rick Zullo invests in
Countries Rick Zullo invests in
Investment Focus
Industry
- Software 7 (28%)
- SaaS 3 (12%)
- Internet 2 (8%)
- Analytics 2 (8%)
- Marketplace 2 (8%)
Stage
- Series A 9 (36%)
- Seed 8 (32%)
- Series B 3 (12%)
- Funding Round 3 (12%)
- Series C 1 (4%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Starday Foods
|
Starday Foods is a healthy and sustainable food products company. | $8M / Series A / Apr 08, 2025 | |
Leap
|
Leap enables brands to deploy modern, immersive retail stores that drive growth and acquire customers. By leveraging millions of data points and a platform strategy, Leap makes physical retail more productive and less risky for brands. Its platform also follows a technology-enabled approach and includes all aspects of store development andoperations, including physical space, staffing, and managing all technology infrastructure that helps consumer brands to grow and deepen their customer brand experience.The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in New York City. | $15M / May 24, 2023 | |
|
Leap
|
Leap enables brands to deploy modern, immersive retail stores that drive growth and acquire customers. By leveraging millions of data points and a platform strategy, Leap makes physical retail more productive and less risky for brands. Its platform also follows a technology-enabled approach and includes all aspects of store development andoperations, including physical space, staffing, and managing all technology infrastructure that helps consumer brands to grow and deepen their customer brand experience.The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in New York City. | $15M / Series C / May 24, 2023 | |
Odyssey
|
Odyssey is at the center of one of the biggest economic and climate opportunities of our lifetime: the clean energy transition in emerging markets, where aging/weak grids, favorable policies, and high diesel costs are making distributed renewable energy systems THE energy infrastructure of the future. Odyssey provides financiers and renewableenergy project developers with leading-edge technologies and a data-driven software platform to aggregate and scale investment in distributed renewable energy. (DRE)Odyssey is the only end-to-end platform to scale project development across all phases: planning, financing, procuring, and operating projects. Our solutions solve the key challenges facing the distributed renewable energy industry in emerging markets:Planning + Finance Solutions: Financiers lack the information to navigate the investment landscape in many countries that most need their support. By leveraging our network of 2000+ renewable energy companies, we are helping private and concessional financiers access projects that were previously inaccessible. We have $1.3 billion of financing for distributed renewable energy projects on the platform and a pipeline of more than US$785 million in active discussions with concessional and commercial financiers. We also offer advanced software tools to efficiently plan projects, aggregate portfolios and streamline diligence between developers and investors.Procurement Solutions: Smaller renewable energy companies can’t access economies of scale pricing and terms when buying equipment. By aggregating their orders and connecting them with financing that would otherwise be out of reach, we help developers access equipment more quickly, reliably, and at better prices.Monitoring & Control Solutions: As renewable energy companies scale their operations, ensuring they are performing reliably and optimally is a challenge. We offer hardware and software to make it easy to spot any issues, remotely control components, as well as provide data back to investors about portfolio performance in the form of customized dashboards for commercial, financial, operational, and impact metrics. | $15M / Series A / May 19, 2023 | |
|
Odyssey
|
Odyssey is at the center of one of the biggest economic and climate opportunities of our lifetime: the clean energy transition in emerging markets, where aging/weak grids, favorable policies, and high diesel costs are making distributed renewable energy systems THE energy infrastructure of the future. Odyssey provides financiers and renewableenergy project developers with leading-edge technologies and a data-driven software platform to aggregate and scale investment in distributed renewable energy. (DRE)Odyssey is the only end-to-end platform to scale project development across all phases: planning, financing, procuring, and operating projects. Our solutions solve the key challenges facing the distributed renewable energy industry in emerging markets:Planning + Finance Solutions: Financiers lack the information to navigate the investment landscape in many countries that most need their support. By leveraging our network of 2000+ renewable energy companies, we are helping private and concessional financiers access projects that were previously inaccessible. We have $1.3 billion of financing for distributed renewable energy projects on the platform and a pipeline of more than US$785 million in active discussions with concessional and commercial financiers. We also offer advanced software tools to efficiently plan projects, aggregate portfolios and streamline diligence between developers and investors.Procurement Solutions: Smaller renewable energy companies can’t access economies of scale pricing and terms when buying equipment. By aggregating their orders and connecting them with financing that would otherwise be out of reach, we help developers access equipment more quickly, reliably, and at better prices.Monitoring & Control Solutions: As renewable energy companies scale their operations, ensuring they are performing reliably and optimally is a challenge. We offer hardware and software to make it easy to spot any issues, remotely control components, as well as provide data back to investors about portfolio performance in the form of customized dashboards for commercial, financial, operational, and impact metrics. | $5.3M / Sep 08, 2022 | |
|
Odyssey
|
Odyssey is at the center of one of the biggest economic and climate opportunities of our lifetime: the clean energy transition in emerging markets, where aging/weak grids, favorable policies, and high diesel costs are making distributed renewable energy systems THE energy infrastructure of the future. Odyssey provides financiers and renewableenergy project developers with leading-edge technologies and a data-driven software platform to aggregate and scale investment in distributed renewable energy. (DRE)Odyssey is the only end-to-end platform to scale project development across all phases: planning, financing, procuring, and operating projects. Our solutions solve the key challenges facing the distributed renewable energy industry in emerging markets:Planning + Finance Solutions: Financiers lack the information to navigate the investment landscape in many countries that most need their support. By leveraging our network of 2000+ renewable energy companies, we are helping private and concessional financiers access projects that were previously inaccessible. We have $1.3 billion of financing for distributed renewable energy projects on the platform and a pipeline of more than US$785 million in active discussions with concessional and commercial financiers. We also offer advanced software tools to efficiently plan projects, aggregate portfolios and streamline diligence between developers and investors.Procurement Solutions: Smaller renewable energy companies can’t access economies of scale pricing and terms when buying equipment. By aggregating their orders and connecting them with financing that would otherwise be out of reach, we help developers access equipment more quickly, reliably, and at better prices.Monitoring & Control Solutions: As renewable energy companies scale their operations, ensuring they are performing reliably and optimally is a challenge. We offer hardware and software to make it easy to spot any issues, remotely control components, as well as provide data back to investors about portfolio performance in the form of customized dashboards for commercial, financial, operational, and impact metrics. | $5.3M / Seed / Sep 08, 2022 | |
SmartHop
|
SmartHop is a business-in-a-box platform that empowers small trucking companies and owner-operators to earn more while doing less. By using artificial intelligence to deliver smart load recommendations, full-service back-office support, and low-cost operational services, SmartHop enables customers to operate with better capabilities than theleading carriers. It transforms the way drivers make a living through the nation’s largest network for truckers.Founded in 2018, SmartHop is backed by Equal Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Greycroft, RyderVentures, and Las Olas VC. It is headquartered in Miami, Florida. | $30M / Series B / Apr 06, 2022 | |
David Energy
|
David Energy is an energy company that leverages advanced technology to transform the way electricity is consumed, managed, and traded. By integrating software and hardware solutions, David Energy aims to optimize energy usage, reduce costs, and increase the adoption of renewable energy sources. By focusing on smart energy management, renewableenergy integration, and market participation, David Energy is helping to shape a more sustainable and efficient energy future. | $20.5M / Series A / Mar 28, 2022 | |
|
Leap
|
Leap enables brands to deploy modern, immersive retail stores that drive growth and acquire customers. By leveraging millions of data points and a platform strategy, Leap makes physical retail more productive and less risky for brands. Its platform also follows a technology-enabled approach and includes all aspects of store development andoperations, including physical space, staffing, and managing all technology infrastructure that helps consumer brands to grow and deepen their customer brand experience.The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in New York City. | $50M / Jan 27, 2022 | |
|
Leap
|
Leap enables brands to deploy modern, immersive retail stores that drive growth and acquire customers. By leveraging millions of data points and a platform strategy, Leap makes physical retail more productive and less risky for brands. Its platform also follows a technology-enabled approach and includes all aspects of store development andoperations, including physical space, staffing, and managing all technology infrastructure that helps consumer brands to grow and deepen their customer brand experience.The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in New York City. | $50M / Series B / Dec 20, 2021 | |
| See all 25 investments → | |||
Co-Investors
About Northwestern University
For a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree from a school with history and prestige, look no further than Northwestern University, a Big Ten school located in Evanston, Illinois.Northwestern is a large school and features many different areas of study. Though the school is known for its strong arts programs, many students also enroll inscience, engineering, and medical fields.Programs include Biological Sciences, Computer Engineering, Drama, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Film and Media Studies, Integrated Marketing Communication, Journalism, Performance Studies, Sociology, and Theatre, as well as many others.Don’t allow the idea of tuition keep you from attending school. In the financial aid options, counselors can point you toward loans, grants, and work-study programs. There are also many scholarships to choose from including the Northwestern University Scholarship.The annual job fairs aren’t the only resource for students looking to find employment. There are also internship and job listings, as well as programs to explore majors and career options.If Evanston isn’t convenient to you, Northwestern also has a campus in Chicago and even a new satellite campus in Qatar for those studying overseas.As far as student life goes, NU is the place to be. Northwestern University has over 200 extracurricular groups for students be involved in their interests and socialize with others. There is also a museum, concert hall, cinema, and theater for daily entertainment, and a strong athletic program.
Northwestern University Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Aviv Nevo
Professor of Economics and Marketing
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Francesca Cornelli
Dean
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Jian Cao
Professor
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Paul Sagan
Life Trustee
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William Osborn
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
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FAQ
What does Rick Zullo invest in?
Rick Zullo invests primarily in Software, SaaS and Internet startups, most often at Series A and Seed stage. Most of the 25 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
When did Rick Zullo last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Rick Zullo closed in Apr 2025. Shizune tracks 25 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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