Michael Palank

General Partner
Michael Palank

Michael Palank has been General Partner at MaC Venture Capital since its inception in January 2019. At MaC, Michael focuses on seed-stage consumer and enterprise startup investing across a number of sectors. Prior, he was General Partner at M Ventures, a Los Angeles and Bay Area based early-stage venture fund.

Michael was a member of the founding team of MACRO Media, a disruptive media company founded by Charles D. King and focused on the multicultural market where he led digital strategy and operations. Michael has six and a half years experience working both inside and alongside early-stage startups in the media and technology sector. He ran business development and became GM of TopFloor, a venture-backed e-commerce startup formed out of technology studio Science. Additionally, Michael has consulted with over two dozen startups aiding in business model development, financial modeling and early-stage fundraising strategy. Michael worked closely with LA-based media and events company BeautyCon on their initial seed round which included investments from Hearst, Raptor Group, CAA, Maker Studios (now with Disney) and Fullscreen (now with AT&T). Michael entered the LA tech ecosystem in 2012 as a new business consultant for Amplify, one of LA’s top incubators turned early-stage venture capital firms.

Prior to working in startups, Michael spent eight years working in media and entertainment, first as an agent trainee and agent at The William Morris Agency and then as Director of Business Development at Will Smith’s production company, Overbrook Entertainment.

Michael started his career as a financial analyst at the Chicago-based hedge fund Coghill Capital Management. He has degrees in finance, accounting and psychology from DePaul University where he graduated with honors in the top 5% of his class.

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Kottie and their two kids, Teddy and Lola.

Partner News

Insights and Coverage

Deic Power 100 List

Read More >>

How to Make Shipping to Grocery Warehouses and Distribution Centers a Success

Read More >>

Geospatial technology startup Nuview acquires Astraea to accelerate plans ‘years faster’ than imagined

Read More >>

Chef Robotics Hits 10M Meal Milestone in Under Two Years. The Secret? AI-Powered Robots Trained With Lots of Field Data

Read More >>

Chef Robotics eyes commercial kitchens with $14.75M raise

Read More >>

This Startup Aims to Rival SpaceX With Reusable Rockets

Read More >>

A New Global Perspective

Read More >>

Washington reusable rocket startup Stoke Space raises $100 million

Read More >>

Crate: Get Your (Online) Life in Order

Read More >>

VFX artists show that Hollywood can use AI to create, not exploit

Read More >>

Ex-Pinterest Staffer Launches AI App to Beat Pinterest, Raises $5 Million

Read More >>

Ox Launches Complimentary Productivity Assessment to Enhance Warehouse Efficiency

Read More >>

Avala Launches Platform For Ethical AI Deployment

Read More >>

Cyber Crusaders

Read More >>

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio Invests in NUVIEW’s LiDAR Satellite Constellation.

Read More >>

AWS announces startups selected for the AWS accelerator.

Read More >>

Nothing Ventured Podcast Primer – Michael Palank.

Read More >>

Nuview emerges from stealth with plans to map the Earth using lidar.

Read More >>

Ox Raises $12.6M to Pioneer Human Centered AI to Dramatically Improve Frontline Supply Chain Operations.

Read More >>

Real Estate Tech Company DwellWell Solves Every Homebuyer Need in One Place.

Read More >>

Portfolio construction trends and best practices with CEO Anubhav Srivastava.

Read More >>

Your Gen Z Co-Worker Is Hustling More Than You Think.

Read More >>

With a TikTok Ban on the Horizon, Zigazoo Is Working To Attract Teens.

Read More >>

Kid-focused short video app Zigazoo launches a TikTok competitor for Gen Z.

Read More >>

Wonder Dynamics puts a full-service CG character studio in a web platform.

Read More >>

WWE to partner with Zigazoo, the No. 1 Social Media App for Kids, in the weeks leading to WrestleMania 39!

Read More >>

Bill Gates’ Climate Investment Firm Is Backing This Reusable Rocket Startup.

Read More >>

Top 10 startups across 10 trending industries in 2022.

Read More >>

Buzz Solutions Announces $3.3 Million Round of Funding to Continue Safeguarding the World’s Energy Infrastructure

Read More >>

New York Power Authority Deploys AI Technology for Drone-captured Power Grid Safety Analysis

Read More >>

How One Young Entrepreneur Discovered A Way to Improve Supply Chain Logistics With Augmented Reality

Read More >>

MEDU takes in $4M to develop reusable personal protective equipment

Read More >>

Axiom taps Epsilon3 software platform for space station development

Read More >>

Meet the ex-Amazon satellite engineers wanting to disrupt hardware workflow

Read More >>

Moonbug Entertainment And Kids Social Platform Zigazoo Launch ‘Blippi’ NFT Collection

Read More >>

NBA Invests in Celebrity-Backed Kids’ Social Network Zigazoo

Read More >>

MaC Venture Capital Announces $203M Fund II After Strong Fund I Performance

Read More >>

Epsilon3 raises $15 million for space project management platform

Read More >>

Identity Verification API Eases Fraud Concerns in Africa’s Digital Space

Read More >>

Launching Xona’s Ravens: Commercial Satnav from LEO

Read More >>

Memorandum of Understanding signed by Hexagon | NovAtel and Xona Space Systems for development of assured precision PNT technology with new LEO constellation

Read More >>

Does a Toddler Need an NFT?

Read More >>

The Recent Resurgence of Dance-Based Fitness Is as Much About Catharsis as Cardio

Read More >>

Crypto universe: How a 13-year-old makes millions selling NFT art

Read More >>

Scoop: Zigazoo debuts kid-safe NFTs from Moonbug and Serena Williams

Read More >>

Pareto thinks it shouldn’t be so hard to collect lead-generation data

Read More >>

The Evolving Venture Stack – Episode 19 Podcast

Read More >>

Michael B. Jordan tapped Serena Ventures and MaC Venture Capital to award one Black-owned business $1 million. Meet the entrepreneurs who gave it their best pitch.

Read More >>

Epsilon3 lines up $2.8M seed round to modernize space and launch operations

Read More >>

Sequel Launches To Raise Standard of Women’s Consumer Products, Starting With A Patented Better Performing Tampon

Read More >>

Health And Wellness Platform Sequel Cofounded By Two Stanford Engineers Raises $5 Million

Read More >>

The 20 booming DTC companies to bet your career on in 2022, from Vuori to Harry’s

Read More >>

AI-powered VFX startup Wonder Dynamics raises $10M A round

Read More >>

Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy leads $65M funding round for Stoke Space’s reusable rockets

Read More >>

Tye Sheridan, Nikola Todorovic AI/VFX Startup Wonder Dynamics Raises $9M; Epic Games, Samsung Investors

Read More >>

Universal Music Group and Genies Announce Global Partnership to Develop Avatars and Wearable NFTs

Read More >>

The State of Tech & Culture: New Space

Read More >>

Want to glimpse our metaverse future? Theme parks are already on the case

Read More >>

The First Disney-Pixar Battle Arena Game Is Coming to Apple Arcade

Read More >>

The Psychology Behind Meeting Overload

Read More >>

Meta (Facebook) is buying Within, creators of the ‘Supernatural’ VR fitness app

Read More >>

MaC’s investment in Dance Church

Read More >>

Michael B. Jordan, Serena Ventures, MaC Venture Capital Partner To Give HBCU-Bred Founders A Chance To Win $1M

Read More >>

Dance Church raises $4.7M to get your bootie back on the (virtual) dance floor

Read More >>

Google’s provider of at-home Covid-19 tests is now a $3 billion company traded on Nasdaq

Read More >>

Xona Space Systems fully funds GPS-alternative demo mission

Read More >>

Stoke Space stakes its claim in the launch industry’s rush to fully reusable rockets

Read More >>

Physical stores go hybrid with micro-fulfillment centers

Read More >>

Social Media for Kids: Zigazoo is The Next Big Thing

Read More >>

Camila Cabello, Paris Hilton, and Priyanka Chopra Invest in Avatar Startup Genies

Read More >>

Business leaders can fuel the next generation of Black innovators and entrepreneurs. Here’s what it will take

Read More >>

Black, Latinx and female entrepreneurs are still ignored by most venture capitalists

Read More >>

Venture Diligence at the Seed Stage

Read More >>

Tik Tok for Tykes: The Social Streaming Company Driving The Next Evolution in Kids’ Media

Read More >>

A social media app that’s truly safe for kids? Celebrities bet on Zigazoo

Read More >>

Constructing a Venture Fund Portfolio Model

Read More >>

Closing on $110M, MaC VC is changing the face of venture capital

Read More >>

MaC Venture Capital Closes $110M Fund Aimed at Diverse Founders

Read More >>

MaC Venture Capital Raises Inaugural $110 Million Seed Fund

Read More >>

MaC Venture Capital Raises Its First Fund Of $110M To Invest In Seed-Stage Companies

Read More >>

MaC Venture Capital Raises a $110M Inaugural Fund to Invest in Visionary Tech Leaders Building the Future

Read More >>

Majority Black venture capital firm announces $110 million fund to invest in entrepreneurs of color

Read More >>

March Forth: Changing the Game in Venture Capital

Read More >>

MaC Venture Capital Raises a $110M Inaugural Fund to Invest in Founders Building the Future We Want to See

Read More >>

10 VCs say interactivity, regulation and independent creators will reshape digital media in 2021

Read More >>

The State of Tech & Culture: The Gaming Takeover

Read More >>

LA Venture Podcast features MaC VC General Partner, Mike Palank

Read More >>

Contact Michael Palank