Patton Janssen

Education: Hotchkiss —> UCLA DMA + Art History (Grad. 2024)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patton-janssen/

Design portfolio: https://www.pattonjanssen.com/

Bio: Patton Janssen is a designer and business strategist based in California who bridges thoughtful design with human-centered innovation to inspire better living. He received a BA in Design and Media Arts with a minor in Art History from UCLA (2024).

Passionate about elevating everyday experiences through exceptional design, Patton's journey has taken him from luxury brands like Balenciaga to venture capital and innovation platforms, always seeking to understand how well-made, well-designed objects can create meaningful impact. Driven by a deep care for conserving craftsmanship while shepherding innovation, he approaches creativity with both artistic vision and strategic thinking that enhances how people live, work, and connect with the world around them.

Core competencies: Market research, business strategy, graphic and presentation design, client relationship management, sales, marketing, event planning, knowledge base management, investing

Software toolkit: Notion, Airtable (CRM), Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), Affinity (CRM), Mixmax (sales engagement), Google Workspace, Excel, PowerPoint, Harmonic (startup sourcing), AI tools (Claude, Perplexity, ChatGPT)

Work experiences:

[2025-now] Plug and Play LA: Currently serving as a Ventures Analyst. Interface with startups and corporate partners to surface innovation trends and address partner needs. Led end-to-end sourcing for CPG brand program with Shopline, vetting 800+ brands and onboarding 12 to the platform representing a projected $7.5M in annual GMV. Supported JETRO (Japanese External Trade Organization) AI-focused startup program, with two cohort companies raising a combined $3.7M following the program.
[2024-2025] Plug and Play LA: Began as a member of the Program Development & Corporate Partnerships team. Tripled partnership pipeline, generating 450+ new corporate contacts and 8 ongoing proposal collaborations. Facilitated Shopline accelerator partnership and co-executed Japanese Filmmakers program with JETRO, delivering two events with 300+ attendees each, featured in Variety magazine. Collaborated with stakeholders at Red Bull, Richemont, Yeti, and Under Armour on technology sourcing for new products.
[2023] Anthos Capital: Sourced and performed due diligence on early-stage venture capital deals for a $3B AUM fund focused on consumer categories, based in Santa Monica, CA. Uncovering and researching upwards of 100 startups weekly for investment potential. Companies sourced for investment include Mudstack ($4M Seed in 2024). Other companies presented for investment (but not invested in) included Graza (Seed in 2022 —> recent $240M valuation), Snif ($4.2M Seed in 2022 —> $7.36M Series A in 2024), Suri ($2M Seed in 2022 —> $6.2M Series A in 2024), Purple Dot ($1.38M Seed in 2020 —> $10M Series A in 2024), Voliro ($2.18M Seed in 2020 —> $12M Series A in 2024), BinSentry ($7.7M Series A in 2020 —> $15M Series B in 2024 —> $50M Series C in 2025), BoldVoice ($2.5M Seed in 2023 —> $21M Series A in 2026), Dirty Labs ($4M Seed in 2022 —> undisclosed raise in 2025), and Elorea ($2M Seed in 2022 —> $5M Seed+ in 2026)
[2022] Balenciaga: Interned on the Corporate Retail Training team, creating weekly presentations to elevate in-store experience and drive KPI growth across all 48 North American stores during a time of rapid expansion.
[2021-2024] UCLA Bruin Ventures: Ran marketing operations (new member and client facing) while sourcing and serving on consulting projects with clients such as Oura Ring, Poppi, Culture Pop Soda, RapidSOS, Casa Verde Capital, Hamilton Venture, and LvlUp Ventures