Meet the Moderne Team.

Constance Freedman is the Founder and Managing Partner of Moderne Ventures and the Moderne Passport, an early-stage investment fund and industry immersion program that focuses on technologies like Enterprise SaaS, AI, Robotics, Deep Tech, Sustainability, Data and Digital Transaction Management and targets companies in and around the multi-trillion dollar industries of real estate, finance, insurance, and sustainability.

Founded in 2015, Moderne Ventures has invested in ~50 companies with additional equity stakes in ~150 Passport companies and actively partners with 1,500+ industry executives and corporations to help companies build strategic value and scale. Constance’s initial two funds have produced 5 IPOs and many successful acquisitions.  Constance is active on several company boards, past and present, including DocuSign [NASDAQ: DOCU], Porch [NASDAQ: PRCH], Homesnap (acquired by CoStar and now Homes.com), Equity Lifestyle Properties [NYSE:ELS] and ICON.

Prior to launching Moderne Ventures, Constance was the head of Strategic Investments at the National Association of Realtors where she launched and managed its venture fund, Second Century Ventures (SCV) in 2008, and founded its immersion program, REach, in 2013. Prior to joining SCV, Constance was an investor with Cue Ball, an early and growth stage investment fund focused on the information services and consumer sectors. Constance began her career spending 7 years in an operating capacity at technology start-ups Molecular (acquired by Isobar) and Account4.com (acquired by Lawson). Constance was a practicing real estate agent for three years prior to starting her career in technology and investing.

Constance has been the recipient of several prestigious awards including HousingWire’s Women of Influence, Crain’s Business 40 under 40, Crain’s Chicago Top Tech 50 (3x), Swanopoel’s Power 200 and Inman’s Top 101 in Real Estate. Constance is frequently an invited keynote speaker at nationally and internationally renowned venture industry, real estate and fintech conferences.

Constance is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), a Global Governing Trustee for the Urban Land Institute, and a Board Member for Illinois Venture Capital Association. She previously served on the Advisory Board for the National Venture Capital Association’s Corporate Venturing Group, was on the board of overseers for the non-profit, From the Top, the advisory panel for Fannie Mae’s Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge and is a member of the ULI Multifamily Platinum Council.

Constance earned a BS from Boston University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

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Wai Yee Cheng is a Managing Director and Head of Capital Formation and Investor Relations for Moderne Ventures. She is responsible for overseeing the firm’s investor partnerships and communications. Wai Yee works across all of Moderne’s ventures and growth equity strategies to deliver the firm’s capabilities and develop long-term partnerships with its investors globally.

Prior to joining Moderne, Wai Yee was an Executive Director at GCM Grosvenor and an Associate Director at PAAMCO Prisma, working with the largest institutional investors around the world. In addition, Wai Yee was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, managing multi-billion dollars for its Alternative Fixed Income and Private Credit portfolios. Wai Yee began her finance career with Goldman Sach’s FX sales and trading team.

Wai Yee is an active member of the Association of Asian American Investment Managers (AAAIM) and a CFA Charterholder. She previously served on the board for Chicago Scholars, a non-profit based in Chicago.

Wai Yee earned a BS in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

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Lila Trickle is Chief of Staff and Chief Communications Officer at Moderne Ventures. Lila oversees firm operations and strategic initiatives, and communications.

Most recently, Lila was the Senior Director of Marketing on the Executive Leadership team at IA Collaborative, a global design and innovation consultancy firm, where she led marketing and communications and created structures and processes to help the organization scale. Previously, she was VP of Corporate Communications in the Corporate Affairs and Reputation Management department at Edelman for over a decade where her roles included equal parts primary account lead, senior project manager and trusted advisor to the C-suite for Edelman’s global Fortune 500 clients.

A champion for women in business , Lila’s work has been recognized by Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas awards. Lila serves on the Executive Board at Friends of Prentice, an organization committed to funding the future of women’s healthcare in partnership with Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital.

Lila holds a BA in Marketing Communications & Journalism from Columbia College Chicago.

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Carolyn Kwon is the Head of Platform at Moderne Ventures and is responsible for the key operational activities of the Moderne Passport which include partnering with the firm’s Passport participants, logistics and event management, strategic guidance and the Moderne Network relationship management.

Prior to joining Moderne Ventures, Carolyn worked at LinkedIn on the Enterprise Talent Solutions team. She partnered directly with high-growth companies to develop and launch their corporate recruitment and marketing strategies.  Previously Carolyn held digital strategy positions with the Kraft Sports Group (the New England Patriots) and Bain & Company, Inc.

Carolyn received a BA in Sociology and Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies, summa cum laude, from Tufts University.

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Prior to joining the Moderne Ventures team as VP of Finance, Mark has held a variety of finance and accounting roles within the real estate and private equity sectors.

Mark most recently served as a Vice President with the Bank of New York Mellon's fund administration practice, serving a range of open-ended and closed-ended multi-billion dollar real estate and private equity funds. Prior to his time in fund administration, Mark worked in-house, overseeing the reporting and treasury management processes for a number of funds and joint ventures with Green Courte Partners. Mark has additionally worked in Deloitte and Touche's Chicago audit practice, serving both private and public clients, largely in the investment management, securities brokerage, technology, and private equity spaces.

Mark is also the founder of the Chicagoland Theatre Fund, an impact fund dedicated to supporting theatre and film projects with geographic focus in the Chicagoland metropolitan area. Mark is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and holds both a BS and an Master of Accounting Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Shared Work History. Prior to joining Moderne Ventures, Liza Benson and Constance Freedman served together on the UrbanBound Board while Liza was a Partner at StarVest Partners. Liza also served as a mentor for the Moderne Network, meeting with many of Moderne’s portfolio companies over 2+ years prior to joining Moderne Ventures in 2018.

Liza Benson is a Partner with Moderne Ventures and helps lead and manage investment activity with a particular focus on high-growth technology companies that can achieve rapid adoption and scale. Prior to Moderne, Liza was a Partner with StarVest Partners, focused on expansion stage B2B SaaS investments. Previously, Liza was a Managing Director of Highbridge Principals Strategies and invested primarily in online video, digital media, and marketing technologies and prior to that she was a Managing Director with Bear Stearns’ Constellation Growth Capital and an investment banker at Patricof & Co and First Union where she started her career.

Liza has been a board member or observer in more than a dozen companies, including Cxense [FRA:CXH], Widevine (sold to Google), Webify (sold to IBM), Siperian (sold to Informatica) and K12 [NYSE: LRN], Bench, Ceros, Transactis RAMP OpenSlate, Xignite, CrowdTwist, UrbanBound, EasyKnock, TaskEasy, Bend, Caribou, Tailorbird, and Kaiyo. She also led an investment in Capital IQ which was sold to McGraw-Hill.

Liza received a BA in Mathematical Economics, summa cum laude, from Colgate University.

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Shared Work History. Prior to joining Moderne Ventures, Sam Delisi was a mentor within the Moderne Network for more than 10 years.

Sam Delisi is an Operating Partner at Moderne Ventures. He was most recently the Global Head of Property Management Services for WeWork, setting up a third-party property management business. Sam has a 40-year career in property management leadership and commercial brokerage roles with Newmark Knight Frank, CBRE, Insignia ESG and U.S Equities Realty.

Highlights of Sam’s career include developing and leading CBRE’s Premier Property Platform focused on delivering experiential property management services to enhance the workplace for tenants and their employees. In that role Sam was responsible for thought leadership and tip of the spear sales. In two years, the team acquired more than 70 million square feet of new management and leasing assignments throughout the United States.

Sam led the CBRE property management regions of the US and Canada with more than 200 million square feet, over 1,500 employees and P&L responsibility totaling more than $200 million annually. Notable property management and leasing assignments that CBRE won under Sam’s leadership include the Sear Tower, 311 South Wacker Drive, the Renaissance Center, the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 3 Bryant Park, Chase Manhattan Plaza and the US Bank building in Seattle.

Sam led the Receivership/Distressed Property Management component of the CBRE’s national Restructuring Services group. He brings a broad range of real estate expertise to his Moderne Ventures Advisory role, including experience as a brokerage leader, consultant, tenant representative, leasing agent, and property manager. He has also leased or directed leasing for 33 properties in downtown Chicago. Man of these buildings are highlight recognizable landmarks including the Santa Fe Building, One Financial Place, 120 South LaSalle Street, the John Hancock building, and 311 South Wacker Drive.

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Rachel is Moderne’s Investor Relations Associate. She works closely with Moderne’s Head of Capital Formation & Investor Relations to support the firm's investor partnerships and communications.

Prior to joining Moderne, Rachel served as a Senior Investment Analyst at PlanPILOT, specializing in institutional investment consulting. In this position, Rachel managed several client relationships and played a key role in acquiring new business. She conducted in-depth financial research, led investment recommendations, and contributed to the firm’s thought leadership initiatives. Prior to PlanPILOT, Rachel gained M&A experience at Benchmark International evaluating potential acquisition targets as an analyst. She also worked briefly as a sales intern at Signature Lacrosse, a student-led startup in Tampa, FL.

Rachel received a BS in Economics, summa cum laude, from the University of Tampa and went on to earn an MS in Finance, summa cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago.

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Paige Evangelista is the Executive Assistant to Constance Freedman at Moderne Ventures.

Prior to joining Moderne Ventures, Paige worked as an Executive Assistant at Agman, a family-owned investment firm focused on real estate, hospitality, and insurance. She provided administrative and personal support to the firm’s CEO and Principals. Paige started her career as an Account Manager at Hengli America, supplying leading construction equipment manufacturers with hydraulic equipment.

Paige received her Bachelor of Business Administration and a minor in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Dylan Ketcham is a Principal at Moderne Ventures.

Prior to Moderne, Dylan was a founding team member and Vice President of the Emerging Fintech investment banking practice at Barclays. In this role, Dylan advised financial services and fintech clients on strategic actions, including M&A and capital raising. Preceding Barclays, Dylan worked in investment banking and strategy roles at HSBC and Credit Agricole.

Dylan holds a BS in Finance and Accounting from Elon University and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He also serves as an Advisory Board Member at the Doherty Center at Elon University.

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Nicole Weldon is the Director of Partnerships and Passport at Moderne Ventures, where she drives strategic business development for Moderne's portfolio and Passport companies.

Most recently, Nicole served as SVP of Strategic Accounts at RealtyAds, where she led sales and customer success, scaling operations to serve 550 million square feet of office space across 100 markets.

Previously, Nicole was an early employee at Truss, a venture-backed firm, and played a key role in its growth leading up to its acquisition by Avison Young. At Truss, she spearheaded the launch of their first market and closed over 250 leases, consistently earning top sales performer recognition. Post-acquisition, Nicole helped integrate Truss' innovative technology into Avison Young's operations.

Nicole started her career in commercial real estate brokerage, working with office tenants in downtown Chicago. Seeing the industry's need for better technology inspired Nicole’s move into venture.

With over a decade of experience in commercial real estate and venture, Nicole’s proven ability to drive revenue and build high-performing teams is grounded in her commitment to bringing technological innovation to Moderne’s core sectors.

Nicole earned a BS in Marketing, Sales and Social Entrepreneurial from Northern Illinois University.

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Theo Lim is a Senior Associate at Moderne Ventures who focuses on technology companies that are uncommonly scalable in real estate, finance, insurance, and sustainability.

Prior to Moderne, Theo was a consultant at Bain & Company, where he conducted due diligence on over $5B worth of assets in the Private Equity Group. He also worked with Fortune 500 clients in industrials, manufacturing, and B2B software on go-to-market strategy.

Prior to Bain & Company, Theo spent several years at the intersection of real estate and tech. Theo was a product manager at Buildout, a growth-stage SaaS marketing automation firm for commercial real estate brokers where he led the development of a new CRM product that boosted ARR growth by 20%. Theo also has five years’ experience developing commercial office, mixed-use, and multifamily real estate with CBRE and Swenson Builders. While at CBRE, he worked with multidisciplinary project teams to develop the 70-acre Microsoft Redmond Campus and the first ever Microsoft Treehouse offices. At Swenson, he worked on medium- to large- scale mixed-use and multifamily projects in the Bay Area, CA through design and entitlement.

Theo graduated with distinction from the full-time MBA program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. During his time at Booth, he received the Harry L. Davis Leadership Award for creativity, risk-taking, and commitment to the student body. He was a representative on the Graduate Student Council and led the Class of 2021’s COVID response team. Theo graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Civil Engineering and a minor in Urban Studies, where he co-led ASPIRE, the student real estate organization.

Theo is a mentor to low-income high school students and sits on the Associate Board for the Chinese American Service League (CASL) in Chicago. He is also an avid jazz pianist who performs with various groups around the city.

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Kelly Soljacich recently joined Moderne Ventures after working in commercial real estate Portfolio and Asset Management for over 23 years.  

Previously, as a Senior Vice President of Asset Management with LaSalle Investment, she initially oversaw a portfolio of assets across various funds and custom account clients before transitioning to Head of EST Innovation (Environmental, Social and Technology).  Her projects included vetting and evaluate hundreds of Proptech vendors, working with the sustainability group on innovative or technology focused sustainability initiatives as well as leading LaSalle’s partnership with the RedCross, Health and Wellness certifications and created and ran their Social Toolkit and programming. Mrs. Soljacich‘s professional responsibilities have covered multifamily, retail, office, medical office, student housing, showroom and industrial properties across the United States.  Mrs. Soljacich is also an active Board Member of the Red Cross of Illinois, as well as the Technology product council of ULI and advises several Woman’s professional and DEI groups.  

Prior to joining LaSalle in 2017, Mrs. Soljacich was employed by Deutsche Bank (DWS) in Chicago in both the Asset Management and Portfolio Management groups since 2007, and before that with Vornado (MMPI) and General Growth Properties (Brookfield) in similar roles.

Ahmad is an Investor at Moderne Ventures focusing on technology companies in and around real estate, fintech, insurance, and sustainability.

Prior to Moderne, Ahmad was a Director of Corporate Development & Investments at Matterport, a 3D spatial capture and digital twin company. In this role, he led inorganic growth strategy formulation, as well as managed M&A and venture investment processes. Prior to that, Ahmad was a Corporate Development Deal Lead at EPAM Systems, a global software engineering company. Preceding EPAM, Ahmad was an Investment Banker at Credit Suisse.

Ahmad holds a BS in Finance from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and an MBA from Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business.

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Lindsay Hyde is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Moderne Ventures. She works strategically with technology companies and members of the Moderne Network to source investments, build synergistic value between industry executives and the companies pushing new boundaries in our industries, and provides operating support to Moderne Portfolio companies.

Before joining Moderne, Lindsay was the co-founder and CEO of Baroo, a multifamily services company that provides services as amenities to leading class A multifamily owners and operators. Earlier in her career, Lindsay founded and served as the Executive Director of the international not-for-profit organization, Strong Women, Strong Girls and worked to drive innovation at both BlackRock and the Downtown Project. Lindsay also serves as a public company director at Monro (NASDAQ: MNRO).

Lindsay earned her BA, magna cum laude, and MBA from Harvard University.

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Brianna Bernhardt is the Passport Coordinator for Moderne Ventures. She works closely with the Head of Platform to execute Moderne Passport's marketing, events, and administration.

Prior to joining Moderne, Brianna created impactful marketing messages as the Assistant Marketing Manager for the Community Foundation of Utah, an investment institution advancing philanthropy and impact investing. Previously, Brianna directed Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute’s Skills Program, where she created events and content to connect entrepreneurs with learning resources. Brianna earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Utah, studying Creative Writing and Modern Dance.

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Matt Burns is a Senior Associate at Moderne Ventures focusing on high-growth technology companies across real estate, fintech, insurance and sustainability.

Before joining Moderne, Matt was a Senior Associate at Cleveland Avenue where he helped identify, evaluate, and scale emerging consumer tech companies and brands. Prior to that, Matt worked in investment banking at Robert W. Baird & Co., advising on both sell-side and buy-side M&A transactions. He began his career practicing law at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, specializing in mergers & acquisitions and investment funds.

Matt earned his B.S. in Business Administration, graduating magna cum laude from High Point University, and his J.D., graduating magna cum laude from Howard University School of Law.

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