hello! i’m samyr. 

samyr-qureshi

founder, advisor, investor, musician

on a mission to help others unlock their full potential.

uae-born, pakistani-american immigrant.

university of florida grad. prev. @ nielsen, apple, and gartner.

ceo / founder @ knack - $20m raised to build the leading p2p college tutoring platform.

gtm advisor @ atomic - $750m aum venture studio aka pixar of silicon valley (nyse: hims, openstore, exowatt, etc.).

venture partner @ deep acre + nextgen vp - backing emerging fund manager specialists, and exceptional founders .

fascinated by online-to-offline ventures, and those that help better humanity.

writing tiny checks to exceptional founders with grand visions, such as…

  • Wander: $150m raised from QED, Uncork, Redpoint, Fifth Wall, etc.

  • MagicSchool: $65m raised from Valor, Adobe, Bain, Smash, etc.

  • Primer: $20m raised from Khosla, Founders Fund, Village Global, Naval Ravikant, Sam Altman, etc.

  • Mentava: $3m raised from Quiet, Floodgate, Tim Ferriss, Eric Ries, Garry Tan, Balaji Srinivasan, etc.

  • BeatGig: $5m raised from HSBC COO and former Goldman Sachs CMO

  • Pickleheads: $3m raised from Kevin Durant, Overline, Ardent Venture Partners, etc.

  • Deep Acre Capital (LP): FoF focused on emerging fund managers and doubling down on their breakout companies

  • St. Pete Athletic: Paddle & Social Club in St. Pete, FL

  • PathPoint Energy: Led by industry veterans, with 50+ years of experience in the natural gas industry

  • Outbound.com: $2m raised from Mark Cuban, Tampa Bay Ventures, Collective Capital, etc.

  • RainAI: ~$40m raised from YC, Sam Altman, Soma Capital, etc.

  • Rollfi: Acquired by NASDAQ: PRTH, $2m raised from Launchpad Capital, Circle Ventures, etc.

  • Panther: Shutdown, $3m raised from Pareto Holdings, Tribe Capital, Carta Ventures, Eric Ries, etc.

some other things…

  • thiel foundation summit pitch competition winner (2015)

  • uf big idea competition winner (2016)

  • emerging tech leader of the year, tampa bay tech (2020)

  • forbes 30 under 30 (2020, education)

  • top 10 under 40, tampa magazine (2021)

  • 40 gators under 40, uf alumni association (2021)

  • 30 under 30, pi kappa phi (2021)

  • “It has been a real pleasure to work with Samyr since the very early days of the company. Samyr has that rare combination of strong founder instincts and a willingness to take and incorporate feedback from others without being whipsawed. I am proud and excited to work with him.”

    Charles Hudson

    Managing Partner, Precursor Ventures

  • “Samyr is smart, driven, and coachable. He constantly executes, working to build momentum quickly.”

    Anthony Pompliano

    Founder & CEO, Professional Capital Management

  • “Samyr is a relentless, growth-oriented founder -- leading a team that's shipping product far faster and at a much higher quality than most teams their size. I love working with Samyr.”

    Ryan Delk

    Founder & CEO, Primer

  • "Samyr has integrity, grit, and focus. He's also working on an important problem. What's not to love? Talented people gravitate towards Samyr. Each time I connect him with someone in my network he never ceases to impress with his intellect, insight, and eagerness to share. I'm grateful for befriending Samyr and honored to have earned his trust. I'm happy to do whatever is in my power to help him and Knack win."

    Julian Weisser

    Co-Founder & CEO, On Deck

  • "It’s been an incredible chance working with – and learning from – Samyr over the past few months. He’s provided me with priceless advice, ideas and feedback stemming from his own founder journey. He’s made himself available countless times to brainstorm and ideate on sales tactics, growth hacks, GTM motion – all in application to an industry he was less familiar with. His fresh perspective brought a lot of value to both my company’s and my own personal development. Looking forward to this continuous collaboration in the future!"

    Maxime Laharrague

    Founder & CEO, SONAR

  • "I met Samyr in San Francisco and was blown away by his maturity and thoughtfulness regarding product and marketplace dynamics. I'm incredibly impressed not only with the early organic traction. but also with his scrappiness, hustle, and willingness to learn. His coachability is coupled with a sharp product mindset and thoughtfulness around building a two-sided marketplace. I am eager to continue to work with Samyr and his team going forward."

    Adam Besvinick

    Managing Partner, Looking Glass Capital

  • "Samyr is one of the most steely determined startup entrepreneurs I've ever met. He is wise and savvy way beyond his years. He's always in it to win it and doesn't stop till he gets there - and does it with high integrity, consistent communication and respect for others along the way. It's a special talent and character combination you do not commonly find."

    Allen Clary

    Executive Director, USF Nault Center for Entrepreneurship

    Chair, TIGER 21

let's chat!

let's chat!