You don’t have to burn yourself out to build a successful business.

I learned that the hard way.

On paper, everything looked great.
✔ Built three businesses to $200M in revenue
✔ Bootstrapped a service business to $25M with 25 people in five years
✔ Scaled a VC-backed tech company to $28M ARR in under two years with just 12 people
✔ Made a double-sided consumer marketplace profitable in three months with a five-person team
✔ Raised $30M in venture capital

But behind the scenes, I was exhausted, constantly putting out fires, and convinced the business would fall apart if I stepped away.

So I pushed harder, thinking that was the only way.

Then life forced me to stop.

I ran headfirst into a glass window. A concussion took me out for eight weeks. No emails, no meetings, no problem-solving. For the first time, I couldn’t step in to fix things.

And when I came back, I was shocked. The business hadn’t just survived. It had thrived.

That moment forced me to question everything.

I always thought the key to scaling was working harder and building better systems. And systems did help. But what really made the difference wasn’t the business. It was me.

I had built a company that depended on me, not because it had to, but because I didn’t know how to let go. I believed that stepping back meant losing control. That if I wasn’t involved in everything, things would fall apart.

That belief had to change.

Learning to trust my team, step back, and stop being the bottleneck wasn’t easy. But once I did, everything changed.

The systems worked because I let them. My team thrived because I gave them space. And the business grew faster than ever, not because I was in every decision, but because I wasn’t.

Now, I help founders do the same.

Most founders come to me because they feel stuck. They’re scaling, but at the cost of their time, health, and freedom. It doesn’t have to be that way.

If you’re ready to build a business that grows without you being in the weeds, join me for daily insights on scaling, leadership, and personal growth.

Let’s get started.
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Let’s connect:
Email: hello@christinecarrillo.com
Twitter: @ChristineCarril

Christine Carrillo

• Took a professional career break to explore entrepreneurship by co-founding consulting firm
• Consult for startup CEOs/CFOs on corporate strategy and financial strategies, developed pitch decks, models, and fundraising scripts for raising angel and venture capital funding
• Provide fundraising feedback to emerging fund managers on fundraising pitch deck and strategy, including investment thesis and strategy, competitive advantage, and target investors
• Coached and trained 100+ leaders at firms like EY, UBS, and Morgan Stanley on leadership, career development, emotional intelligence, and wellbeing skills.

Co-Founder & Director of Investor Relations

Illumen Capital

Invested 90% of capital into 10 impact-driven venture capital, growth equity, and private equity funds representing 190+ technology startups, driving top fund performance in the private capital markets industry.  

• Investing: Led portfolio construction, sourcing, screening, due diligence, terms negotiation, and monitoring processes for venture, growth equity, and private equity funds aligning with ESG and market returns criteria.  Evaluated over 1,000 funds and conducted due diligence on multiple fund managers simultaneously across EdTech, HealthTech, FinTech, and Clean Energy/Sustainability Tech verticals to reach above market rate returns and portfolio balance.

• Corporate Development and Investor Relations:  Grew AUM by 193% by pitching investment thesis, allocations, and performance KPIs in partnership with fundraising team.  Worked directly with MD to write Private Placement Memorandum, pitch documents, and models for $170M Fund II raise.  Created and presented board update decks for board and LPs; took board and board observer (LPAC) setas for funds in our portfolio.

Director of Technology Investments

VP of Technology Investments

Jefferies

Executed $1Bn in private placement, M&A, IPO, and buyout transactions for Technology Company executives. Provided strategic intelligence and capital market insights to CEOs and CFOs on corporate strategy, corporate finance, and exits.  Advised private equity and growth equity firms on capital raises and investments.

• Fundraising: Developed pitch deck, financial model, and data room to market AI software startup to 100+ investors for $150M Series C raise. Prepared CEO to communicate market dynamics, company’s product offerings, positioning, and financial results on roadshow to Silicon Valley investors.

• Corporate Development: Led high-performing teams to execute complex financings and deals for technology company CEOs and CFOs.  Successfully led teams to execute multiple transactions through all phases of deals, including sourcing, due diligence, financial modeling, and execution, exceeding expectations in timeline.

• Corporate Strategy: Provided strategic counsel to clients across verticals (software, internet, AI, AR/VR, and autonomous driving) on financings, investments, and exits in the U.S. and Asia. Created management presentations to advise C-Suite and Board members, including market trends, industry positioning, competitive landscape, and valuation analysis for private and public companies.

• Leadership Development: Demonstrated leadership in managing cross-functional teams and mentoring junior staff, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment.

Technology Investment Banking Associate

NYU Stern School of Business

Triple Major in Finance, Banking, and Entrepreneurship
NYU Social Sector Leadership, Consortium, Forte, MLT, and Robert Toigo Fellow

NYU Impact Investing Fund Associate, selected as 1 of 15 students to launch seed fund across NYU
Michael Price Student Investment Fund: Selected to invest in growth stocks for $2M student fund

NYU Stern Full Time MBA Student / Graduate

Training The Street

Taught accounting, finance, and financial modeling to investment banking classes at top banks, enabling 100% graduation rates.

Associate Instructor

J.P. Morgan

• Provided equity investment analysis and recommendations for small and mid cap bank stocks under #1 ranked team by Institutional Investor for 8 years in a row.  
• Assessed economic, sector, and company performances to write six deep dive and annual outlook report for investors.

Equity Research Fall and Spring Associate

Deutsche Bank

• Executed financings, IPOs, and M&A deals representing ~$4BN in issuance across FinTech, insurance, bank, asset management, chemicals, and power companies.

Investment Banking Summer Associate

FHI 360

Led Corporate Strategy and Development as well as Impact Investing and Innovation for healthcare agency and venture fund.

• Corporate Strategy: Fueled the growth of FHI 360 by leading 30+ cross-functional corporate strategy initiatives and development projects for the CEO and Board.  Partnered with the C-Suite and 8 Business Unit leaders to operationalize the strategies and deliver 97% of projects on time and budget.

• Corporate Venture and Innovation: Structured and launched the organization's first corporate venture fund, leading to 20+ investments, doubling fund size, and spun out to a standalone fund called FHI Ventures.  Launched 21+ initiatives, including an accelerator lab to instill a culture of innovation, secured funding by building business case and demonstrating ROI.

• Corporate Development: Identified $75 in expansion opportunities by profiling top funders and 30+ competitors, proposing 9 new business lines.  Analyzed $40M in investments to determine ROI  and recommend optimal strategy to the Board.

Project Manager, Corporate Strategy and Development, CEO's Office

Poster-Merger Integration and Strategic Planning:

Corporate Development: Led the seamless integration of FHI & AED,  doubling the size of the organization to an industry-leading $650M in revenue and 4,000+ staff globally through leading 80+ projects ($12M value) as a member of the TMO group. Developed corporate dashboard and quarterly report to track performance of the 80+ projects and $40M+ in strategic investments.

Project Analyst and Fellow, Transformation Management Office

Partnered with CTOs to create multi-million-dollar enterprise software technology products, boosting client cost savings and maximizing technology efficiencies.  

Corporate Strategy: Facilitated senior stakeholders across 15 departments and led an implementation project for a CIO to design business rules for unified enterprise payment system, replaced 30 legacy systems and drove a 35% ROI.

Leadership and Product Management: Directed and trained an 8 member team to deploy a custom $150M CRM software solution we designed and developed, exceeding operational delivery targets by 200%.  Designed, developed, tested, and deployed customer relationship management, enterprise payment, and data quality software solutions valued at over $100M each across external client sites.

Corporate Citizenship: Developed community service partnerships with organizations like the IFC and Dress for Success for IBM’s CSR department to advance workforce and small business development for underserved communities in Washington, DC, engaging 100+ employees annually and 50+ small businesses.

Consultant, Strategy & Transformation

Columbia Business School

Advised Columbia Business School MBA students on career and leadership development resources to enhance their job search.  Researched private companies and nonprofits to report industry trends in monthly newsletter.

Skills: Leadership Development Coaching · Career Counseling · Stakeholder Management · Communication · Project Management · Leadership · Relationship Management · Advising Clients

Assistant Manager, Business School Career Management Center

Heran Getachew is an investment professional with over 15 years of experience spanning alternative investments, corporate strategy and development, capital markets, and investment banking.  Heran has a proven track record of engaging institutional investors, leading high-performing teams, and partnering with C-Suite leaders to exceed goals and drive growth.  

Expertise in:
- Private Markets Investing and Investor Relations: Led investments into 200+ tech startups, venture capital, growth equity, and private equity funds, achieving top fund performance.  Co-launched and scaled two funds, including a healthcare corporate venture fund (FHI Ventures) and an ESG private equity fund (Illumen Capital), resulting in 2X growth in both fund sizes (AUM).  Supported IR team with $200M+ fundraise through product development, pitching investment thesis, creating of marketing materials, and answering due diligence questions from 100+ LPs.

- Corporate Strategy: Engaged diverse stakeholders to deliver complex strategic initiatives, conduct market research, and identify growth opportunities for companies.  Led 30+ corporate strategy and innovation initiatives for the CEO's office of Family Health International (FHI) 360, which led to the launch of 10+ new strategy programs, a corporate venture fund (FHI Ventures), and a successful post-merger integration, resulting in the doubling of the healthcare agency's revenue to $650M and staff to 4,000 in 60 countries. 

- Corporate Development:  Led over over $1Bn in financing deals from private placements to M&A, IPO, and buyout deals for the CEOs and CFO of growth stage privately and publicly held technology companies as a technology investment banker at Jefferies.  Analyzed ROI of $42M in strategic and venture investments to recommend optimal investment strategy to the CEO and Board as a corporate strategy and development manager at FHI 360.

- Leadership Development: Managed and mentored high performing teams at IBM, FHI 360, Jefferies, and Illumen Capital.  Provided guidance, and performance feedback to support long-term career growth. Utilized psychology, neuroscience, and mindfulness to coach 100+ investors and founders in tech and finance industries on leadership, career development, and wellbeing skills.

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