Cole Zucker

ZuVi Investments 

Joint family office focused on lower mid market private equity.

Managing Partner

Member - Santa Monica Chapter

Hey Hero Labs

Acquired by Sanctuary Ventures January 2022

Co-Founder

GREEN CREATIVE

Provides LED lighting products to North America.

Co-CEO & Co-Founder

Everbright Engineering

VP of Sales

I'm Cole, an entrepreneur with a running addiction. 

I am a Co-Managing Partner at Zuvi Investments, a joint family office dedicated to helping small businesses transition into established middle-market companies. 

Previously, I was the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of GREEN CREATIVE, a commercial-grade LED lighting company. My partner and I bootstrapped the business to over $60m in annual sales, successfully exiting to a PE fund. Our journey is chronicled in our book, “Flipping The Switch” (available now).

I was also a co-founder of Hey Hero Labs, a platform for personalized video content creation. The company was acquired by Sanctuary Ventures in 2022.

Outside of business, I'm driven by my passion for running. Having recently turned 40, I've achieved personal bests that surpass my times from 20 years ago. I'm always experimenting with new techniques and training methods to optimize performance and longevity.

Joint family office focused on low mid market private equity, angel investing, and real estate.

CEO at PRAY.COM

Steve is an American Entrepreneur, NCAA Champion, and the youngest advisor to the President of the United States to be appointed to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. 

Currently, Gatena is the Founder and CEO of PRAY.COM, the world’s #1 app for daily prayer and faith-based mental health content. 

Under his leadership, PRAY.COM has achieved unprecedented heights, becoming the highest-grossing religious app in history and recognized as Los Angeles’ best workplace. The company’s remarkable growth and influence has garnered numerous accolades, including Inc Magazine’s “Best in Business,” Fast Company’s “World Changing Ideas,” and recognition by Inc 5000 as the fastest growing faith-based media company in the US.

Gatena’s entrepreneurial journey began early. At age 22, he founded REP Interactive, which rapidly became America’s fastest-growing video marketing agency. REP Interactive earned over 100 industry awards for its work with global corporations and was recognized as one of America’s best workplaces. Building on this success, Gatena launched VideoFort, Hollywood’s largest stock footage supplier, providing critical content for blockbuster films such as “Transformers” and renowned television series including Discovery Channel’s “Planet Earth.”

In 2014, Gatena was honored at the United Nations as an “Entrepreneur of the Year.” Following this, he took the helm at Helinet in 2015, steering the global aerial surveillance and film production leader through challenging times, including the tragic loss of his mentor and business partner, Alan Purwin. This pivotal moment led Gatena to establish PRAY.COM, the digital destination for faith.

Recognized for his leadership, Steve has been awarded Los Angeles Times Executive of the Year, EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, and featured in CSQ Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Visionaries. The Healthcare Technology Report also honored him as one of the top 25 Consumer Health Tech Executives for his groundbreaking collaboration with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, bridging faith and mental health.

At just 34, Gatena was appointed by the 45th President of the United States to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, providing bipartisan guidance on critical economic and cybersecurity issues under both President Trump and President Biden.

Today, Gatena extends his influence through philanthropy, serving as a Board Member for Beyond the Brotherhood, a nonprofit committed to assisting Navy SEALs in their transition to meaningful civilian careers.

Steve Gatena

There was a 12-year-old boy whose temper ran hotter than he could control.

Trying to teach him, his father handed him a bag of nails and said, “Every time you lose your temper, hammer one nail into the fence.”

The boy shrugged… until a few days later when he had hammered 37 nails.

Each strike echoed his anger through the backyard.

But as days passed, something shifted.

The number dropped… twenty… ten… three…

And finally, a day came when he didn’t lose his temper at all.

Proud of himself, he ran to tell his father.

His father smiled and said, “Good. Now, for every day you hold your temper, pull out one nail.”

It took time, but eventually the boy returned and said, “Dad, they’re all gone.”

His father walked him to the fence, pointed, and said:

“You did well. But look at the holes.
These scars will never fully disappear.
That’s what angry words do.
You can say sorry, you can try to fix it but the mark remains.”

The boy stared at the fence.

And in that moment, he understood:
Harsh words don’t just hurt, they scar.

We’ve all heard,
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

But that’s not true.
Broken bones heal.
Words can linger, fester, and keep wounding long after they were spoken.

Scripture reminds us,
“The tongue has the power of life and death.” Proverbs 18:21

Every sentence you speak is a seed.
It grows something, either healing or hurt.

Let your words be grace, not nails.

Today, someone needs encouragement.

Someone needs gentleness.
Someone needs patience.
Someone needs to know you care.

And you have the power to give it.

So before you speak, pause and ask:

“Am I about to leave a scar…
or plant something that heals?”

You can’t remove every nail you’ve hammered in the past.

But you can choose that from this day forward, your words will build, not break.

Choose gentleness.
Choose patience.
Choose words that bless.

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God sees what you don’t.

There was a painting in the Louvre that most visitors walked right past.

Not as famous as the Mona Lisa. Not as grand as The Wedding Feast at Cana. But it carried one of the most powerful lessons you will ever hear.

The painting was called Checkmate.

One man sits at a chessboard, face pale, defeated, trapped.

Across from him sits the devil, smiling in victory.

The message seems clear:
The game is over.
Checkmate.

Or so it looks.

Years ago, a chess grandmaster visited the Louvre while the painting was still on display.

He stopped and studied the board.

Everyone else moved on, but he didn’t.

He kept analyzing every piece, every angle.

Finally, he called out to the guide and said,
“Either modify the painting, or change the title.”

“Why?” the guide asked.

The grandmaster pointed to the board.
“Because the King has one more move.”

Maybe you know that feeling.

Trapped.
Out of options.
Convinced your story has reached the end.

You’ve done everything you know how to do. And defeat feels inevitable.

But just because it looks like the game is over doesn’t mean that it is.

God still has a move left, even when you cannot see it.

Think about Joseph, betrayed by his brothers and forgotten in prison.

Think about Daniel, lowered into a den of lions with no way out.

Think about Lazarus, four days in the tomb while everyone else had already started mourning.

Every one of their stories looked like checkmate.

But the King wasn’t finished.

God was still moving the pieces.

Maybe that’s where you are right now… standing in front of a scene that feels like defeat, convinced your story has ended.

You might not see the move yet.

You might not understand the strategy.

But you can trust the King who is still at the table.

So don’t walk away.
Don’t give up.
Don’t close the story before He’s done writing it.

Because no matter how hopeless the board looks, one truth remains:

The King always has one more move.

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The Battle

Cole Zucker

Steve Gatena

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The Battle

Cole Zucker

Steve Gatena

Followers

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Engagements

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Steve Gatena's LinkedIn Performance

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