Celebrating Claire Biernacki’s promotion to Partner
By Susan Lyne and Nisha Dua
When we were launching BBG Ventures, there was one thing we knew for sure: we wanted to be more than a source of capital to founders, backing them with the full force of the firm, not just a single partner. In the earliest days, that meant that every investment Nisha led also got Susan; and every investment Susan led also got Nisha. Soon after our first close, we hired an associate right out of Columbia Business School: Claire Biernacki. From the day she joined us, Claire impressed us with her desire to learn, to grow, to define her own investment focus and, ultimately, to lead. She has become an indispensable part of the investment team and we could not be happier to introduce her today as BBG Ventures’ newest Partner. Her work over the past five years has made our commitment of full-firm support that much stronger, and our team dynamics that much richer.
Claire joined us in 2020, just weeks before the world shut down for COVID. During business school, she approached her career exploration with the test-and-learn tactics of a founder — doing stints in both VC and early-stage operations. This included roles with our friends at Lerer Hippeau and at Studs, supporting a nascent pre-seed team in finance and operations. By the time she joined us, she had proactively built relationships with dozens of investors and founders who had worked with BBGV to better understand our working style — a reflection of the diligence, curiosity, and rigor that now define her work as an investor. Her background in investment banking and private equity gave her the analytical foundation to build independent conviction, and she’s since translated that into an impressive ability to bring clarity to complex early-stage investment decisions. Those early instincts have evolved into a confident and nuanced point of view that has made us better fund managers and a better firm.
Over the past five years, Claire has played a key role in over 20 investments — including companies like Max Home, Climatic Health (both of which she sourced and led), Topline Pro, Supercircle, Canela Media, Millie and Icon. As with any great investor, those roles have been multi-faceted — from helping companies build their financial models and supporting the development of fundraising narratives, to advising on M&A strategy and acting as a trusted board observer. Along the way, she has sharpened our focus on key sectors, most notably in healthcare and vertical AI; and provided trusted, hands-on support to founders, leveraging her growing network of operators and VCs. Internally, Claire is known for her work ethic, positive energy, desire to grow from feedback and bias towards action — qualities that have made her an indispensable contributor to firm strategy along with portfolio construction, hiring, and fundraising efforts.
Today, Claire is a recognized leader in the early-stage ecosystem and more than ready to step into her new role. Going forward, we are confident that she will help drive the next chapter of our growth. Addison, Carol and Daniella join us in congratulating Claire on this well-deserved promotion to Partner.
