About Malika

I've sat on every side of the table in tech: the engineer shipping code, the VC writing checks, and now the operator building a company from zero. That range is what I help people navigate. I came to the US on a State Department scholarship and studied computer science and economics at the University of Chicago. I started out as a software engineer at Google - first on Search Infrastructure, then Chronicle Security, and finally on Spanner, the database that keeps Google globally consistent at planetary scale. I loved building, but I kept getting pulled toward a different question: which things get built, and why. That led me to Stanford GSB, where I co-led the VC Club and went deep on early-stage investing through my part time at Greylock. From there I joined Andreessen Horowitz as a partner on the AI infrastructure team, backing founders from seed through Series B. Today I'm Head of Product and a founding team member at a stealth, tier-1-backed AI neolab. I went from evaluating startups to now building one, hiring, shipping product, standing up security and compute infrastructure, and finding out firsthand what the founders I used to fund were actually living through. Here's why that matters for you. If you're trying to break into tech or pivot between engineering, product, and investing, I've made each of those jumps myself and evaluated thousands of people making the same ones. If you're applying to business school, I went through the HSB and GSB process and can help you tell a story that's specific and memorable. And if you're a founder, I've funded founders and now I joined one so I can pressure-test your pitch, fundraise, and product the way an investor actually evaluates them. I'm direct, concrete, and allergic to generic advice. If you want someone who'll tell you what's actually working rather than platitudes, let's talk.