Vas Daskalakis
5.0
(5)
Studied at New York University
Works at MFS Trade School
Successful clients at
Not currently taking new clients
About Vas
I built and scaled my own startup from scratch to acquisition—raising $2M+, growing teams to 150+, and >$1M in Revenue. My path zig-zagged from 80-hour weeks on Wall Street to raising capital for Nairobi startups; From scaling a social ed-tech startup, to doubling a U.S. Trade School’s revenues. Along the way, I've lived 6 years in Kenya, taken sabbaticals to digital nomad, disproven conventional career & lifestyle myths, and developed very unique perspectives on everything from burnout to stress management to how a fulfilling life, career, business can look different for everyone. My goal is to help you uncover the one that is best for you, even if it may not be clear yet. My passions include adventure travel, fun neurodivergent communities, and throwing away conventional startup advice to help entrepreneurs relax & build on their own terms.
Why do I coach?
As a second-generation Greek immigrant, I started my career with no networks, advantages, or mentors. It took me almost a decade to build everything I needed to achieve my dream life, and I built it myself. Thus, I'm passionate about advising others and sharing what I've learned from my unique life path.
Work Experience
President and COO
MFS Trade School
May 2023 - Present
Transformed a Technical Trade School by operationalizing new online infrastructure, launching new products, building sales & marketing teams from scratch, and scaling new lead funnels. After 1 year efforts have already doubled team size and grown revenues. MFS Trade School empowers workers to become entrepreneurs through vocational training, trade certifications, and business support for fire prevention services.
Founder/CEO
Africa AI
January 2020 - April 2023
Founded and grew an Impact Outsourcing Firm in East Africa from scratch to 228 employees and 700 freelancers, surpassing $1M in annual revenue with $2M in funds raised. Africa.ai offers dedicated, managed data labeling teams to U.S. startups & SME's ranging from hedge funds to machine learning startups. With a strong impact mission, africa.ai has the best cost-to-quality footprint in the market thanks to 100% team retention.
Growth manager
EIDU
November 2018 - February 2020
EIDU is an ECD learning application created to succeed in Kenya's toughest market conditions: Informal settlement schools. Responsibilities included: • Refining the Company’s business model in Kenya to focus on operational excellence (i.e. built out sales team, developed the incident manager role, managed field team & operations) • Finance & capital raise support, included building internal/external financial model, theory of change, website & business plan from scratch, and execution of corporate video • Process development and standardization related to producing data-driven insights, KPI tracking, field operations, bug reporting, and data collection
Investment Associate
I-Dev International
June 2017 - November 2018
Consulting, capital raise support & sell-side investment advisory (Series A to C) for high growth startups, SMEs, and corporates across emerging markets with a focus on East Africa. Responsibilities included: • Independently created and executed the ecosystem-building, CAPEX conference for young finance professionals, sold a $16,000 budget to external parties, and achieved >200 people in attendance • Created content, taught & led iHub Digital Traction Camp accelerator which teaches Investor Readiness, Modeling, & Growth Strategy to 30 Pan-African startups • Buy-side advisory for emerging market funds including pipeline mapping, fund structuring, fund management and in-depth field visits to conduct portfolio company due diligence
Finance Analyst
J.P. Morgan
May 2016 - April 2017
Leveraged Finance and Diversified Industries Coverage for clients with greater than $500 million in annual revenues. Responsibilities included: • Drive forward deal execution as the debt specialist by coordinating the due diligence process, drafting and finalizing offering materials and reviewing credit documentation at every stage of the transaction • Develop merger models for credit analysis and underwriting approval, with a focus on leverage levels and capital structure recommendations • Completed 20+ pitches and deal executions across industry verticals with an emphasis on technology, healthcare and industrials with experience in high yield and high-grade bonds, institutional term loans, and revolving credit facilities
Vas was also given offers to work at
IFC - International Finance
Education
New York University
Visiting Student, Corporate Finance
2014 - 2014
Warrington College of Business (Florida)
Bachelor’s Degree, Finance
2012 - 2016
Activities and societies: Competitive Policy Debate, Fencing, Honors Program, Center for Entrepreneurship Ambassador
5 Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
Vas has helped Leland clients get into Pariti