Ben Bayat

Ben Bayat is the managing partner at NextGen Venture Partners. Prior to this, they were a partner at Illuminate Ventures, where they were focused on early stage VC investments in high-tech enterprises. Before Illuminate, Ben was the cofounder and COO of GuideRide, a peer-to-peer ridesharing mobile app connecting locals to tourists. Ben also has experience as a Sr. Manager of Engineering and Sales at IBM.

Ben Bayat received their MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business with a focus in finance and entrepreneurship. Ben also holds a BS from Case Western Reserve University in physics and electrical engineering.

Ben Bayat works with Chris Keller - Managing Partner, Corinne Smeriglio - Director of Operations, and Deborah Chu - Principal. Ben Bayat reports to Dan Mindus, Founder & Managing Partner.