Founder Directory
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Founders31
Known for these resultsRole35%Role is parsed from founder titles in yc.db. Known for 35% of these rows — the rest have no title at all, mostly 2019–2023. Those rows stay in the result and are counted as Unknown, never as No.Bio84%Bio coverage: 84% of these founders have a bio on their YC profile. Every bio-derived facet (ex-company, school, credentials, discipline) is Unknown for the rest.Ex-company23%Ex-company is matched from bios with employment context (ex-, formerly, worked at). 23% of these rows have at least one match.School35%School is matched from bios, case-sensitive for acronyms. 35% of these rows have at least one match.
- Francois Chollet@fcholletFounder · NdeaW26Industrials
- Mike Knoop@mikeknoopFounder · NdeaW26Industrials
- Philip AbelFounder/CTO · ClevaW24Fintech · Lagos
- Tolu Alabi@tolu_tols1Founder/CEO · ClevaW24Fintech · Lagos
- Divyagnan KandalaFounder · LinkGrepW23B2B · Jacksonville
- TJ KandalaFounder · LinkGrepW23B2B · Jacksonville
- Ambareesh BalajiFounder · HyperbeamW22B2B · Waterloo
- Philip ScottFounder · HyperbeamW22B2B · Waterloo
- David Tran@dtran320Founder · Flow ClubS21B2B · San Francisco
- Raffaele Colella@raf_colFounder · MindmeshS21B2B · Boston
- Ulysse MizrahiFounder · MindmeshS21B2B · Boston
- Curtis Fonger@CurtisFongerFounder · WhalesyncS21B2B · St. Petersburg
- Kevin Simons@ksimonsFounder · KitemakerW21B2B · Oslo
- Sigurd Seteklev@SigurdSeteklevFounder · KitemakerW21B2B · Oslo
- Christopher TrioloFounder · ModernLoopW21B2B · San Francisco
- Lydia Han@lydiajhanFounder · ModernLoopW21B2B · San Francisco
- Collin Pham@collinjphamFounder · StableW20B2B · New York
- Sarah AhmadFounder · StableW20B2B · New York
- David CottrellFounder · ZynqW20B2B · San Francisco
- Zerzar Bukhari@ZerzarBukhariFounder · ZynqW20B2B · San Francisco
FOUNDERROLEBATCHINDUSTRYLOCATIONTEAMX_url
Francois CholletNdeaFounderWinter 2026IndustrialsUnknown15https://x.com/fcholletMike KnoopNdeaFounderWinter 2026IndustrialsUnknown15https://x.com/mikeknoopPhilip AbelClevaFounder/CTOWinter 2024FintechLagos, Nigeria30—Tolu AlabiClevaFounder/CEOWinter 2024FintechLagos, Nigeria30https://x.com/tolu_tols1Divyagnan KandalaLinkGrepFounderWinter 2023B2BJacksonville, United States2—TJ KandalaLinkGrepFounderWinter 2023B2BJacksonville, United States2—Ambareesh BalajiHyperbeamFounderWinter 2022B2BWaterloo, Canada3—Philip ScottHyperbeamFounderWinter 2022B2BWaterloo, Canada3—David TranFlow Club2× YCFounderSummer 2021B2BSan Francisco, United States6https://x.com/dtran320Raffaele ColellaMindmeshFounderSummer 2021B2BBoston, United States7https://x.com/raf_colUlysse MizrahiMindmeshFounderSummer 2021B2BBoston, United States7—Curtis FongerWhalesyncFounderSummer 2021B2BSt. Petersburg, United States8https://x.com/CurtisFongerKevin SimonsKitemakerFounderWinter 2021B2BOslo, Norway5https://x.com/ksimonsSigurd SeteklevKitemakerFounderWinter 2021B2BOslo, Norway5https://x.com/SigurdSeteklevChristopher TrioloModernLoopFounderWinter 2021B2BSan Francisco, United States15—Lydia HanModernLoopFounderWinter 2021B2BSan Francisco, United States15https://x.com/lydiajhanCollin PhamStableFounderWinter 2020B2BNew York, United States30https://x.com/collinjphamSarah AhmadStableFounderWinter 2020B2BNew York, United States30—David CottrellZynqFounderWinter 2020B2BSan Francisco, United States7—Zerzar BukhariZynqFounderWinter 2020B2BSan Francisco, United States7https://x.com/ZerzarBukhari
Showing 1–20 of 31 founders
Tolu Alabi
Founder/CEO·Cleva
PRIMARY INFO
RoleFounder/CEO
Team size30
BatchWinter 2024
LocationLagos, Nigeria
Company statusActive
StageEarly
BIO
Tolu brings relevant experience from her time as a Lead Product Manager building Issuing and Banking products at Stripe. Prior to Stripe, she was a Senior PM at Amazon working on multiple products from Logistics to Augmented Reality. In addition, she has an MBA from Stanford GSB and a B.A in Computer Science and Mathematics from Grinnell College. Outside of work, she loves to play multiple sports (for now tennis and basketball). She's also a huge Lebron fan.
Ex-company, school and discipline below are derived from this bio. Nothing is inferred when the bio is missing.
BACKGROUND
CredentialsMBA
DisciplineEngineerKeyword match from the bio text, not a classifier.
TRACK RECORD
First YC company on record
COMPANY CONTEXT
ClevaUSD banking platform for Africa
Co-foundersPhilip Abel
