MISSION
I love to help people! I've had quite a fun path through life, and have lots of lessons and experience to share.
Sara Zervos
FOUNDER
Sara has a PhD in Economics and Finance, and is a highly accomplished founder, mentor and investor who's managed an impressive $20 billion portfolio. She has invested in companies around the world. Sara has founded successful ventures including Pao App Inc and BizzyChicks, and has worked in various industries such as the financial sector, World Bank, academia, and the International Monetary Fund.
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Sara is a valued mentor for Techstars and various companies and leaders, and has also served as a startup judge for CSU and Colorado Companies to Watch.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Founder
Global Investor
PhD
Mentor
Startup Judge
Board Member
MY STORY
Sara Zervos is co-founder of Pao App Inc, a company in travel and social marketing industry. At Pao, she has acted as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, leading capital raising, business planning, financial projections and legal matters. Sara is also responsible for data analytics, artificial intelligence endeavors, and selecting new technology platforms.
Sara mentors and consults for emerging leaders of new startups. She has actively mentored/ consulted for companies across industries as part of Boulder Techstars’ cohorts and early-to-mid stage companies across the U.S. Sara currently serves on the board of Treeline Cheese, a fast -growing vegan cheese company based out of New York. She also consults for the International Monetary Fund where she helps developing countries with grow their local capital markets.
She transitioned to the startup world after 20 years in the finance industry, where she most recently managed over $20 billion in international fixed income assets as Head of the Global Debt team at OppenheimerFunds. Sara also launched BizzyChicks, a venture aiming to improve financial literacy among young women and entice them into careers in the business world.
Previously she held emerging market portfolio management positions at three hedge funds, worked as a Senior Financial Economist at the World Bank, was an economist at Barclays Capital and WestLB, and was a finance professor at Brunel University in England.
Sara holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from the University of Rochester, and a B.A. in Economics from Arizona State University. She has held seats on the Federal Reserve’s sub-committee on Foreign Exchange, the UBS Research Advisory Board, and the Emerging Market Trading Association Board. Sara has been a contributing writer for Forbes.com and HuffingtonPost.com. She has traveled to 59 countries (and counting), loves the outdoors and spending time with her partner, her two children, two dogs, and three cats.