Mary Lemmer is an entrepreneur, recovering venture capitalist, philanthropist, writer and improv comedian. She started her first company at age 14, did early stage VC, was a Director at a Silicon Valley unicorn, published a book, and started doing improv comedy to help her as an entrepreneurial leader with loads of anxiety. She now leads applied improvisation sessions for small startups to Fortune 500 companies and universities, including the University of Michigan, SAP, TechStars, CBSi, R/GA, Silicon Valley Bank, 500 Startups, among others. She has performed improv and comedy all over the country, including at Gilda Radner’s Laughfest, The Punch Line in San Francisco, and the Lady Laughs Comedy Festival.

She has helped dozens of companies, including Plenty, Ozlo (Acquired by Facebook), True Link Financial (YC S13) and Fixed (YC S14, Acquired by Lawgix), and other ventures with growth, marketing, business development, fundraising strategy, and culture. Previously, she was a Director at SoFi, a multibillion dollar online lender, where she led a marketing team, built out the business development team, and ran SoFi’s entrepreneur program and investments in startups. Prior to SoFi, she worked at RPM Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm, concentrating on investments in online marketplaces, e-commerce, and automotive IT.

Mary is the author of "Straight From the Investor's Mouth: 111 Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs", the founder of Improv4, a collective of improvisers applying improv techniques and philosophy to train business leaders, and the founder of Iorio Gelato, a gelato producer and retail cafes she started as a teenager. She is a founding board member of a philanthropic fund that helps entrepreneurs make contributions to good causes they care about.

Mary graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor's in Business Administration, Minor in Environmental Science, and Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the College of Engineering. She also studied improv and comedy writing with some of the most talented people (and probably some future SNL cast members) at The Second City and The Annoyance in Chicago, Upright Citizen’s Brigade in NYC, EndGames Improv and Bay Area Theatre Sports in San Francisco, and among others. She has performed improv and comedy all over the country, including at Gilda Radner’s Laughfest, The Punch Line in San Francisco, and the Lady Laughs Comedy Festival.

When she’s not improvising, telling jokes, selling gelato, or helping a startup, she’s illustrating food puns and sharing them on Instagram @ProducePuns.