José Mejía
Merlin Partner
Location: Silicon Valley.
Focus Areas: Sourcing, Organization, Operations.
José co-founded Merlin4Ventures along with industry experts to use their breadth of leadership experiences helping grow companies that are transforming traditional verticals. As part of Merlin, he is a hands-on Operational and Executive coach, who joins businesses at the Board level contributing his expertise in Strategy, Business Development and Execution, as well as Talent and Compensation Management.
He has been involved in the launch of more that 10 startups worldwide and as a key member of the leadership teams in over 48 mergers & acquisitions valued between $20M to over $30B, all of which have given him unique perspectives in all the facets of the M&A process. José has also launched over 180 new products with each achieving $100M+ in sales.
José has tackled many significant operational problems during his career. He was a key leader of Ford 2000, the operational driver at the start-up Bay Networks, and President of Lucent Bell Lab’s Value Chain, Network Ops, and Installation Services, leading over 80k people across 70+ countries. Among his achievements are designing an automobile in 18 months vs 4 years, selling Ford‘s ABS (Antilock Braking System) and EEC (Electronic Engine Control) modules to Toyota (thought to be impossible), reducing $8B of inventory to $1.4B at Ford and $4.5B at Lucent to $700M, and transforming Lucent Bell Labs in bankruptcy by realizing more than $4B of cash and improving margins from 9% to 47% without a single new product.
He graduated from the University of Michigan where he earned a bachelor’s of science degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering. José also earned an MBA in Finance and Operations Research from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, as well as an honorary doctorate from the W.P. Carey Graduate School of Business at the Arizona State University.
José is the recipient of the “Ellis Island” Medal of Honor. The Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation named Jose “Engineer of the Year”. They were both awarded by the United States Congress to distinguished immigrants and scientists.
Jose founded an abandoned children’s foundation called Unamos.org in Venezuela in 2001, which helped over 30 thousand abandoned children from the streets and provided them with education; many are college graduates today.
Oliver Mejia
President and COO
Location: San Francisco, CA.
Focus Areas: Sourcing, Organization, Operations.
At the heart of my career is a passion for building purpose-driven tech products that make a positive impact on our lives.
I navigate challenges with a mix of measured urgency and a continuous growth mindset, ensuring swift adaptation and both impactful and measurable contributions. These core principles have not only prepared me to drive progress and take ownership but also to cultivate a positive team culture and build community.
I thrive on understanding and solving user challenges, ensuring the journey towards innovation is as fulfilling for the team as it is impactful for the users.
In crafting a vibrant, collaborative environment, I aim to bring out the best in everyone, creating a space where work feels both meaningful and fun.
Patrick Eibl
Head of European BD
Location: San Francisco, CA.
Focus Areas: Sourcing, Organization, Operations.
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Albert Schweitzer
A creative visionary who works out of Silicon Valley, helping national and international projects to the next level. 20 years of professional experience in IT, software, creative development, production, marketing and management.
Working with companies in Europe, the US and South America. Acquired a wide range of production experience with top international entertainment projects reaching a global audience, than boarded into development, management and consulting and built a valuable global network of contacts, including legal advisors, marketing, advertising and sales teams, consultants, entrepreneurs, investors, creative talent and engineers.
Open, clear minded, focused on success
Transformational value with validated customers
Large, competitive, significant current spend
Fully funded 18 month plan aligning BOD, management, and investor interests
Clean cap chart, rational pricing and terms
Telecommunications, Internet, Mobility
Automotive, Transportation
PHILOSOPHY
A THOUGHTFUL AND ITERATIVE PROCESS
- Engagement before investing → deep understanding of the business and what value we can add
- Clear Plan of Record → we build it with management → no surprises after close
- Alignment between board as well as management and investors → seamless execution
- Control syndicate → investor alignment → accelerated decision making
- Understanding of the Ecosystem → ability to accelerate growth with one round of funding
