The rest of the 50 (in alphabetical order): Rachel Muzyczka, senior associate, DMG Ventures
Rachel Muzyczka joined DMG Ventures, the corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of UK-based media group Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), in April 2018 as a senior associate.
She came from VC fund Talis Capital, where she spent nearly two years, having started her career working in technology mergers and acquisitions at startup-focused finance advisory firm Hampleton Partners.
Manuel Lopo De Carvalho, chief executive of DMG Ventures, said: “Since joining 18 months ago, Rachel has been instrumental in building our young corporate venture function at DMGT. She has been involved in everything from origination through to investment structuring and ongoing portfolio management.
“Rachel was closely involved in the successful sale of DMG Ventures’ 30% stake in [real estate technology company] ZPG at a £2.1bn ($2.4m) valuation [to private equity firm Silver Lake Partners] and is now a board member on several of our investments, many of which she sourced independently.”
At DMG Ventures, Muzyczka manages multiple portfolio companies and conducts investment sourcing, structuring and reviewing the portfolio’s performance. Her board and observer positions include real estate investment platform Bricklane, online upmarket vintage fashion marketplace operator Cudoni, fixed-fee estate agent Yopa and on-demand laundry and dry-cleaning service Zipjet.
She prefers CVC over institutional VC for several reasons, saying: “I find CVC more interesting and rewarding than pure VC as it is not just about IRR (internal rate of return) and generating a financial return, but generating synergies with group companies or finding startups that are disrupting the corporate’s core business – so generating value that way too.
“I also enjoy working in the CVC [division] of a media company as we sometimes invest media-for-equity and so we can really offer strategic value to startups – marketing, advertising and media support – rather than just cash.”
However, she was also quick to point out the task at hand being in a nascent unit, adding: “DMG Ventures launched only six months before I joined so my biggest challenge has been building credibility and a brand in the market to explain our USP (unique selling proposition) to founders on how we can help them scale.”
Muzyczka holds a master of science in economic and international history from the London School of Economics and studied her undergraduate degree at Queen Mary University of London and Paris-Sorbonne University.
