I help funds, family offices, and corporations run or co-run an emerging-technology fund, studio, or direct investment program: thesis, sourcing, diligence, portfolio, and spinouts. I work as a board member, venture partner, or mandate lead with real authority. The first call is thirty minutes.
Where the work was doneAmerican Family InsuranceThe AES CorporationConocoPhillipsRokk3rZOMMTraKid
$250M
Tenney 110 allocation I helped manage
$25M
Deployed across my career
4
Named companies spun out
30+
Countries across AES, ConocoPhillips, and Rokk3r
Selected work
The capital record first.
Capital mandates first, then the operating and founder work behind them.
01 · Corporate venture studioCapital mandate
Tenney 110
American Family Insurance Group
American Family set up Tenney 110 with $250 million to build, buy, and invest in companies for homeowners. I helped manage it, deployed $15 million through new companies, and held a voting seat on M&A and portfolio deals. I took over a team whose large pipeline was frozen, cleared all of it, started a new one, and rebuilt the team and its investment process.
$250MAllocation I helped manage
$15MDeployed building new companies
Voting seatM&A and portfolio investment
4Named companies spun out
The pipeline
~50Concepts explored a year
10–20Seeded a year, $100k–$250k each
~10Funded past seed a year
25Went to market with a product, in total
The four spinouts
Energy Raven
Home energy intelligence
AI energy analysis for homebuyers, sold through inspection firms: usage, upgrades that pay, and rebates.
Fixle
Home systems record
Scan a water heater or HVAC unit to keep its manual, recalls, and energy guide in one place.
Barkably
Pet-friendly rentals
Apartment listings for dog owners, with pet rules and neighborhood pet scores on each one.
Homestake
Shared-equity housing
Pairs homebuyers with passive investors to finance a first home with equity, not only a mortgage.
02 · Venture buildingRokk3r
Ventures built on enterprise advantage
Rokk3r · Head of Venture Building
Rokk3r builds technology businesses with corporations, entrepreneurs, and investors across the Americas. As Head of Venture Building, alongside Fuel Venture Capital ($250M+ fund), I took about 15 corporate-partner ventures through serious exploration, each built on the partner’s unfair advantage and aimed at a Series A or B.
~15corporate-partner ventures explored
03 · Enterprise programAES
From drones and robotics to AES Next
The AES Corporation
As Director of Drone and Robotic Solutions and then VP, I helped stand up the unit that became AES Next, AES’s pipeline for launching new innovations. I closed $515M+ in new business, delivered $25M+ in net value from internal technology programs, and accepted the CIO 100 award. I am also a licensed private pilot, so I know the airspace these systems fly in.
$515M+new business closed
250+technologies evaluated
17countries
04 · EnterpriseConocoPhillips
Emerging technology inside a supermajor
ConocoPhillips · Emerging Technologies Architect
I led emerging-technology initiatives across 50+ technologies, including drones, sensors, AR and heads-up displays, and metal 3D printing. I moved them out of the lab and into global business units, the same class of technology I later scaled at AES.
50+emerging technologies
Dronesand sensors
ARand heads-up displays
05 · ProductZOMM
The original wireless phone leash
ZOMM · Sold through Apple Stores
As named inventor, I led the technology behind a Bluetooth device that warned you when your phone was left behind and doubled as a personal safety tool.
Named inventorled the technology
Apple Storesnationwide retail
06 · Co-FounderTraKid
A kids’ game for zoos and amusement parks
TraKid Explorer Quest · Co-Founder
I co-founded and built this GPS wristband scavenger hunt for kids at zoos and amusement parks, then sold my equity stake to an investor who took over the company.
Co-Founderbuilt the company
Exitequity sold to an investor
The engagement
What you can brief internally.
Zac Penix is a seasoned builder on the capital side. He helped manage American Family’s $250 million Tenney 110 allocation, deployed $15 million, took 25 companies to market with a product, and held a voting seat on M&A and portfolio investment. Four companies spun out. He led venture building at Rokk3r alongside a $250M+ fund. At AES he helped stand up the unit that became AES Next and closed $515M+ in new business. He takes one or two mandates at a time. The first call is thirty minutes.
Run or co-run an emerging-technology fund, studio, or direct investment program. Set the thesis, source and diligence opportunities, shape the portfolio, and spin out companies that can stand on their own.
Who it is for
Funds and family offices with capital that needs a vehicle. Corporate development teams deciding whether to build, buy, or partner.
The seat
Board member, venture partner, or mandate lead. The role has to carry real authority over where the capital goes.
What I decline
Coaching retainers. Decks for their own sake. Innovation theater. Founder pitches. Work that needs a team I do not have.
How a mandate moves
From capital sitting still to capital at work.
01
Make the mandate honest
Write down what the capital is for, what it will not fund, and what success looks like. Most programs fail here, before a dollar moves.
02
Design the vehicle
Studio, direct investment, program, or partnership. The structure has to survive the market and the institution writing the check.
03
Put it to work
Build, buy, invest, or pass. Then stay close until the work leaves the committee and enters a live market.
How I scout
Evidence before conviction.
I keep a standing watch on a few domains where technology is about to change what operating businesses spend. An idea earns attention from leading signals. It earns capital only from proof.
01
Primary sources over narrative
A thesis starts with contracts, permits, regulatory dockets, and filings, not a deck or the press cycle. Signals build the watchlist. Documents confirm it.
02
A written gate before capital moves
Every idea must pass a specific test, confirmed by a second independent source. Its kill criteria are written down on day one.
03
Sized to be wrong
Start small and capped. Commitment grows only when the market confirms the thesis, never on conviction alone.
Where I am looking: emerging-technology domains
Physical AI and robotics
Humanoid and mobile manipulation robots, warehouse and logistics robotics, and field robotics. Cheaper hardware and better models are moving automation out of pilots and into real labor economics.
Grid and large-load power
Grid interconnection, large-load data center power, behind-the-meter generation, energy storage, and transmission. Electricity is now the binding constraint on growth, and the interconnection queue shows it first.
AI compute infrastructure
AI data centers, liquid cooling, high-speed networking, and the power behind them. It is the largest capital cycle in technology, and who keeps the margin is still unsettled.
Drones and sensing
Drone inspection, counter-drone systems, and LiDAR, thermal, and hyperspectral sensing. Autonomous aircraft and advanced sensors are now bought at scale, and contracts show demand early.
Industrial autonomy
Construction robotics, autonomous heavy equipment, and utility automation. This is where autonomous systems either pay for themselves on a job site or stall.
Insurance and property risk
Insurtech, property risk analytics, home systems data, and climate risk. Technology is changing how physical risk is priced and, more usefully, how it is prevented.
No live watchlist and no company names. The specifics belong to the mandate.
How I invest
Radar to spinout, one gate at a time.
Every stage ends at a written gate. An idea that fails its gate stops there.
01
Watch
Track the domains through contracts, permits, dockets, and filings.
GateA signal confirmed by a primary source.
02
Explore
Frame the opportunity and who holds the unfair advantage.
GateA written thesis, with kill criteria set on day one.
03
Validate
Test demand with real buyers before anything is built.
GateBuyers commit: a pilot, LOI, or paid order.
04
Seed
Build the first version on a small, capped check.
GateThe market uses it, not just praises it.
05
Scale
Follow-on capital goes in only on market proof.
GateResults clear the thesis and the kill criteria.
06
Spin out
Stand the company up on its own, or exit.
GateIt can run and raise on its own.
Start
Book a 30-minute call.
A few lines on the mandate is enough: what the capital is for, and what you want to be true in twelve months. I reply within a few business days.
