Kofi Ampadu
Kofi graduated with a BS from the Rochester Institute of Technology and later earned an MBA in Strategy and Operations from Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business, where he was a Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Fellow.
Originally from Ghana, Kofi is deeply interested in how startups can significantly advance the development of the African continent. He currently lives in New York City with his wife.
Kofi Ampadu is a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, where he leads the Talent x Opportunity Initiative (TxO), a fund that focuses on identifying entrepreneurs who possess the talent, drive, and innovative ideas necessary to build successful consumer companies at the forefront of culture and lifestyle but may lack the traditional network and resources. Since its inception in late 2020, the TxO donor-advised fund has supported over 50 startups, providing crucial funding and networking opportunities.
As Head of TxO, Kofi selects up to 20 startups annually, providing each with $175K and a spot in TxO’s 16-week accelerator program. He provides comprehensive support to TxO founders in areas including business development, customer acquisition, and fundraising, extending beyond the duration of the accelerator.
Before joining a16z, Kofi founded SKU'd Ventures, a venture fund specializing in consumer packaged goods. He also authored 'SKU’d Thoughts,' a blog series exploring trends in the consumer and retail sectors, and served as a venture advisor at Yale University's Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking. His earlier venture roles included scouting positions at Prototype Capital, Indie VC, and Republic.
His passion for venture stems from his experiences as the co-founder of H2Melon, a health-oriented beverage company, and Par, a marketplace for trading airline miles. His roles as a fellow in the Startup Leadership Program and as Alumni Director for its New York chapter deepened his commitment to supporting under-networked entrepreneurs. In 2020, Kofi was profiled as one of Business Insider’s “100 rising-star VCs”. He currently serves on the National Advisory Board for ForbesBLK, a global community dedicated to driving systemic change in business, culture, and society through the empowerment of Black entrepreneurs and professionals.
Prior to entrepreneurship and venture, Kofi began his career as a packaging engineer at Kraft Foods and as a strategy consultant at Accenture, where he delivered sustainable business solutions to Fortune 500 clients.