Marcos Polanco

Marcos is a graduate of Stanford University's computer systems engineering program. He is an active participant in the TED and UP Global communities, and was a member of the organizing team for the first TEDx and Startup Weekend events in Puerto Rico. Marcos enjoys meditation, salsa, and skiing.

At Expansive Ventures, an early-stage technology fund in Mountain View, California, Marcos focuses on building scalable deal sourcing, due diligence, and investment monitoring systems in collaboration with a global network of technology leaders. 

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Marcos focuses on generating venture-scale impact by training the next generation of entrepreneurs enabled by startup communities around the world. His background includes founding the IT investment promotion unit of the Government of Puerto Rico and managing the establishment of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust, the island's innovation policymaker. He is one of the founders of the Startups of Puerto Rico organization of and Codetrotters, a nationwide startup internship program for computer science students. 

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Through the Founder Institute Marcos has mentored startups in Silicon Valley, India, France, Perú, and Puerto Rico, leveraging a career that has included founding Imana, a San Francisco startup that pioneered corporate knowledge management applications of collaborative filtering technologies that he co-invented and patented. He managed startup operations for iCare Medical, a medical device brand with markets in the United States and the United Kingdom, and also founded Clearshore, a business network attracting investment to Puerto Rico. He began his career at Hewlett-Packard Labs, Stanford's Research Libraries Group, and a number of Silicon Valley startups.

As a member of Class 19, Marcos performed his fellowship at Expansive Ventures under the mentorship of Adeo Ressi.