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Isabelle Phelps

Isabelle Phelps

Partner·Lerer Hippeau

New York, NY

Bio

Professional summary

Isabelle Phelps is a Partner at Lerer Hippeau, a New York-based early-stage venture firm. The official team page lists her as Partner and indicates she has been with the firm since 2018. Public profiles describe her prior experience at Dorm Room Fund and operating or strategy roles at Yahoo and eBay Enterprise. Public sources also associate her with early-stage investing across seed and Series A companies, including consumer, media, e-commerce, and consumer internet, although these sector fits are not fully verified by the official source page.

Investment focus

Stage, sector, and overall fit

Stage

seedSeries Aearly stage

Sector

consumermediae-commerceconsumer internethealthcaremarketplaces

Thesis

Early-stage venture investingSeed and Series A startupsMedia, e-commerce, and consumer internet

Notable companies

Selected portfolio companies the partner has backed

Dorm Room FundYahooeBay EnterpriseMedmoAugmodoTetratrackdWreno

How to approach

Framing and angles for outreach

Pitch framing

Highlight early-stage traction, customer insight, and why the business fits consumer internet, commerce, or market expansion themes.

Personalization hooks

  1. 1Reference her Dorm Room Fund and early-stage investing background.
  2. 2For consumer or commerce companies, connect the pitch to her Yahoo and eBay Enterprise operating context.

Recent signals

What the partner has said or done recently

  • Lerer Hippeau team page lists Isabelle Phelps as Partner since 2018.

  • A 2025 event speaker profile lists her as Partner at Lerer Hippeau and summarizes prior roles at Dorm Room Fund, Yahoo, and eBay Enterprise.

Background

Career, education, and skills

Career history

  • Lerer HippeauPartner2021 – Present
  • Lerer HippeauSenior Associate2020 – 2021
  • Lerer HippeauAssociate2018 – 2020
  • Dorm Room FundInvestment Partner2017 – 2018
  • Yahoo! Inc.Business Planning & Operations2013 – 2016
  • eBay EnterpriseMarketing Strategy2012 – 2013

Education

  • MIT Sloan School of ManagementMBA, Business Administration
  • Williams CollegeB.A., Unknown

Skills

Seed InvestingEnterprise SoftwareAIInfrastructure

Other partners at Lerer Hippeau

8 more profiles

Andrea Hippeau

Andrea Hippeau

Partner

Lerer Hippeau

Andrea Hippeau is a Partner at Lerer Hippeau, where the official team page lists her as a Partner since 2014. Public profiles describe prior roles at The Dodo, Bark & Co., Advance Publications, and Thomson Reuters.

consumercrypto / finteche-commercemarketplaces
Ben Lerer

Ben Lerer

Managing Partner

Lerer Hippeau

Ben Lerer is a Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau, listed on the firm's team page as part of its New York-focused venture team.

early-stage consumerearly-stage enterprisegeneralist investments
Eric Hippeau

Eric Hippeau

Managing Partner

Lerer Hippeau

Eric Hippeau is a Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau, where the official team page lists him as part of the firm since 2010. Public sources describe prior leadership roles at The Huffington Post, Ziff-Davis, and SoftBank Capital.

advertisinganalyticseducationmediaseed & Series A
Graham Brown

Graham Brown

Managing Partner

Lerer Hippeau

Graham Brown is a Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau. The official team page lists him as Managing Partner since 2015, and public profiles describe earlier work at SoftBank Capital, Polaris Partners, and Life Line Screening.

AIB2B SaaSenterprise software
Joe Medved

Joe Medved

Partner, Fund Strategy

Lerer Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau fund-strategy partner and former SoftBank Capital investor.

Digital mediaEarly-stage investingFund strategyMarketplacesPortfolio managementSaaS
Madeleine Goldberg

Madeleine Goldberg

Investor

Lerer Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau investor and former Insight Partners investor.

AIEarly-stage investingFood technologyGrowth investingImpactSocial commerce
Maurice Russo

Maurice Russo

Investor

Lerer Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau investor focused on pre-seed and seed companies.

Brand buildingConsumer startupsCreator economyNew York startupsPre-seedSeed
Will McKelvey

Will McKelvey

Principal

Lerer Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau principal backing early-stage founders in New York.

AIEducationFintechNew York startupsPre-seedSeed