Anna Mason is a Partner in Rise of the Rest Seed, a Revolution Fund backed by many of America’s most iconic entrepreneurs, investors and executives. The fund invests catalytic capital in high-potential early stage startups that are based in regional innovations hubs in cities all across the country.
In this capacity, Anna leads the investment process for select deals in the fund across a variety of industries including the fund’s investments into Summersalt (Consumer; St. Louis, MO), Pryon (Enterprise AI; Raleigh, NC), STORD (Logistics; Atlanta, GA), Dispatch (Logistics; Minneapolis, MN), Replica (Urban Planning; Kansas City, KS), Glow (Podcast Media; Seattle, WA), and Kenzie Academy (Future of Work; Indianapolis, IN).
Anna also leads strategy and execution for the Rise of the Rest Network and Platform, including the annual Rise of the Rest Road Trip and annual Network Summit. Her passion for this work is centered around two core beliefs: investing in startups sits at the intersection of realism and optimism; Rise of the Rest is a platform that helps us see the country through the eyes of the entrepreneurs who are re-imagining its future.
Anna brings over a dozen years of experience in finance, startup operations, and venture community programming to Revolution. Prior to joining Revolution, she co-founded a fitness-community startup that was acquired by Beachbody in 2015. Before that, she began her career on Wall Street, where she spent seven years as a distressed bond and post-reorg private equity trader, most recently as a Vice President at The Seaport Group.
Since 2015, Anna has worked to support early stage female founders in the DC community, through various leadership roles at The Vinetta Project DC, including as city co-director and then as co-chair of the Advisory Board (2015-2019). She was a founding member of BEACON DC, a community-led campaign to make Washington, D.C. one of the most influential and supportive cities for women entrepreneurs. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Children’s Museum, which focuses on STEAM-centric exhibits for children.
Anna received her BA in Government from Harvard College and her MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. She was named to Business Insider’s list of 100 People Transforming Business in 2019, a Washingtonian Tech Titan in 2017 and 2018, Washington Life’s Tech25 in 2017 and featured in Inc. Magazine's 2019 coverage of Washington, DC.
In 2015, she published a book based on her Wall Street experiences during the 2009 financial crisis called They All Fall Down.