Monica Wheat

Monica Wheat is a globally recognized venture strategist, investor, consultant, and ecosystem builder.

She is the Founder and Executive Director of Venture Catalysts, a nonprofit dedicated to venture ecosystem mapping, founder and investor education, and large-scale innovation initiatives, impacting over 55,000 entrepreneurs and leaders. She is also the General Partner of Catalysts Fund, an early-stage venture fund investing in founders from emerging markets and building scalable, high-return ecosystems.

Monica previously served as Managing Director for the Techstars Detroit powered by JP Morgan Accelerator, part of Techstars' global network across 50+ cities, and as a long-time Global Startup Programs Lead for Techstars, launching initiatives on three continents. She is the Founding Co-Director of Startup Boost, a global pre-accelerator now active in 20 cities worldwide. Her prior consulting work includes leading ecosystem and investment projects for Backstage Capital and managing their Detroit accelerator.

An in-demand speaker, judge, and consultant, Monica has advised Fortune 10 corporations, top venture funds, universities, economic development agencies, and startups on innovation strategy, ecosystem development, and inclusive entrepreneurship. Her work and insights have been featured in Crain's, Forbes, CNN, Business Insider, Inc., Black Enterprise, and the Huffington Post.

Monica regularly speaks and consults on topics including emerging venture ecosystems, early-stage investing, corporate innovation, and the future of entrepreneurship. You will often find her in a city near you telling the story of #Detroit.