Jon Blackwell

CPO, SoLo Funds

Jon has dedicated his life towards helping entrepreneurs across the globe. He started out at Silicon Valley Bank working with early stage technology startups but his passion quickly lead him to leave banking behind and move to Kenya where he worked in microfinance. After returning to the US, he co-founded Tala, a mobile credit scoring and lending company. He’s spent 7 years as Chief Product Officer where he lead all product development, strategic partnerships, and expanding the business throughout Eastern Africa, Latin America, and Asia. He then continued his work with entrepreneurs by mentoring founders through Social Venture Partners, a non-profit accelerator. He is currently the CPO at SoLo Funds (Techstars ’18). Jon holds a MPP from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Economics from Virginia Tech.

Articles by Jon Blackwell

Startup Guide to AI Visibility: Be the Brand ChatGPT Recommends

Introduction Today, users aren’t just searching on Google. They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI systems for advice. AI visibility is the new frontier of brand awareness....

Practical Uses of AI & Automation for Startup Operations

In a recent Mucker Growth Series session, we invited Rock Vitale, Founder & CEO of Easie, to share how he’s helped early-stage teams move from manual, fragmented workflows to streamlined,...

2025 New York Tech Week Recap Of Mucker Sessions

Last week during New York Tech Week 2025, we joined more than 1,000 events hosted by founders, investors, and VCs. This post is a full Mucker recap of the three...

How to Build a Customer Support Function for Startups Using AI Tools with Alex Velinov

Delivering high-quality customer support can be one of the most resource-draining parts of a startup. The good news: we’re at a turning point where founders can use AI tools to...

Zero → 100: The Exact Steps We Took to Close Our First 100 Paying Customers

Going from zero customers to 100 in just four months sounds impossible—unless you’re a founder willing to roll up your sleeves and hustle relentlessly. I’m Gaurav Bhattacharya, co-founder of Jeeva.ai,...

Unblocking Startup Growth: Best Practices for Sales Discovery & Qualification with Richard Harris

Startups are in a constant race against time and resources, navigating complex sales environments with lean teams and limited margins for error. In a recent session from the Mucker Growth...