Kelly Perdew

Co-founder and Managing General Partner, Moonshots Capital

Kelly is an entrepreneur at heart and loves the challenge of starting and growing businesses. He’s served in almost every operating capacity: Founder, Board Member, CEO, COO, CFO, Business Development, and Sales. He’s raised institutional equity and debt financing, grown businesses, down-sized businesses, and sold businesses for 8-figure exits. He serves on Boards and/or in advisory roles: Pandora (NYSE: P, past), LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD, past), Eteamz (Sold to Active Networks – NYSE: ACTV, past), TroopSwap, The DuMont Project, GatherGreen, Fliptu, and UStream.tv. His operating roles have included: Co-founder & CEO TargetClose (current – stealth), CEO Fastpoint Games, Founder/CEO MotorPride (sold to TrueCar), President/Board Member Eteamz (Sold to Active Networks), EVP The Trump Organization, and Military Intelligence Officer US Army. Kelly also makes Angel investments: Klout, BetterWorks, TroopSwap, ZAG (now TrueCar), Fliptu, and Social Rewards. Kelly won Season 2 of The Apprentice and worked for Donald Trump for one year. Kelly earned a BS from West Point and a JD/MBA from UCLA. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Dawn, step-son Hunter and two-year old twins Grant and Grace.

Articles by Kelly Perdew

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...