Michael Casella

Managing Director, Partnership Capital Ventures

Michael Casella is the founder and managing director of Partnership Capital Ventures, focused on early-stage startups investments and actively guiding and mentoring founders. Michael was a member of the early founding team and SVP of Operations at Green Dot Corporation, a Sequoia-backed company.  At Green Dot, Michael had the unique advantage of actively contributing to the company’s growth from private company to public company (Startup -> Seed -> Series priced rounds -> pre-IPO -> IPO -> Post-IPO) where it achieved a $4B+ valuation (NYSE: GDOT).  Each of these phases required a unique set of experience and skill sets, including diversifying revenue by pivoting into new channels, introducing new product offerings, and via multiple acquisitions, all while consistently re-engineering processes, improving the customer experience  and expanding gross margin which makes his viewpoints uniquely helpful to founders. Michael is a solutions-focused founder and senior executive with more than 22 years of success across the management consulting, retail, e-commerce, financial services, and technology industries. (B2C, B2B and B2B2C)   He also serves on the Board of Directors for PetMio, Qoins Technologies and Waverly Labs. Michael earned a B.A. in International Business from U.C. Berkeley.  He also holds a Certification in High-Performance Coaching from the High-Performance Institute.   Michael has a passion for contributing to and helping others by sharing his time, knowledge and resources, both professionally and privately.

Articles by Michael Casella

Startup Guide to AI Visibility Be the Brand ChatGPT Recommends

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

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,...

New York Tech Week Mucker Sessions Recap

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...

Build a Customer Support Function for Startups Using AI Alex Velinov

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

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,...

Sales Discovery & Qualification for Startups Richard Harris

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...

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