Proudest Mentor Moment
"I always enjoy celebrating the wins that I contributed to, like new customers or a new funding round. However, I am proudest when founders call me in deep trouble, and we find a way out together."
About
Mike Mahlkow co-founded two Y Combinator companies and now invests in early-stage startups after working at Stripe and Uber.
Angel Investor, Independent
Mike Mahlkow co-founded Blair, an education-finance company in Y Combinator’s Summer 2019 batch. Earlier, he worked in growth at Stripe and in operations and business development at Uber. Blair’s work in education finance gave him experience with regulated business models and fundraising.
He later co-founded Fastgen, a Y Combinator Winter 2023 company building low-code tools for APIs and workflows. After leaving its CEO role, Mahlkow shifted his focus to angel investing. His operating background spans developer products, growth and the difficult transitions involved in building early-stage companies.
Experience Mike brings to founders
- Early-stage investing
- Developer tools
- Growth
- Regulated fintech
- Fundraising
Operating and investing experience
A selection of companies and roles connected to Mike Mahlkow.
Ventures
Blair
Co-founder and former CEO
Fastgen
Co-founder and former CEO
Stripe
Former growth team member
Uber
Former operations and business-development team member
Highlights
- Co-founded Blair, a Y Combinator Summer 2019 company.
- Co-founded Fastgen, a Y Combinator Winter 2023 company.
Questionsfounders ask aboutMike Mahlkow
Who is Mike Mahlkow?
Mike Mahlkow co-founded two Y Combinator companies and now invests in early-stage startups after working at Stripe and Uber.
What experience does Mike Mahlkow bring to mentoring?
Their experience spans early-stage investing, developer tools, growth, regulated fintech and fundraising.
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