Steve Zausner

Steve has more than 25-years of experience as a C-suite executive, fundraising professional, investor, educator, and hands-on operator who has helped launch, transform, grow, and fund many initiatives and enterprises across the globe.

On the launch side, while working in investment management, Steve created and ran four research departments on three different continents. As a fractional operating executive/board member he has worked with dozens of start-ups, helping them solve their most vexing problems. For foundations, governments, and nonprofits, he has helped launch initiatives and developed several benchmark “innovative” financial structures. He has also collaborated with several innovation consulting firms on launching new products, programs, and services, including Fahrenheit 212 and Mach49, where he was an SVP of Special Projects and CFO-in-residence. Steve has been an entrepreneur-in-residence at Columbia University’s NYSERDA program, and a mentor for the National I-Corps program, working on technology transfers.

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On the growth side, Steve helped build and run five asset management firms, several of which turned into multi-billion-dollar enterprises. He has also worked as an executive-in-residence or interim executive at many commercial firms, nonprofits, and social enterprises, helping them optimize operations, develop sustainable business models, grow new initiatives/business lines, and find scale.

On the transform side, Steve has led turnarounds at nonprofits, social enterprises, and commercial firms, including one of the world’s largest financial institutions, where he led the restructuring of a multi-billion-dollar division post a major scandal.

On the funding side, Steve has sourced, analyzed, structured, and successfully placed or exited more than $10 billion across the spectrum of capital, all asset classes, industries and in more than 65 countries. As an early-stage investor, he has several IPOs and unicorns to his credit.

Steve began his professional career as a journalist, working as a staffer at Forbes, The Associated Press, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Albuquerque Tribune. His writing and commentary on economics, finance, entrepreneurship, and, uh, hockey, has appeared in many publications including: The Economist, The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and The Hockey Digest.

Steve has been an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh Graduate School of Foreign Service, and University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy where he taught highly rated classes on finance, social impact, and entrepreneurship.

Steve has a Master’s Degree in International Finance and Business from Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, where he was an International Fellow and Dean’s Scholar, and a BA, with High Honors, from New York University where he was a Founder’s Day Award Winner and University Scholar.

Areas of Expertise

Fractional CFO

Strategic Growth & Transformation

Early-Stage & Venture Investment

Innovation & New Venture

Development

Fundraising & Capital Structuring

Nonprofit & Social Enterprise

Leadership

Global Operations & Turnarounds

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Featured
FAI Farms: Hatching a Winning Plan with BirdBox

FAI Farms, a team of farmers, scientists, and consultants creates things to solve sustainable agriculture and animal welfare problems. One of FAI Farms’ creations is BirdBox, a sensor-based system designed to improve animal welfare and provide a management tool for free-range egg-producers to take eggs from, well, bird to box. Over a 10-year period, FAI Farms had trialed BirdBox with the UK’s leading free-range egg producer. The results were phenomenal. FAI Farms, however, was having trouble figuring out what’s next? Over a 12-week collaboration, using WhiteLabel’s growth diagnostic framework, we were able to rapidly assess, and align on, BirdBox’s commercial opportunities and path to market. Transitioning to implementation, WhiteLabel led a market sounding exercise to find potential partners and investors. Additionally, WhiteLabel brought in a co-conspirator to redesign the sensor technology. Since our collaboration, BirdBox has increased client trials exponentially. “The WhiteLabel teams’ breadth and depth of knowledge makes them a go-to partner for us,” said CEO Oisten Thorsen. “They often joke that they are our Special Projects Office, but the title fits well.”

Seed to Shelf: Building a Regenerative Food Brand

Yaupon Wellness Company, a social enterprise offering edible and personal care products derived from the Yaupon plant, had a well-established regional brand and was receiving great responses on several products. Yaupon, however, needed guidance on going nationwide. It turned to WhiteLabel. Over a year-long collaboration, WhiteLabel served as a comprehensive growth engine for Yaupon. Our work commenced with a thorough brand assessment, leading to a strategic refresh, solidifying Yaupon's identity in the wellness space. We investigated key products, distribution channel, and funding strategies, helping define Yaupon's target market, identifying the persona of its ideal customer, crafting a compelling value proposition, and a pricing and channel strategy. Yaupon is now growing from a local provider, into a firm with a regional presence, and the basis for a national brand. “WhiteLabel has been instrumental in defining our business strategy,” said CEO Lou Thomann. “The team has a unique ability to see the practical next steps to achieve growth, execute the plan, and solve the finance dilemma,”

Giving a Voice to Gen Z: Building the Next Generation of Mental Health Support

Gen Z struggles with finding meaningful connections and comprehensive mental health support. Promly, a social enterprise, envisioned a world where young people have access to holistic support and resources. To achieve this, a WhiteLabel partner, first as a consultant, then as a fractional COO, embedded in Promly. As a hybrid organization, with both a non-profit (501(c)3) and Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), it can fundraise across the spectrum of capital, blending traditional grants with commercial investment matching its for-profit and non-profit work. WhiteLabel worked on finding the right fit for funding, creating compelling narratives tailored to a wide variety of investors and donors, often the same people. Understanding that lasting change requires systematic support, using their depth of experience in advocacy, WhiteLabel got Promly in front of advocacy and public affairs opportunities. WhiteLabel continues to partner with Promly. “They got our value proposition and helped us raise our brand awareness through a differentiated path — advocacy and public affairs. Operationally, they were able to upscale Promly’s business and organizational models, positioning us for sustainable, efficient growth. I could not recommend them higher,” said CEO Jen Libby.