Will is a rising junior in the Management and Technology Program at Penn, studying Finance and Systems Engineering. He grew up in New Jersey and has previously worked at an on-campus startup called Order In and as a research assistant with the Weitzman School of Design. In his free time, he likes reading, hiking, and spending time exploring Philly with his friends.

Helena is a recent graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University, where she studied Economics. She is starting work at Accenture and joined LEL prior to consulting in order to learn more about investing and VC. Helena grew up in NYC and enjoys reading, baking, running, and swimming.

John is an MBA candidate at Columbia Business School. Previously, he worked at American Express as a Senior Financial Analyst where he worked on customer profitability strategy and analytics as well as P&L management for the US Small & Medium Enterprises segment. He further has experience in E-commerce operations and economic consulting and most recently has become involved in venture capital as an Investment Scout at GoingVC Partners and as a VC Fellow with Lair East Labs focused on sourcing, ad-hoc analyses, and program operations. John graduated from Columbia University in 2016 with a B.A. in Financial Economics and will prospectively be graduating from Columbia Business School in 2022. In his free time, he enjoys learning about different things: startups, coding, cooking, etc. and is a gamer interested in the growing e-sports industry.

Charles studies machine learning at the University of Pennsylvania and is presently a Senior VC Associate at Lair East Labs. He spends most of his free time trying to recreate foods he grew up with in California: Hong Kong style Macaroni Soup, Hawaiian Spam Musubi, and more. When the opportunity presents itself, he is also a big fan of taking in the local nature, exploring museums, and visiting the symphony.

Zishen (Norman) Ye is a Master’s student in International Affairs at Columbia University’s School International and Public Affairs. During his time at the LEL, Norman thoroughly enjoyed deal sourcing, market research, competitor analysis, due diligence, and outreach efforts. He is also interning for the China Practice at the Eurasia Group, a leading political risk consultancy, where he analyzes how China-related geopolitical risks and policy changes impact private businesses. Prior to that, Norman graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.A in Urban Planning and a B.A. in Political Science. In his free time, Norman enjoys driving, photography, playing competitive e-sports, and exploring New York City!