WHO ARE WE?

A team of successful repeat entrepreneurs and senior executives, with the vision and operational expertise to identify trends, invest in great teams at early stage and support nascent companies through their growth and scaling processes.


CANDOU TEAM

Founding General Partner

Faraj Aalaei

Faraj has raised funds in excess of $400 million for his semiconductor companies from private and public investors, executed several M&A deals and as CEO taken two previous start-ups, Centillium and Aquantia through IPO.
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Managing Partner

Susan Akbarpour

Susan is a philanthropist, serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist with over 30 years of hands-on experience building innovative products and businesses in technology and media.
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Founding General Partner

Shahin Hedayat

Shahin Hedayat has passion for high tech startups aiming to solve complex problems through collective human ingenuity. Shahin is the Founding General Partner at Candou Ventures which he co-founded in 2015.
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Operating Partner

Laleh Masnavi

Laleh is an entrepreneur at heart, committed to driving business growth at scale through improved operating performance and disciplined strategy. She has proven success at driving collaboration and influencing at all levels of the organization.
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CFO

Linda Reddick

Linda Reddick joined Candou ventures in 2021 as a CFO not only to manage our fund’s finances but also to assist Candou partnership in evaluating candidate start-ups' financial health, projections and capital structure.
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Venture Partner

Nader Vasseghi

Nader is an Executive Coach, entrepreneur, and author based in Silicon Valley. His mission is to transform and elevate the lives of CEO’s and business leaders through the principles of conscious leadership.
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Venture Partner

Mehdi Maghsoodnia​

Mehdi Maghsoodnia joined Candou in 2023 as a Venture Partner while also serving as a Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at 1health.
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Administrative Lead

Sallee Hartbeck

Sallee Hartbeck joined the Candou team in March 2021 and brings with her over 30 years of administrative and organizational experience, supporting C-level executives at private and public technology companies.
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Associate

Leela Najafi

Leela Najafi joined Candou Ventures in 2024 as an Associate. She joins our team with a deep passion and drive to support innovation's ability to transform and impact the challenges facing society.
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1300 El Camino Real Suite 100
Menlo Park, CA 94025

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