Kerty Levy

Enigma
DISC Type : cdi

Managing Director at Techstars

United States

Overview

Kerty Levy is an investor, advisor, and the Managing Director for Techstars Iowa. An MBA from Harvard Business School, she specializes in guiding startups through strategic planning and growth. Colleagues and founders consistently describe her as a fearless, tenacious, selfless, and compassionate leader.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Kerty relocated to Des Moines, Iowa, in 2017 with her husband and two children. Outside of work, she is family-oriented and enjoys being active outdoors, traveling, and experiencing great food.

She was the founding Managing Director for the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator, helping establish the states first accelerator focused on agricultural technology.

Personality Overview

Challenger

Persuasive & Assertive

Friendly Yet Blunt

They are generally strong communicators and are not easy to convince.  They can sound friendly and charming but can quickly change gears to become inquisitive and probing  They are likely to ask many questions and look heavily for supporting proof as well as information.

Topics They Care About

Startup Mentorship
As a Managing Director for Techstars and an accelerator founder, she has deep experience advising startups on business models, customer discovery, and operations.
Midwest Entrepreneurship
She moved from San Francisco to Iowa specifically to help build the local startup ecosystem, demonstrating a passion for fostering innovation in the region.
AgriTech Innovation
She was the founding Managing Director of the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator, showing a strong commitment to advancing technology in the agriculture sector.

Media Appearances

5 Questions with Kerty Levy, Techstars Iowa Accelerator. Featured in Techstars Blog

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Techstars Anywhere Adds a New Program and New Team Members. Featured in Techstars Newsroom

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Meet Kerty Levy, Managing Director of Techstars Anywhere Remote Accelerator. Featured in Facebook

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Work History

10-2019
Managing Director at Techstars
2-2019 - 9-2019
Interim Managing Director at Iowa AgriTech Accelerator
7-2017 - 9-2019
Entrepreneur in Residence at Iowa AgriTech Accelerator
4-2015 - 10-2019
Founder, Growth Strategist at KNLWorks
11-2010 - 3-2015
Founder, President, Kemin Personal Care at Kemin Industries

Education

1995 - 1997
MBA from Harvard Business School
Education details unavailable from Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket (SSHL)

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 30 Location : United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Managing Director at Techstars
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Insights For Selling To Kerty

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Use a combination of data as well as stories for your pitch, a ppt might not be necessary
  • Help them realize that any personal risk in making this decision is far less compared to what the results could mean for them
  • Let them lead the discussion, create opportunities for them to speak if they are not very forthcoming

DONT's

  • Avoid making offhand commitments, understand the root of their concerns first
  • Don’t be too objective but make sure to pad your storytelling with data points
  • Don’t rely excessively on your relationship with them to win the deal even if you come to form one

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Kerty is

  • Proven value, strong objective evidence are important for them, rapport can impact decisions a little.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Kerty

  • They are practical and friendly, but can give a clear response with a little prodding

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Kerty move?

  • They like to be detailed, so unless they develop strong conviction, they can take their time to arrive at decisions
  • Can Kerty take some risk or not?

  • They evaluate their decisions systematically and do not take risks that often, unless you can get them to develop strong conviction

You And Kerty

Personality Compatibility


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