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Corporate Venture Capital

Biography

Scott is a Partner and supervises the Cerity Partners Ventures’ industrial manufacturing and food & agriculture sector practices.

Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Scott co-founded Touchdown Ventures, which pioneered “venture capital as a service” by partnering with leading corporations to manage their venture capital programs. This unique model supports corporate innovation efforts by focusing on strategic benefits and financial returns, enabling collaboration between corporates and start-ups.

Scott began his venture capital career in 1992 as the first associate at Geocapital Partners, a late stage venture capital firm focused on technology investments. In 2002, Scott co-founded DFJ Frontier, an early stage fund making west coast investments for the DFJ Network. Following his initial experience as a venture capitalist, he worked in product marketing for Trilogy Software in Austin, Texas, and was the co-founder & CEO of SmartFrog, the first cash-back rewards program for online shopping, which he sold to Cybergold.

Learn more about Cerity Partners Corporate Venture Capital.

Education

  • MBA in entrepreneurial management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
  • AB in Comparative Literature from Princeton University

Highlights

  • Co-founded the Entrepreneurship Center at UC Davis, where he was an adjunct for seven years at the Graduate School of Management and served on the advisory board for the Dean of the College of Biological Sciences
  • Has taught corporate innovation as a visiting professor at UCLA Anderson and venture capital as an adjunct professor at USC’s Marshall School
  • Served on the board of directors of the Sacramento Philharmonic
  • Served on the board of the Kenley Jansen Foundation, which provides entertainment and technology for children’s hospitals

Latest Insights

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Scott Lenet

Partner

Corporate Venture Capital

How Should Corporations Get Paid For Helping Startups?

One of the top myths in entrepreneurship is that startups and large corporations are enemies locked in an endless war. The conventional wisdom is that establishment entities prey on vulnerable entrepreneurs, or that ambitious upstarts disrupt obsolete dinosaurs. In reality, startups and corporations can work together to disrupt markets, introducing new products and services to […]

Scott Lenet

Partner

Corporate Venture Capital

Startups Should Not Wait to Hire CFOs

In our experience having funded more than 200 startups as of the second quarter of 2026, venture-backed businesses often treat the CFO hire as a late-stage milestone — something to tackle after finding product-market fit, upon raising growth stage equity as implied by a Series B or Series C Preferred financing, or once the team scales past a certain headcount.

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Principal & Client Experience Director

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James Lebenthal

Partner & Chief Market Strategist

Economic and Market Outlooks

Video: August 2026 Economic and Market Outlook

August 4, 2026 - In our August outlook, Partner and Chief Market Strategist Jim Lebenthal walks through why our view of the market remains positive despite key risks. We…

Individuals and Families

California’s 2026 Billionaire Tax: What Ultra-High-Net-Worth Families Need to Know—and Strategies You Can Still Use

August 11, 2026 - California has placed a one-time wealth tax before its voters. If you have a net worth approaching or exceeding $1 billion and any connection to…

James Lebenthal and Amita Schultes

Economic and Market Outlooks

Webinar Recording: Q3 2026 Market & Economic Outlook

July 24, 2026 - Join our Investment Office as they review key market trends from the second quarter and share their outlook for the remainder of the year. This…

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By submitting the form, you acknowledge that we collect your name, email address and phone number to respond to your inquiries and provide you information about our products and services in accordance with our Privacy Policy. If you are a California resident, please see our CCPA Notice to California Residents.