# Jen van der Meer (@jenvandermeer.eurosky.social)

Profile: https://sifa.id/p/jenvandermeer.eurosky.social
Headline: Business Model Design & Financial Architecture

## About

I design business models and financing structures for infrastructure that do not fit existing categories: equity-centered health systems, community-owned real estate, distributed energy, digital public goods and open protocols, and transition paths for civil society organizations. Business models are framing logics: they shape what's buildable before anyone decides what to fund. I work at the moment of configuration, when structures are being formed and the terms aren't set, designing models that select for continuation.25 years across development banking, Wall Street equity research, venture, corporate, and non-profit strategy. I've founded nonprofits and for-profits, raised capital and deployed it, built models and redesigned them. I've sat on more than one seat at the table.Before Reason Street: equity analyst on the Netscape IPO, turnaround lead at frog design NY, founded a company that was acquired three times (Powered → Dachis Group → Sprinklr), co-founded Designers Accord, and the NYC chapter for o2NYC (sustainable design).Current work: multi-solving healthcare infrastructure (with climate and food systems), financial futures for civic organizations, financing ecosystems for the open social web, and field-building for systemic investing (how funders learn to move capital at systems scale).CEO, Reason Street | Co-Steward and Research & Practice Lead, FEST | Associate Professor, Parsons School of Design

## Career

- **Finance architect and business model designer at Reason Street** (May 2014 - Present)
  New York
  Capital structures outlast the intentions behind them. The instrument, the governance terms, the unit economics, these were designed by someone, in a room that didn't include most of the people who will live with the consequences. That design persists.
  
  Reason Street works at the moment before the terms are set. We design financial architecture for complex work, the infrastructure problems that sit at the intersection of health systems, climate, housing, and the limits of what markets can hold alone. The business models, governance, and capital pathway as one problem, not delegated to separate advisors operating in separate rooms.
  
  The Business Model and Capital Libraries give practitioners the analytical tools to move. Advisory engagements are for when the architecture itself needs to be built.
  
  The structure gets designed by someone. We'd rather it be you.
- **Research, Knowledge, Ecosystems & Financial Strategy at FEST** (May 2024 - Present)
  Independent work
  Co-Steward of a growing network of people creating and evolving finance ecosystems for systemic transformation. We believe this work cannot succeed in silos, and is missing critical contextual knowledge when the conversations and decisions happen in rooms and zooms made comfortable for financial professionals. FEST holds space for community organizers, institutional investors, systems innovators, development finance professionals, philanthropy leaders and workers, civic society leaders, field builders, evaluators, learners and researchers to understand our contributions building Financing Ecosystems for Systemic Transformation.
- **Associate Professor, Strategic Design & Management at Parsons School of Design** (Sep 2016 - Present)
  Co-Director, Transdiciplinary Design MFA Courses:  Community-Engaged Business Models  Transdisciplinary Design Studio Sustainable Business Models  Committees and Service: University Faculty Senate, Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility (ACIR), University Budget Committee
- **Advisor, Formerly Chief Strategy Officer at Luminary Labs** (Jul 2012 - May 2014)
  New York
  Luminary Labs helps organizations in the private and public sector operationalize innovation
  \- increasing relevancy to respond to changing economic, technological, and cultural conditions.
  
  As Managing Member at Luminary Labs Ventures, we provide angel-sized investments in seed stage companies in health tech and emerging technology.
- **EVP, Managing Director at Sprinklr** (Jan 2011 - Jun 2012)
  NY
  [At Dachis Group, acquired by Sprinklr] Jen defined the organizational design of Dachis Group's consulting services, technology services, and design and creative practices which help clients drive social business performance, beginning as the head of strategy, and then running the entire practice.
- **VP Strategy + Analytics at Powered, Inc. [Acquired by Dachis Group December 2010]** (Jan 2010 - Feb 2011)
  Established frameworks for strategy, planning, measurement and analysis of emerging social behavior and its impact on brands. Specialist in online and offline community behavior, crisis communications and stakeholder management, and the business value of engagement.
- **VP Strategy at Drillteam [Acquired by Powered, Inc. December 2009]** (Aug 2008 - Jan 2010)
  Principal
  \- led transition from Drillteam to Powered. Drillteam employed participatory methods to deploy engagement marketing efforts for leading brands, including Target, Toyota, Nestle, Saucony, Neiman Marcus and others.
- **Sustainable Product Design and Innovation Strategy at Independent/self Employed** (2004 - 2008)
  New York
  Eco product design strategy. Developed strategy for new product and services innovation, qualitative and quantitative inquiry for the fuzzy front end of concept development. Expert in valuation of emerging business ideas through early product and service development pipelines and phase gate reviews. Specialty in sustainable systems thinking, lifecycle analysis, and defining where social digital culture and narrative change intersects with business, social, and environmental impact. Clients included: Interface Carpets, Dagoba, MTV, and a number of cleantech and green product ventures that didn't make it past the clean tech bubble.
- **General Manager at Frog Design** (Oct 2000 - Sep 2004)
  Built a collaborative team of industrial designers, interaction designers, engineers, program managers, and established an innovation design research practice for the NY Office and the East Coast region. Established key accounts and led a financial turnaround and growth plan. Won key accounts with GE, Viacom, Victoria's Secret, and Nike. Instrumental in shaping frog's first design strategy practice and first design thinking offering.
- **Client Partner, Director of Business Development, Strategy, Methodology at Organic.** (Jan 1997 - Oct 2000)
  Defined and established the sales, operational, and strategic methodology for a "dotcom 1.0" internet consultancy.
- **Equity Analyst at Needham & Company** (Dec 1994 - Jun 1996)
  New York
  Provided sell side equities research for the semiconductor capital equipment sector, and emerging technology sector.
- **Research Associate at Development Bank of Japan** (Jan 1993 - Dec 1994)
  Formerly the Japan Development Bank. Contributed to primary research and econometric models to support policy formation and decision-making, particularly sectors of emerging technology and government bond issuance for economic development.
- **Laboratory Assistant Intern at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons** (May 1989 - Aug 1989)
  New York, New York, US
  Lab assistant for Cardiology Research

## Skills

### Other
- Analysis
- Analytics
- Brand Development
- Business Development
- Business Modeling
- Business Strategy
- Consulting
- Content Strategy
- Corporate Finance
- Creative Direction
- Design
- Design Thinking
- Digital Marketing
- Digital Media
- Digital Strategy
- Due Diligence
- E-commerce
- Entrepreneurship
- Executive Education
- Executive Management
- Experience Design
- Finance
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Modeling
- Information Architecture
- Innovation Management
- Integrated Marketing
- Interaction Design
- Interactive Marketing
- Investments
- leadership
- Management
- Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
- Mobile Devices
- Online Advertising
- Online Marketing
- Open Data
- Open Innovation
- Participatory Action Research
- People Management
- Product Development
- Social Media
- Social Media Marketing
- Start-up Ventures
- Start-ups
- Strategic Partnerships
- Strategic Planning
- Strategy
- University Teaching
- User Experience
- User-centered Design
- Valuation

## Education

- **HEC Paris** — MBA
- **London Business School** — MBA exchange
- **Trinity College-Hartford** — Bachelor of Arts - BA

## Involvement

### Volunteering
- Women.NYC (May 2026 - Present)
  Mentor
- Techstars Startup Weekend (Mar 2020 - Jan 2023)
  Mentor
- Hack Covid-19 (Mar 2020 - Oct 2021)
  Mentor
- NYC BigApps (Apr 2014 - Oct 2019)
  Mentor
- New York University (Jul 2015 - Sep 2019)
  Healthcare Innovation Challenge Steering Committee
- New York University (Nov 2015 - Present)
  Leslie Entrepreneurship Lab Mentor

## Languages

- French