Zain Jaffer

Zain Jaffer is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor with a wealth of experience in the technology startup industry. He began his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 14, during a time when the internet was experiencing explosive growth. Through his teenage years, Jaffer built numerous B2C and B2B websites. This early exposure to technology sparked a passion for using it to solve problems and create value, which has continued to drive Jaffer's career. Zain Jaffer founded his first major startup, Vungle, a company that provided in-app video ads on mobile phones, in 2011, when the mobile app industry was in its early stages and mobile apps had not yet established a strong use case. Despite these challenges, Jaffer raised $25M in venture capital and was able to scale Vungle's reach to over 1 billion people per month across 100,000 mobile apps. Vungle's revenues eventually grew to over $400 million and it became profitable. Eventually, Vungle was acquired by private equity giant Blackstone for $780M in 2019. This acquisition was a major milestone in Jaffer's career and helped to provide the capital and resources needed to launch Zain Ventures which is his personal family office and investment arm. In addition to Zain Ventures, Jaffer is also a partner at Blue Field Capital, a US real estate investment firm. At Blue Field Capital, he works with other real estate investors and manages the Bluefield Strategic Fund, one of the company's most dynamic endeavors in the world of commercial real estate. Jaffer focuses on joint venture partnerships, technology, and investor relations at Blue Field Capital, and through the Bluefield Strategic Fund, he strategically invests in PropTech startups at the Seed and Series A stages and actively pursues the acquisition of distressed real estate across the US. In addition to his business endeavors, Jaffer is also a thought leader in the real estate industry. He hosts the PropTechVC podcast, where he interviews innovators, disruptors, and mavericks in the real estate industry and shares insights on real estate innovation. Through his podcast and other public appearances, Jaffer has become a well-known voice in the PropTech space, providing valuable insights and helping to drive industry discussions. As an entrepreneur and investor, Jaffer has dealt with external angel venture capitalists and investors in a variety of capacities, including as a founder, CEO, board member, shareholder, sponsor, co-investor, and limited partner.