Gina Domizio of Signia Venture Partners
Share this article
Gina Domizio started with Signia Venture Partners when the venture capital firm first launched in 2012. Now celebrating over a decade with the company, she is the Director of Operations and Partner Relations, and a standout figure in the VC community.
Gina was always curious about finance, but “for a long time, I felt like I had no way to break into the industry,” she says. As a result, she began her career as a litigation paralegal in New York. When her firm opened a Palo Alto office in 1999, she moved to the Bay Area, where she managed their paralegal and attorney recruiting operations.
After a decade, Gina left the legal industry and worked as a headhunter until the market crashed in 2008. When work for recruiters dried up in the recession, she pivoted to a position as an Executive Assistant for a San Francisco business and civic leader. It was then that a friend who was working for Signia’s founder, Rick Thompson, told her Rick was hiring. That was all the break Gina needed and she quickly found herself in the VC space she’d long been fascinated by.
At first, Gina served as Rick’s assistant, but when he decided to start the fund, gathering three partners and a CFO, her job quickly evolved to support the larger group.
“It was very exciting to be part of that world, learning the ins and outs of venture capital, being exposed to all sorts of start-ups and learning how to navigate that space,” she says.
Gregarious, fiercely loyal, and with a keen eye for detail, it was as if she was made for the role. As the fund grew, Gina was hungry for new experiences and took on more and more responsibility at Signia.
“You can give me anything and I can learn it and get it done, especially if I have great role models," she says. “I really never say no, and my job has evolved tremendously from where it started.”
Gina is the only administrator at the firm. Her regular tasks include acting as the fund’s facilities manager and interfacing with all the various vendors and service providers.
She takes special interest in the accounting functions and Signia, and handles both accounts payable and receivable.
“This is one area where I get really focused on contributing, making sure that we’re not wasting any money. The purse strings are pretty tight,” she says winkingly.
Gina continues to fill her plate by helping oversee new hires and new vendor onboardings, as well as managing communications with the fund’s limited partners. She also organizes the firm’s capital calls and prepares quarterly reports in lockstep with the CFO.
Before the pandemic, she was instrumental in organizing in-person events, including limited partner meetings, portfolio events, and celebrations that brought the entire team together. “I love to throw a good party,” she says.
Gina appreciates that her position has provided her with the opportunity to learn. “The fact that my role has changed so much and I’ve been able to grow has been really important.”
A team player who gets along with everyone, Gina is grateful to be surrounded by a group of colleagues she’s come to love and trust like family and who feel the same about her. “The partners have always trusted what I was doing, I've always felt heard, and if I had an opinion about a company or founders they would listen to me,” she says. “I feel like I can always speak up and be taken seriously.”
The team goes on an annual off-site retreat where they spend time playing games and doing team-building exercises like egg drops and blind obstacle courses. These activities help them build trust and reinforce the power of collaboration.
“The games really encompass what we're about, camaraderie and competitive spirit,” she says. “We also spend time sitting around talking about life, love and loss, getting down to who we are as people. It really does feel that we are connected in personal ways as well as through business.”
Gina studied journalism as an undergrad, and when not in the office, she pursues her interest in photography. As a lifelong volunteer, she gives back to her community by working as an advocate in the foster care system through the San Francisco Court Appointed Special Advocate (SFCASA) program. “I’ve always felt a need to work with people who need help,” she says. “And even though I occasionally have to miss work for court appointments, my bosses are excited I would want to do something like this.” Volunteers with SFCASA spend time mentoring children in the foster care system. They also work with the child’s family, caregivers, teachers, social workers and doctors to figure out ways to support the child’s best interests.
As Gina looks to the future, she is excited to continue along her path of learning new skills and taking on more responsibilities, especially as she continues to work with the firm’s CFO. “Working with her closer over the last two years has been fantastic because it's opened up another side of VC, helping me understand the big picture,” she says.
Here’s to Gina’s continued curiosity and dedication, as we wish her many more years of success!
Share this article
Let’s Talk Ops (LTO) is a community of first-class operators powering some of the most successful venture capital firms in the world from behind the scenes. We provide connective tissue, mentorship, and tactical support to help members execute at top form across the many verticals they manage inside their funds. LTO also provides high-powered professional development to assist members with career navigation and to ensure the best talent stays. In that vein, we’ve launched our LTO Member Spotlights, aimed to elevate the visibility of VC operator contributions to the venture ecosystem at large.