Ryan Darnell

Ryan Darnell is a venture capitalist and the Managing Partner at Max Ventures, an early-stage firm focused on day-zero investments before formal startup incorporation. Emphasizing strong alignment with founders, he leads these initial investments by typically deploying significant check sizes ranging between $1.0 million and $1.5 million. Since making his first venture investment in 2014, Darnell has successfully raised three external funds and currently manages an institutional portfolio exceeding nine figures in total assets under management. Through Max Ventures, he has invested in over 85 early-stage startups, seeding several companies that subsequently reached billion-dollar valuations while collaborating with recognizable industry figures like Joel Hellermark. Beyond traditional venture capital allocation, his firm actively builds new businesses from the ground up, having internally co-founded eight distinct venture-backed companies since 2017 to further support early-stage innovation.