I'm an entrepreneur and value investor based in Austin, Texas. Previously, I lived in New York City and San Francisco, where I founded and sold two companies (Zirtual and Avra Talent—now Carrara) and collaborated with innovative startups like Calm.com and Magic. Most recently, I led People + Operations at Mahway, a venture builder based in LA.

In 2025, I'm launching my next venture, Far Future. This new company combines 15 years of experience in recruiting, tech-enabled services and scaling distributed teams with my passion for creating win-win cultures through aligned incentives.

My Next Co (Far Future)

Let’s Connect:

• Linkedin
• Goodreads
• maren(at)farfuture.ventures

I have always been fascinated by the concept of leveraging one’s time, so much so that my first two companies were all about delegation — at Zirtual, we were one of the early platforms that connected busy executives with virtual assistants, at Avra Talent (now Carrara) we help companies delegate their HR, Talent and Biz Ops functions, so they can focus on their core strengths.

As I begin to explore my next venture, I am doubling down on the idea of leveraging human time, to unlock results uncorrelated with the ‘hours’ worked, but in 2025 with the dawn of commercially available AI we are shifting from delegating to other people and instead delegating, collaborating with and getting leverage from modern technology, tools and AI.

Writing

Work History

• Mahway, People Operations (2022 - 2024)
• Magic, Head of Talent 2021-22
• Avra Talent (now Carrara), Founder + CEO (2016-2022)
• Calm, Interim COO (2016)
• Zirtual, Cofounder + CEO (2011-2015)

If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility! ~ Søren Kierkegaard

Last updated @Last Thursday