Felix Williams can’t recall the exact advice he received on his first day as an intern at St. Louis venture capital firm iSelect Fund, but it was something along the lines of “if you get in my way, you’re fired.”
The comment, from iSelect’s Managing Partner and CEO Carter Williams (no relation) was made in jest, but it seemed appropriate at the moment. That’s because Felix Williams, by his own admission, was under-qualified for the internship.
He was only 17 years old.
Knowing little about venture capital at the time, he made good use of the opportunity. A year later, in 2017, Felix Williams launched his own firm, St. Louis-based Lagomaj Capital, which has amassed an investment portfolio of 38 deals, a figure that has doubled over the past year and a half.
Still just 22, his investments so far range from the high profile (Elon Musk’s SpaceX) to the familiar (St. Louis agtech stalwart Benson Hill), and touch on the agriculture, software, transportation and media industries.