Shaaya is a Southern California native who grew up on a steady diet of the LA Lakers and classic hip-hop music. He is a voracious reader and learner (a growth mindset junkie) who enjoys an active lifestyle - distance running, boxing, weightlifting, pickleball, and yoga top the list. 

 

He began his career in finance during the peak of the Great Recession. As an analyst, he had a front row seat to the subprime mortgage crisis at Bank of America's Credit Division and subsequently led the acquisition of distressed assets exceeding $3 billion for Oaktree Capital, ​a $150 billion alternative investments fund. During his early ascent in private equity, Shaaya experienced an inflection point after reading Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs - he felt a strong pull to the adventure and challenge of building scrappy companies in Silicon Valley. Thus began his transition into startups while earning his MBA at the Haas School of Business. 

 

Shaaya has led the growth of several early-stage startups in commercial leadership roles spanning Sales, Business Development, and General Management. He has been a part of two successful exits.  Additionally, Shaaya has built and operated profitable corporate ventures as well as acquired companies and led their  transformation for AAA's venture and capital investment arm, A3Ventures. The unique diversity of Shaaya's experience and knowledge is what enables him to be a skilled and trusted advisor.