Stephen Svajian

Stephen ("Steve") Svajian is the co-founder and CEO of Anova Culinary, the San Francisco–based smart-kitchen company he started in 2013 alongside Jeff Wu, Dr. Frank Wu, and Natalie Vaughn. Anova began as a maker of temperature-control equipment for scientific laboratories before pivoting to an affordable, app-connected sous vide immersion circulator for home cooks. Under Svajian's leadership the company became the market leader in consumer precision cooking, selling roughly 400,000 units in 2016 and building a large "food nerd" community of home cooks.

In February 2017, appliance giant Electrolux acquired Anova for up to $250 million ($115M in cash up front plus up to $135M in earn-outs/adjustments) — widely reported as the first multi-million-dollar acquisition of a smart-kitchen brand. Anova retained its brand and Svajian stayed on as CEO, running it as a subsidiary within Electrolux. In his own writing announcing the deal ("Everybody has a seat at the table"), Svajian emphasized inclusive culture and a "first who, then what" people-first operating philosophy.

Before Anova, Svajian spent more than two decades in technology and consumer products. He was CEO of ybuy, Inc., a subscription "try-before-you-buy" consumer-electronics platform, and co-founder/CEO of Get Fresh, an early food-delivery service. He also co-founded Audio Case Files and Baiku Bikes, and has served as an advisor to companies including HIDDEN Inc. and Swivl.

Svajian earned a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University (with Army JROTC/ROTC training through MIT) and a Juris Doctor from the College of William & Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law.

• Invests as an individual angel, primarily at the seed stage, drawing on his own operating experience building and exiting a connected-hardware consumer company.
• Natural affinity for consumer products, hardware, and connected/smart-home devices — the domain where he has the deepest founder credibility; aggregators also tag Home & Living, Fashion, and Legal.
• Values team and character over strategy: his stated leadership principle is "first who, then what," and his cultural thesis is that "everybody has a seat at the table" — a bias toward founders who contribute regardless of background.
• Believes in using science and technology to democratize premium/professional experiences for everyday consumers (the core of the Anova playbook: making restaurant-grade sous vide affordable and connected).