Background
Co-Founder & COO of Une Femme Wines · Investor in SpaceX, AlpInvest, Gaingels, Sparkcharge & more · Wharton alum
About Me
I’m Zach Pelka, a four-time founder and the Co-Founder & COO of Une Femme Wines, the fastest-growing canned wine brand in the U.S. We’re scaling to over 300,000 cases in 2025 with 80% year-over-year growth, backed by top private equity funds, entrepreneurs, and industry-shaping investors.
At Une Femme, I’ve built partnerships with some of the world’s most respected companies — from Delta Airlines and Virgin Voyages to Blue Origin, Ritz Carlton, Target, Total Wine, and many more.
Beyond Une Femme, I invest in and raise syndicates across frontier industries. My portfolio includes companies like SpaceX, AlpInvest, Gaingels, Blackbird, Sparkcharge, Contraline, Indie Health, Ultron AI, Sett, Meridian, and others that are reshaping the future of technology, healthcare, and consumer innovation.
Before this chapter, I served as CFO of The Riddler Champagne Bars in San Francisco and New York, and as Head of Capital Markets & Investor Relations at Lumni, where I helped scale student financing solutions across five countries. I also co-founded three other companies, including Paytronage (acquired by Lumni), Mineful (B2B Crypto Mining) and Trage Group (e-commerce arbitrage). My career started at the intersection of technology and finance with roles at PJT Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures, Charles Schwab, and Merchants of Beverage.
I’m an active member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), a Trustee at Pope John Paul II Preparatory School, and an advisor to founders in consumer, tech, and hospitality.
I studied Operations, Information & Decisions and Finance at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Experience
- Co-Founder & COO | Une Femme Wines (2018 – Present)
I built Une Femme into the #1 canned wine brand in the U.S., scaling to 300,000+ cases and 80% YoY growth. We’ve raised over $18M and partnered with Delta, Blue Origin, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, Target, Total Wine, Sprouts, Hyatt, and many others. - Investor & Syndicate Lead
I invest in and raise syndicates for companies shaping the future, including SpaceX, AlpInvest, Gaingels, Sparkcharge, Contraline, Indie Health, Ultron AI, Overlap, and Astropilot. - CFO | The Riddler Champagne Bars (2019 – 2020)
I managed finance for two award-winning Champagne bars in San Francisco and New York. - Head of Capital Markets & IR | Lumni (2018)
I led over $46M in funding initiatives, scaling income share agreements to over 10,000 students. - CEO & Co-Founder | Paytronage (2017 – 2018, acquired by Lumni)
I built and sold a venture-backed student financing platform. - CEO & Co-Founder | Trage Group (2015 – 2016)
I launched and scaled an e-commerce arbitrage startup leveraging Amazon FBA. - Earlier Roles:
PJT Partners (Technology M&A), TCV (Growth Equity), Charles Schwab (Investment Management), Merchants of Beverage (Strategic Initiatives), LPS Integration (Corporate Finance).
Boards & Leadership
- Trustee, Pope John Paul II Preparatory School
- Board Member, Wine Service CoOp
- Member, YPO (Polaris Chapter)
- Advisor, Veso (modern aperitifs & vermouths)
Education
- The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (2017) – B.S. in Operations, Information & Decisions + Finance
- KU Leuven, Belgium – Study Abroad Program
- Pope John Paul II High School
Press & Recognition
I’ve been featured in Fortune, Business Insider, Yahoo Finance, NPR, Seeking Alpha, CBS, and other outlets.
Contact
If you’re interested in connecting around investments, advisory opportunities, speaking engagements, or press, you can reach me here → pelka.zach@gmail.com