Maria Hess

I'm an operator and partnerships leader helping AI startups build and grow in the cloud. At AWS Startups & Venture Capital, I work with hundreds of venture-backed founders and dozens of top-tier VCs on the GTM, partner, and ecosystem moves that turn early traction into durable enterprise revenue. Across 3.5 years at AWS, I led the Platform team for Startups & VC, building GTM and enablement programs that have served thousands of technical and commercial leaders, including CEOs, CTOs, CROs, and CFOs. Today I own partnerships with leading VCs and the AI companies they back.

Before AWS, I was three times on the founding team of companies that exited. As CRO at PicMonkey, I led subscription and ad revenue until the bootstrapped company's $110M acquisition by Shutterstock. As Director of Monetization at Picnik, I built the ad product end-to-end and delivered the company's first single-digit-million ad revenue before its acquisition by Google. As VP of Marketing at Likewise (Gates Frontier-backed, acquired by Watchlist Inc., with Gates Frontier retaining a stake), I led the cross-channel marketing and influencer strategy that exceeded app install targets.

In between, I was a Partner at Madrona Venture Group's studio and acting CEO across eight company concepts, leading customer discovery, 0→1 product traction, investment memos, and early GTM. At Google, I led the integration of PicMonkey's features into G+ and ultimately Google Photos.

What I do best: connect GTM, product, and partnerships, and build the operating layer that lets an early team move fast. I'm a player/coach — comfortable being the senior IC closing a strategic partnership and the leader hiring the team that takes it from there. I'm energized by mission-driven teams of humble, hard-working people building things that matter.