Once a student from the Entrepreneurship and Marketing programs, 28-year-old Shuman now serves as Principal at Primary Venture Partners in New York.
Shuman, who is originally from Boston, enrolled in the Business School as a double major in entrepreneurship and marketing. As a student, he launched Category 5, a profitable direct-to-consumer footwear company that sold custom hand-sewn boat shoes and driving moccasins. The shoe startup earned him first place and the $30,000 grand prize in the spring 2013 UM Business Plan Competition.
After graduating Magna Cum Laude in May 2013, Shuman used the the prize winnings to grow the small college start-up company into a nationally recognized brand.
"UM gave me the platform to jumpstart my career as an entrepreneur by enabling me to engage my fellow students in multiple group projects that supported my company's day to day efforts post-launch,” said Shuman.
Equipped with knowledge, contacts and experience from his entrepreneurial pursuit, Shuman transititioned his career to venture capital. In 2015, he joined Corigin Ventures in New York, where he made seven investments such as Latch ($96 million raised), LoftSmart ($12.9 million Series A led by Tiger Global) and Morty (more than $10 million raised).
In October 2018, Shuman joined Primary Ventures as the firm’s youngest-ever principal. He has since led most of the firm’s new consumer and marketplace investments, including Orthly and Package Free Shop.
He has continued to support his alma mater by mentoring current students and has served on the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board and Young Alumni Leadership Committee.
“The prioritization skill that came from being a student in Miami is unlike any other,” said Shuman. “I'm proud to be a Miami Hurricane."
The investors of the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Venture Capital in 2020 "hail from big firms and small, worked their way up the ranks of some of the industry’s toughest shops and set out on their own to launch new funds. But whether they’ve backed dozens of companies already or just several strategic bets, the Under 30 List members for Venture Capital share a common bond: their own entrepreneurial spirit to continue to challenge the status quo." To read more from Forbes, click here.
