Lister Delgado is a first-generation immigrant born in Lima, Peru. His mother was Cuban and his father Peruvian. Lister came to the US at age 17 speaking no English. He worked for 3 years as a construction worker while trying to figure out life in the US. Lister got accepted to Brown University and studied Electrical Engineering. Later, He attended The University of Texas at Austin, where He received a master’s in computer engineering.

Lister started his career in the telecommunications and semiconductor industries, he worked for five years, first at AT&T Bell Labs, and later at Lucent Technologies, in a range of technical roles, from ASIC design to software development and systems engineering.

Prior to IDEA Fund Partners, Lister was part of the corporate investment team at MCNC Ventures, a technology focused fund investing in early-stage companies. In 2006, concurrent with his investment responsibilities, Lister led the design and implementation of the NC IDEA grants program. The NC IDEA Grants program is today a key source of seed funding and validation for new companies in the state of North Carolina.

Lister Delgado co-founded IDEA Fund Partners in 2006 as a seed and early-stage technology focused fund. He started at the firm as a junior partner and over time, was able to buy each of his 3 partners’ shares in the firm. He now owns 100% of the firm and is the sole Managing Partner.

Today, IDEA Fund Partners is considered one of the most active and successful early-stage funds in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. In his role at IDEA Fund Partners, Lister is responsible for all aspects of the venture process, from opportunity sourcing and negotiation to management of portfolio investments.

He is passionate about entrepreneurship and company formation and has been an early-stage investor and advisor to entrepreneurs since 2001. During his career, Lister has led the evaluation of thousands of companies and has been a close advisor to hundreds of entrepreneurs. Currently, he manages several active portfolio investments for IDEA Fund Partners as director, board observer, or investor and leads all new deals. With IFP IV, he is trying to refocus the firm to invest in a narrower geography and more diverse entrepreneurs.

Lister received a ScB in Electrical Engineering from Brown University, an MS in Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.