Our Team
Arian Simone, Founder
Arian Simone, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner of Fearless Fund, is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, angel investor, author, and PR & marketing specialist. Arian received her MBA from Florida A&M and has over 17 years of entrepreneurial experience: from pioneering and growing a successful PR and marketing firm to founding Fearless Magazine and the Fearless Platform in 2010, with a mission of inspiring millennial entrepreneurial women. Her background has allowed her to foster significant relationships in the entertainment industry with billion-dollar corporate clients such as the Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures and more.
William Duckworth, Principal
William Duckworth joined Fearless in 2021 as an active participant on the investment team for both funds. Today William manages fund operations and deal flow as well as investor relations. Prior to Fearless, William founded a startup in the connected health wearable devices field and worked for various startups in the healthcare and technology fields. William brings experience from both sides of the deal desk to the work he does at Fearless. William is a 2016 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in mechanical engineering.
Theodora Danso Isoh, Chief of Staff, Fearless Fund Africa
Theodora Danso Isoh recently returned to her roots in Ghana, after 19 years in the US, alongside her husband and two daughters. A proud alumna of Virginia State University with a degree in Business Management, Theodora has spent more than 10 years mastering the art of HR and employee development. Theodora has experience working for various companies in the hospitality and corporate sectors, including Marriott Hotels, AARP, AWS, Luminis Health, and Sam's Club. Today, she serves as Chief of Staff, where she is deeply committed to bridging the wealth gap by supporting women entrepreneurs. For Theodora, her work is more than a career; it’s a mission to foster economic growth and opportunity for women across Ghana
Shevon Jones, Platform Manager
Shevon Jones has been a part of the Fearless team since 2016 and has supported Fearless Fund since its inception in 2019. As Platform Manager, she supports the development and execution of programs, partnerships, and resources designed to help women entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses and expand their impact. A therapist, entrepreneur, and leadership strategist, Shevon brings more than 15 years of experience across mental health, organizational leadership, program development, and community engagement.
Rodney Sampson, fund advisor
Rodney Sampson is a serial entrepreneur who cofounded, built and sold Multicast Media Technologies, EFactor (EFCT) and Intellectual Currency, a world class integrated go-to-market, publishing, diversity and advisory firm with clients ranging from major Hollywood film studios, cable networks, tech companies, global corporations, publishers and African heads of state. In 2013, Sampson co-founded Opportunity Hub as a follow up to the highly successful Kingonomics’ book release. Today, as Executive Chairman & CEO of Opportunity Hub, Sampson is focused on scaling its suite of collaborative and interconnected technology products, programs, initiatives and fund globally. Sampson is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brooking Institution in Washington, DC and a Professor of Entrepreneurship at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. Sampson previously served as the 1st Head of Diversity at Mark Burnett Productions, executive producers of the hit ABC show, ABC’s Shark Tank.
Attorney Ben Crump, Fund Advisor
Ben Crump graduated from Florida State University and received his law degree from FSU College of Law. He has represented families in several high-profile civil rights casesCrump is the President of the National Civil Rights Trial Lawyers Association and previously served as President of the National Bar Association. He was the first African-American to chair the Florida State University College of Law Board of Directors and is the founder and director of the Benjamin Crump Social Justice Institute. In 2023, the College of Law at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida, became the Benjamin L. Crump College of Law.
Dave Parker, Fund Advisor
Dave Parker is a 5X founder and tech entrepreneur based in Seattle. He's also the author of the newly released book, Trajectory: Startup: Ideation to Product/Market Fit―A Handbook for Founders and Anyone Supporting Them. He's been part of 13 transactions as a founder, board member and now as an advisor. He’s raised $13M and exited $85M as a founder.
Tracy Gray, fund advisor
Tracy Gray is currently the Founder and Managing Partner of The 22 Fund, a growth venture capital and advisory firm focused on increasing the export capacity of Southern California companies, positioning these companies to accelerate growth and scale via international sales. She is also an Executive in Residence at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and chairs LACI’s Diversity in Entrepreneurship Advisory Council. In addition, Ms. Gray is the founder of the non-profit We Are Enough (WAE). WAE’s only mission is to educate ALL women on how and why to invest in women-owned, for-profit businesses or with a “gender lens.” Ms. Gray was formerly Senior Advisor to the LA Mayor, an investment professional at a venture capital fund and a systems engineer on the Space Shuttle program. Ms. Gray holds a B.S. in Mathematical Science with an aeronautics emphasis from the UC Santa Barbara and dual MBAs from Columbia University and UC, Berkeley.
Sam Sugarman, fund advisor
Sam Sugarman joined fearless in 2019 as a part time analyst. fund advisor and part time employee. Over the years Sam has held every role at Fearless ultimately leading the fundraising and investment teams for Fund II as a Principal. Sam stepped back from his full time role to begin his MBA at Wharton in 2025 but remains an engaged company and fund advisor to both funds. Prior to Fearless Sam worked in investment banking and fund of funds investing in New York City. He is a 2017 graduate of Brandeis University.