2025 Grocery Industry Icons & Innovators

Chaz Flexman is the CEO and co-founder at Starday, the AI-driven food company reinventing category growth for shelf-stable products.

During his career, Chaz has launched more than 50 CPG products and managed sales and operation planning for more than 30 products simultaneously. Prior to Starday, he was Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Equal Ventures, where he incubated the concept for Starday. He was also on the founding team of Pattern Brands, a CPG holding company, where he led product and operations helping to raise $20 million in funding and launch several brands. He also served as vice president of corporate development and strategy at PCH, a $1 billion hardware platform.

Earlier in his career, Chaz joined a16z as employee number 25, holding a wide range of roles from partnering with portfolio companies to leading the firm’s investment process. After, he worked as the general manager of a spin-out of an a16z portfolio company, Wink, which grew to be the largest smart home platform. He began his career in banking with Silicon Valley Bank, where he helped grow their software venture and mezzanine debt practice.