In this episode, you'll learn:

[01:13] Building the InsurTech LA community

[05:26] The evolution of InsurTech over the past decade

[10:50] Are we early or late in InsurTech?

[15:01] Why innovation in insurance is harder than it looks

[19:43] Advice for founders entering InsurTech

[23:05] IPO failures and M&A realities

The nonprofit organization Gilad is passionate about: Gift of Life

About Gilad Shai

Gilad Shai is a Managing Director at BMI Capital International. A Global InsurTech expert and lead advisor at BMI, Gilad has over 20 years of professional experience. He invests directly and is an active advisory board member in several organizations. Gilad's experience spans multiple industries and company sizes. He worked for large brands Intel, Hearst, Yahoo!, and Farmers insurance and has launched several startups. Gilad is a host, a speaker, and an author on the InsurTech subject. He has been organizing InsurTech LA events and hosting guest speakers since 2017. He has given keynote presentations and moderated panels at major global conferences in NYC, London, Chicago, Vegas, and Tel Aviv. Gilad co-authored The InsurTech book, published by Wiley, and featured in Financial Times and other media outlets and podcasts.

About BMI Capital International

BMI Capital International is an investment firm focused on the intersection of insurance and technology. The firm specializes in identifying and supporting innovative solutions that transform how insurance products are created, distributed, and managed. BMI Capital provides strategic capital and industry expertise to help portfolio companies navigate the complex insurance ecosystem and achieve meaningful scale.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you'll learn:

[05:28] Why venture capital?

[07:40] Inside NGP Capital’s deep tech focus

[11:05] Why now is the moment for deep tech

[17:02] What Debjit looks for in founders

[19:17] The Tractian story: founder intensity

[31:39] Key deep tech trends: Robotics & AI

[35:43] What makes a great deep tech pitch

The nonprofit organization Debjit is passionate about: MedShare

About Debjit Mukerji

Debjit Mukerji is a Partner at NGP Capital, where he focuses on Deep Tech investments across robotics, AI, and industrial systems.

With over two decades in venture capital, Debjit brings a strong technical foundation, holding a PhD in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. His career has spanned roles across multiple leading firms and industrial technology platforms, where he has consistently focused on translating breakthrough research into real-world impact.

He is particularly passionate about backing founders building at the intersection of software and the physical world—where innovation is hardest, but most enduring.

About NGP Capital

NGP Capital is a global venture capital firm dedicated to investing in Deep Tech companies. With a focus on “digital-physical convergence,” the firm backs startups that apply AI, software, and hardware to transform physical industries.

NGP Capital invests primarily at the Series A and B stages, with a global footprint spanning North America, Europe, and beyond. The firm partners closely with founders building in sectors such as robotics, industrial software, space technology, and connected systems, supporting companies that aim to redefine how the physical world operates.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

Drawing on their experience building the Thiel Fellowship, Danielle and Michael explain how working closely with hundreds of young innovators shaped their belief in character driven investing. They share how they identify talent before traditional signals appear and why curiosity, conviction, and “hyper fluency” matter more than credentials.

In this episode, you'll learn:

[01:03] Danielle Strachman and Michael Gibson on building the Thiel Fellowship and founding 1517 Fund

[07:56] Lessons from working with hundreds of Thiel Fellows and identifying exceptional young builders

[14:32] Why leaving college early can be an acceleration, not a dropout

[18:47] The story behind the name 1517 Fund

[23:41] How 1517 evaluates founders and why character matters more than credentials

[29:06] Investing in frontier technologies that sound like science fiction

[36:58] Advice for young builders and how founders can connect with the 1517 community

The nonprofit organization Danielle is passionate about: Foresight Institute

About Danielle Strachman

Danielle Strachman is Co Founder and General Partner at 1517 Fund. She has spent more than a decade working with young entrepreneurs and unconventional builders.

In 2010 she joined the founding team of the Thiel Fellowship, where she led the design and operations of the program. During that time she worked with founders such as Vitalik Buterin and Ritesh Agarwal.

Before that, Danielle founded and directed Innovations Academy in San Diego, a K–8 charter school focused on student led and project based learning.

At 1517 Fund, she focuses on identifying ambitious young builders and helping them turn early ideas into companies.

About Michael Gibson

Michael Gibson is Co Founder and General Partner at 1517 Fund.

In 2010 he helped launch the Thiel Fellowship with Peter Thiel. The program was built on a simple belief. Exceptional founders can appear without credentials and often in unexpected places.

Michael frequently challenges the influence of credential driven institutions across education, government, and industry. His work focuses on supporting founders who push the edges of science and technology.

About 1517 Fund

1517 Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2015 by Danielle Strachman and Michael Gibson.

The firm backs young founders, uncredentialed builders, and renegade scientists working on ambitious ideas. Its philosophy grew out of the success of the Thiel Fellowship, which helped launch companies such as Ethereum, Figma, Luminar Technologies, OYO Rooms, and Longevity Fund.

The name 1517 references the year Martin Luther sparked the Reformation. In the same spirit, the firm challenges the modern belief that credentials and diplomas are required to build important things.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you'll learn:

[02:40] Jessica’s journey from Texas to San Francisco and her early work in R&D at Impossible Foods

[04:55] The idea behind plant based meat and how innovation can reshape consumer behavior

[07:30] Why Jessica started Coyote Ventures and how the firm focuses on overlooked areas of healthcare

[10:35] How AI driven digital health platforms can improve patient outcomes between doctor visits

[13:15] What Coyote Ventures looks for when evaluating seed and pre seed healthcare startups

[18:55] How AI is changing healthcare products and operations

[22:35] Advice for founders building healthcare startups in a complex and relationship driven system

[28:45] The Health Equity Innovator Summit

The nonprofit organization Jessica is passionate about: Reproductive Freedom for All

About Jessica Karr

Jessica Karr is the Founder and Managing Partner of Coyote Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm focused on improving healthcare access and outcomes. She previously worked in research and development at Impossible Foods, where she helped develop early prototypes of the company’s plant based meat products and contributed to patents. After earning her MBA and working closely with startups, Jessica launched Coyote Ventures to back founders building innovative healthcare solutions, especially in areas that have historically been underserved.

About Coyote Ventures

Coyote Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm investing in digital health and healthcare technology companies that improve access, outcomes, and equity in healthcare. The firm focuses on areas such as women’s health, mental health, caregiving, aging, and other underserved segments of the healthcare system. Coyote Ventures invests in AI driven platforms and digital health solutions that help patients, healthcare providers, and payers deliver better care at scale. Portfolio companies include Alvee, Betterleave, Flex, Gabbi, Hera Biotech, Magnolia, Malama Health, Maude among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you'll learn:

[04:07] From personalization to hiring agents

[08:30] Modern AI infrastructure and model flexibility

[14:58] Why LinkedIn built Espresso

[23:08] AI can write code but you own the pager

[26:33] Data as a success layer

[30:06] Privacy, governance, and guardrails in the AI age

[37:56] Reinvent or go extinct

About Kapil Surlaker

Kapil Surlaker is a seasoned technology leader who has worked across distributed systems, large-scale databases, and AI infrastructure. He began his career at Oracle building foundational database technologies before joining LinkedIn during its hypergrowth phase. At LinkedIn, he played a central role in building Espresso, a massively scalable distributed document database, and later led AI and data platform modernization efforts that powered personalization, ads, search, and emerging generative AI use cases. His work spans infrastructure, privacy engineering, governance systems, and enterprise AI transformation.

About Bhaskar "BG" Ghosh

Bhaskar "BG" Ghosh is an engineer, operator and investor, currently building and raising capital in the emerging investment category of AI-powered services for high TAM legacy verticals. Previously BG was a General Partner at SF venture firm 8VC where he led the core early-phase enterprise s/w investments in AI and Data, incubated disruptive businesses in AI-enabled Services and Infra, and supported a large family of founders in trenches and on boards. BG spent his formative Silicon Valley years building core tech and teams during the hyper-scaling phases of LinkedIn Data, Yahoo Ads, Oracle RDBMS and Nerdwallet marketplaces.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you'll learn:

[01:11] Aman’s journey from Wall Street to Practical VC
[03:40] What made the early PayPal team exceptional
[06:32] Follow the customer, not the original plan
[10:44] Why are startups staying private longer today?
[11:17] What secondary transactions actually are
[18:41] How founders should handle secondary requests
[26:11] Are we in a tech bubble today?

The nonprofit organization Aman is passionate about: AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization)

About Aman Verjee

Aman Verjee is the Founder and General Partner of Practical Venture Capital, a secondary-focused fund providing liquidity to early investors in late-stage private companies. Before launching Practical VC, Aman spent over a decade in finance and operations roles at PayPal and eBay, joining PayPal in 2001 before its IPO and witnessing its transformation from a money-beaming mobile app to the dominant payment platform for eBay. Earlier, he worked in investment banking in New York after studying economics at Stanford and constitutional law at Harvard Law School. Aman was recruited to PayPal by Peter Thiel and worked directly for David Sachs during the company's pivotal early years. Now partnering with Dave McClure, he focuses on Series C and D investments in SaaS and FinTech companies with $200M+ in revenue and clear paths to liquidity within 5-7 years. He's also writing a book on the history of financial bubbles and co-hosts the Trading Places podcast, analyzing private company valuations.

About Practical Venture Capital

Practical Venture Capital is a secondary-focused venture firm that provides liquidity solutions for early investors, employees, and funds. Operating with a 7-year fund structure instead of the traditional 10-15 years, Practical VC targets 20-40% discounts to last-round valuations in Series C and D companies with $200M+ in revenue and clear paths to exit. The firm specializes in SaaS and FinTech but has made exceptions for exceptional opportunities like SpaceX, now their biggest winner despite violating their typical investment criteria. Founded by Aman Verjee and Dave McClure, Practical VC evaluates roughly 50 companies at any given time, making 5-10 investments annually. The firm also offers SPVs for deals that don't fit their main fund and covers LATAM opportunities through an operating partner in Argentina. Their approach recognizes that modern venture capital requires new liquidity solutions as companies like SpaceX (23 years private), Airbnb (17 years), and Palantir (20 years) redefine what "patient capital" means.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you'll learn:

[02:14] From Texas to Princeton to building an insurance dynasty in New York

[04:04] Why insurance rewards creativity and curious minds

[07:24] The brutal truth: 99% of a VC's job is saying no

[10:31] Exiting the family business and finding the "why now" moment for venture

[12:10] The ChatGPT revelation that launched Crystal Venture Partners

[14:13] Investment thesis: $1-3M checks at day one for transformational companies

[19:11] Why building a venture company means years of terror—and that's the test

[21:59] Bright Harbor case study: From revenue model questions to product-market fit during LA fires

[25:30] Most common reason for no: "We're not your best source of capital"

[29:40] Finding investment opportunities in unusual areas

The nonprofit organization Jonathan is passionate about: 12/64

About Jonathan Crystal

Jonathan Crystal is the Managing Partner of Crystal Venture Partners, a $33 million early-stage venture fund focused on AI-driven transformation in the insurance industry. Before entering venture capital, Jonathan spent 20 years as an operator in the insurance brokerage business, ultimately serving as CFO of Crystal and Company, a top-25 national insurance brokerage firm founded by his family. He led the firm to a successful exit to Alliant Insurance Services in 2018. Jonathan brings deep domain expertise and company-building experience to his investments. He backs seasoned, often serial entrepreneurs building transformational companies, writing $1-3 million checks as early as day one. His portfolio includes companies like Bright Harbor, Sixfold AI, NevadoAI, Comulate, and Corvus Insurance.

About Crystal Venture Partners

Crystal Venture Partners is a $33 million early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2022 to capitalize on the AI transformation of the insurance industry. The firm writes $1-3 million first checks, often as the first institutional investor or alongside other first institutional investments. Crystal Venture Partners invests in 4-6 companies annually from a pipeline of 300+ opportunities, maintaining a highly selective approach with domain expertise enabling conviction at the earliest stages—sometimes backing founders on day one before product development. The firm's portfolio of 10 companies has shown strong momentum, with over half securing follow-on financing in multiple rounds within a year of initial investment. Led by Jonathan Crystal, who brings two decades of insurance industry operating experience, the firm specializes in identifying transformational opportunities where AI can create and capture significant value in risk management and insurance markets.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you'll learn:

[01:24] Amias's unique path from politics and Treasury to venture capital

[05:13] The lever theory: how government and VC create systemic change

[07:12] Why mechanical thinking and first principles matter in VC

[14:48] QED's investment sweet spot: Series A and series B with undeniable momentum

[19:25] What product-market fit really means and how to recognize it

[22:14] Inverted AI: Why the world needs financial services for the AI economy

[26:43] The AI bubble paradox: overvalued companies, transformative technology

[32:57] Why early-stage founders should ignore the macro and focus on customers

[34:31] The brutal math of venture

The nonprofit organization Amias is passionate about: Easterseals

About Amias Gerety

Amias Gerety is a Partner at QED Investors, where he focuses on FinTech and InsurTech investments. Before joining QED in 2017, Amias spent eight years at the US Treasury Department from the first day of the Obama administration through its final day. During his tenure, he helped write the Dodd-Frank Act and built the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the organization responsible for monitoring systemic risk in the US financial system. His government experience during the financial crisis gives him a unique perspective on market dynamics and regulatory frameworks. A mechanical thinker who approaches investments with an essentialist mindset, Amias has invested in companies like Kin Insurance, Prosper, and Tint. He previously worked as a management consultant and with Save the Children in East Africa.

About QED Investors

QED Investors is one of the most successful venture capital firms focused on FinTech investments globally. As a multi-stage, global firm with a $650 million early-stage fund and $300 million growth fund, QED specializes in Series A and B investments in companies demonstrating exceptional momentum and product-market fit. The firm requires portfolio companies to show dramatic growth—expecting tripling in six months for Series A and tripling in a year for Series B investments. QED's partners bring deep domain expertise from building and scaling financial services companies, with a particular focus on companies that are reshaping financial services through technology. The firm is known for its rigorous, thesis-driven approach to investing and its high conviction in backing founders who have found authentic product-market fit in large, expanding markets.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[01:18] Steve's background and transition into venture capital

[06:15] Using data to drive decisions in venture investments

[09:06] Comparing concentrated and diversified portfolio strategies

[15:30] Understanding and meeting founders' needs

[20:00] The role and support of emerging managers in venture capital

[30:00] Evolution of the venture capital ecosystem and future perspectives

The nonprofit organization Steve is passionate about: International Baccalaureate

About Steve Kim

Steve Kim is a Partner at Verdis Investment Management, where he champions a data-driven and diversified approach to venture capital investments. With over two decades of experience, Steve backs emerging managers at the earliest stages, leveraging data to optimize returns while reducing risk. His career began in technology, where he held leadership roles at companies like Walt Disney and Alcatel before transitioning to investments.

About Verdis Investment Management

Verdis Investment Management, LLC (“Verdis”) is a Registered Investment Advisor under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. Registration as an Investment Advisor does not imply any level of skill or training. The views expressed in this episode reflect those of Verdis as of the date of recording. Any views are subject to change at any time based on market or other conditions, and Verdis disclaims any responsibility to update such views. This commentary is not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results or investment advice. Because investment decisions are based on numerous factors, these views may not be relied upon as an indication of trading intent on behalf of any portfolio or strategy. The information contained herein has been prepared from sources believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed by Verdis as to its accuracy or completeness. This information does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, an interest in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation. Certain information contained herein has been obtained from other parties. While such sources are believed to be reliable, neither Verdis nor its respective affiliates assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information presented.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[01:00] - Stephen’s journey from Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam to venture capitalist at Spero Ventures

[04:30] - How Spero spun out of Omidyar Network to back purpose-driven founders

[08:10] - Investing early—with proof points that show real-world traction

[11:10] - Why mission and authenticity matter more than hype in founder evaluation

[14:00] - The story behind Spero’s investment in Juno and the value of long-term relationships

[17:00] - How founders should work with junior investors inside VC firms

[19:00] - Why conviction and alignment matter when founders choose their investors

[22:00] - Stephen’s take on the concentration of capital and the future of small, focused funds

Nonprofit highlight: AchieveKids

About Stephen Wemple

Stephen Wemple is a Principal at Spero Ventures, where he invests in mission-driven founders building companies for a healthier, more sustainable, and fulfilling future. He has led investments across sectors such as healthcare, climate, and frontier technologies, backing founders who combine purpose with commercial ambition.

Stephen began his career in early-stage venture capital, investing in emerging markets across Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. A Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam, he worked with the U.S. State Department to support entrepreneurship initiatives before joining Spero Ventures in its formative years. Stephen believes the best entrepreneurs are those who find and stay true to their mission.

About Spero Ventures

Spero Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture capital firm that backs mission-driven founders building companies for a healthy, sustainable, and fulfilling future. The firm leads or co-leads seed and Series A rounds with $2–4 million investments and maintains a concentrated portfolio to closely support each founder. Its team, which includes former operators from Tesla, eBay, and Stripe, has invested in companies like Juno (child disability insurance), Telo Trucks (electric pickup trucks), Tiny Health (gut health solutions), Euclid Power (renewable energy software), and Gencove (genome sequencing platform), reflecting its belief that purpose-driven startups can create both outsized impact and venture-scale returns.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
[03:18] The journey from founder to VC and back again

[07:42] How Recursive defines “pre-seed” and why focus matters

[12:51] What Itamar looks forward to in the first call with a founder

[18:34] Data defensibility and AI applications: where value is created

[25:07] The math and reasons behind saying no

[31:40] What founders misunderstand about TAM sizing

[36:58] Staying emotionally resilient as a founder

The nonprofit Itamar supports: Anti-Defamation League (ADL)

About Itamar Novick

Itamar Novick is the founder and General Partner at Recursive Ventures, a pre-seed focused venture firm investing in AI-driven applications and data-advantaged software products. Before becoming an investor, Itamar spent over two decades as a founder and operator, including leadership roles at Gigya (acquired by SAP) and Life360. His approach to venture blends hands-on operator judgment with disciplined portfolio construction and deep founder support.

About Recursive Ventures

Recursive Ventures is a founder-GP led fund specializing in pre-seed and seed companies building AI-powered applications with strong data defensibility. The firm operates with a focused portfolio model, quick decision cycles, and direct founder support — avoiding the AUM-driven growth strategies common in larger firms. Recursive backs founders who combine technical depth, market insight, and authentic obsession. Portfolio companies include Life360, Ring, Tile, DataJoy, Armory, Placer.ai, Deel, May Mobility, Akash Network, Tomato AI, Anjuna Security, Harmony.ai among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
[01:00] The Draper legacy: how one family helped shape venture capital
[05:45] From steel to startups: the early days of Silicon Valley
[10:45] Adam’s first startup and lessons from failure
[13:30] Why Boost VC bets on “endeavors of consequence”
[16:00] How Adam thinks about risk, luck, and curiosity in investing
[18:30] The weird founder advantage: high agency and obsession as signals
[22:45] How Adam evaluates founders beyond the pitch deck
[27:00] Rethinking risk: why the boldest path can be the safest

The nonprofit Adam supports: The Ocean Cleanup

About Adam Draper

Adam Draper is the Founder and Managing Director of Boost VC, a pre-seed venture firm in Silicon Valley that invests in founders building the future—across crypto, space, deep tech, and frontier science. A fourth-generation entrepreneur and third-generation venture capitalist, Adam has backed more than 300 startups including Coinbase, Amplitude, and Radiant Nuclear. Known for his enthusiasm for “weird ideas,” Adam is passionate about helping founders take bold risks and build enduring companies. 

About Boost VC

Boost VC is a Silicon Valley-based pre-seed venture capital firm dedicated to supporting founders building transformative technologies in crypto, deep tech, and frontier industries. Founded in 2012, Boost VC has invested in over 400 companies worldwide. The firm averages roughly one deal per week and deploys around $500 K in its lead pre-seed rounds, along with $50 K fellowship checks for emerging founders.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
[01:55] From Mississippi to Silicon Valley: Maryam’s unexpected path into venture capital

[04:18] The origins of Venture Forward and its mission to democratize access to VC

[07:13] Why venture capital lacked diversity for so long

[09:17] The champions who sparked change and why progress takes time

[12:46] How Venture Forward educates and supports emerging managers

[15:16] The scale of Venture Forward’s programs and the launch of the GP Masterclass

[18:00] The story of Chingona Ventures and how early support creates lasting impact

[20:54] What successful emerging managers do differently

[24:43] Why starting a fund is harder than it looks—and what most underestimate

[25:47] The future of venture: specialization, innovation, and realistic optimism

The nonprofit organization Maryam is passionate about: PBS

About Maryam Haque

Maryam Haque is the Founding Executive Director of Venture Forward, a nonprofit organization dedicated to democratizing access to venture capital. She has over 15 years of experience in the venture ecosystem, including leadership roles at the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Dow Jones VentureSource. Maryam is passionate about broadening participation in venture capital, supporting emerging fund managers, and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion across the industry.

About Venture Forward

Venture Forward is a Silicon Valley-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit launched under the NVCA to foster a more accessible, inclusive, and sustainable venture capital ecosystem. The organization supports individuals from all backgrounds through education, mentorship, and community programs such as VC University, Emerging Manager Office Hours, and the GP Masterclass. Its mission is to empower the next generation of investors, strengthen venture firms, and drive lasting change in the innovation economy.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
[02:10] From Chandigarh to Silicon Valley: Tim’s path to venture and entrepreneurship
[04:09] Lessons from Scopus and Octane: Why lived experience matters more than spreadsheets
[06:07] How venture “reinvents itself” and demands a learning mindset
[11:43] Sierra Ventures’ early-stage focus and flexible check sizes
[14:33] Why raising the maximum check can backfire
[16:44] The Eudia story: Hundreds of customer interviews and unique insights win conviction
[23:07] How Sierra selects only ~2 deals per partner each year
[27:26] Tim’s message to Washington: Don’t overregulate America’s greatest gift—entrepreneurship

The nonprofit organization Tim is passionate about: American India Foundation

About Tim Guleri

Tim Guleri is a Managing Partner at Sierra Ventures, where he focuses on AI, enterprise software, and emerging technologies. A successful founder turned investor, Tim led Scopus Technology to an IPO and later founded Octane Software, which was acquired for $3B. Since 2001, he has been a hands-on venture capitalist, backing transformative companies and guiding founders with lessons from both entrepreneurial wins and mistakes.

About Sierra Ventures

Sierra Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture capital firm with over $2B in assets under management and more than four decades of experience. Specializing in enterprise infrastructure and emerging technologies, Sierra partners with founders at seed and Series A stages, providing flexible capital, operational expertise, and trusted connections to help startups scale into market leaders. Portfolio companies include Eudia, Yalo, Spectro Cloud, Endor Labs, Phenom People, Planera, Quintessent, Cimulate, among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
[01:56] BG’s early journey from Calcutta to Silicon Valley and his career in academia, Yahoo, Oracle, LinkedIn, and NerdWallet
[06:10] Why he calls himself a “secondhand entrepreneur” and what excites him most about venture capital
[11:22] 8VC’s focus areas and why incubation is core to the firm’s strategy
[14:05] The “geometry framework” for evaluating enterprise startups: persona, product, budget
[19:30] Where BG sees opportunity in generative AI: orchestration, knowledge graphs, semantic layers, observability
[25:12] Why networking must be intentional and based on service, not transactions
[28:34] BG’s advice to founders on standing out and building authentic investor relationships

The non-profit Bhaskar is passionate about:  SACSA (Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia)

About Bhaskar Ghosh

Bhaskar Ghosh (BG) is a Partner at 8VC, where he leads investments in enterprise software, AI, data infrastructure, fintech, and healthcare, while incubating multiple startups. Previously, he held senior roles at Oracle and Yahoo, was the founding head of data infrastructure at LinkedIn, and served as CTO at NerdWallet, helping scale it to IPO. BG holds a PhD in Computer Science from Yale and is passionate about helping founders navigate zero-to-one journeys. Outside venture, he is deeply engaged in Indian classical music and supports community initiatives like Ragas Live.

About 8VC

8VC is a venture capital firm with approximately $7B in assets under management, investing in transformative technologies across enterprise software, AI, healthcare, logistics, fintech, and defense. With offices in Austin and San Francisco, 8VC partners with early-stage founders and also dedicates significant capital to incubation—building new companies alongside entrepreneurs. Its mission is to back ambitious founders solving global problems with scalable, science-driven solutions. 8VC’s portfolio includes category-defining startups that are shaping industries and tackling global challenges, including DataHub, Yugabyte, LightBeam, Tezi, OpenGov, Nile, AI21 Labs, AMP, Bedrock Robotics, 180° Insurance, Cambium, Candid Health among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[01:40] From Salem to Stanford to Silicon Valley: Zach’s journey into venture capital

[03:38] Why venture is a “blank canvas” and not a zero-sum game

[05:46] Foundation Capital’s early-stage focus and Zach’s typical check size

[06:58] “There’s no time too early”: When founders should reach out—and what Zach looks for

[09:43] What really happens in the first meeting (and why it’s about participation, not just Q&A)

[12:54] Should founders ditch the pitch deck? Zach’s advice might surprise you

[16:40] The Push Cash story: How one founder showed true differentiation from day one

[19:34] Why Zach says no—even after initial interest—and what makes a $10B story possible

[22:42] How venture has professionalized—and why AI brings back the excitement

About Zach Noorani

Zach Noorani is a Partner at Foundation Capital, where he invests in early-stage fintech and enterprise startups. With over 14 years of experience in venture capital, Zach has a background that spans corporate VC at Capital One and a passion for supporting founders who demonstrate velocity of learning and unique insight. Based in Los Angeles, Zach focuses on inception-to-Series A companies and has led investments in several innovative fintech ventures.

About Foundation Capital

Foundation Capital is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm with over 30 years of experience backing early-stage companies. The firm partners with founders from inception through Series A, providing hands-on support to help build transformative businesses. Foundation Capital’s portfolio includes category-defining companies across fintech, enterprise, and emerging technologies.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[01:00] From Belgium to Israel to Silicon Valley: Jacques’ global path into tech and AI

[05:20] “This time it’s different” is rarely true—how founders should think about hype cycles

[11:00] Why more capital doesn’t mean an easier path for founders

[13:30] The venture industry is now a volume business—but founders need depth, not scale

[15:00] What founders get wrong about market entry—and why randomness is the enemy

[17:30] Focused beats first: how Medigate won in cybersecurity by narrowing in on medical devices

[30:00] The importance of reflection, walking without your phone, and finding a mentor

[37:00] Jacques' nonprofit passion: creating dialogue between communities in conflict

The nonprofit organization Jacques is passionate about: Technion

About Jacques Benkoski

Jacques Benkoski is a General Partner at US Venture Partners (USVP), where he invests in enterprise software, AI, and cybersecurity startups. He has over 20 years of experience as a VC, following a successful career as a startup CEO and tech executive. Jacques is also the author of Market Entry Strategy, a hands-on guide for founders navigating early customer acquisition. A passionate advocate for founder wellbeing and long-term thinking, Jacques mentors entrepreneurs around the world.

About U.S. Venture Partners

U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) is a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm with a strong focus on early-stage companies in enterprise software, cybersecurity, and healthcare. With more than $4 billion raised since its founding in 1981, USVP has backed over 500 companies including Box, Guidewire, Trusteer, and Medigate. The firm brings decades of operational expertise and deep sector insight to help founders scale with clarity and discipline.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[04:40] Why Amit believes _“VC is one of the most intellectually fulfilling jobs in the world”_—and how it blends empathy and long-term conviction

[11:40] Betting on uncomfortable timing: Tau backed Iterative Health before AI in gastrointestinal innovation was trendy

[17:40] "I value humility more than confidence." Amit’s surprising lens on what makes a founder trustworthy (and fundable)

[21:30] Understanding how to extend your runway to 24 months is the key to success in early-stage startups.

[25:20] What founders must understand about true VC alignment

[29:49] Value vs. valuation: The myth founders must unlearn to avoid being misled by hype-driven fundraising

The nonprofit organization Amit is passionate about: Hospital for Hope

About Amit Garg

Amit Garg is the Co-founder and Managing Partner at Tau Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture capital firm. With a background in engineering, product, and investing, Amit has built a career around intersecting deep tech with human impact. Prior to founding Tau Ventures, he worked at Google, Norwest Venture Partners, and Samsung NEXT. He’s also the co-founder of Hospital for Hope, a nonprofit hospital in rural India. Amit brings a global, grounded, and mission-driven lens to evaluating startups, with particular focus on AI, digital health, and enterprise infrastructure.

About Tau Ventures

Tau Ventures is a seed-focused venture capital firm investing in startups at the intersection of AI, healthcare, automation, and enterprise infrastructure. Founded by operators-turned-investors, the firm applies deep technical understanding and pragmatic business insight to back early-stage teams tackling real-world challenges. Tau operates with a lean fund model, high conviction, and a focus on value creation over hype. Its portfolio includes startups applying cutting-edge technology to improve healthcare diagnostics, workflow automation, and infrastructure scalability. Tau’s portfolio companies include 1Password, Absci, Alpaca Health, Autonomize AI, Iterative Health, Vecna Robotics among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[03:55] Dave’s journey to becoming an investor
[06:30] The early evolution of accelerators and why “lots of little bets” took off
[09:50] How cloud, open source, and low CAC changed the startup funding game
[12:49] Why startup liquidity timelines have doubled—and what that means for founders and LPs
[14:56] What secondaries really are (hint: not just one thing)
[19:31] Does venture’s illiquidity attract the right kind of investors—or just the most patient?
[22:06] The discipline of public markets vs. the opacity of private ones
[26:37] What Practical VC looks for in a secondary opportunity (and the $50M–$100M revenue rule)
[29:14] How Dave screens funds and companies for possible exits
[33:37] What’s exciting (and worrying) about secondaries, stablecoins, and emerging markets

The nonprofit organization Dave is passionate about: New Story

About Dave McClure

Dave McClure is the founder of Practical Venture Capital, a firm focused on liquidity through venture secondaries. Previously, he co-founded 500 Startups, one of the world’s most active early-stage venture funds. A PayPal alumni and self-described nerd turned investor, Dave has worked across engineering, marketing, and venture roles, investing in hundreds of startups globally. He’s known for his honest insights and bold bets on opportunities before they’re ‘cool’.

About Practical Venture Capital

Practical Venture Capital is a Silicon Valley-based VC secondary firm providing liquidity to GPs, LPs, and founders through targeted secondary investments. Specializing in fund-level and company-level secondaries, Practical VC aims to shorten the venture capital time horizon by backing mature, revenue-generating companies with clear exit paths. The firm focuses on portfolios nearing liquidity and brings a flexible, creative approach to valuation, pricing, and structure.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[03:35] How startup success as a student got Brian hooked on innovation early

[05:54] Why Brian left startup life after seven companies to support founders solving global problems

[09:18] The urgent reasons our food system needs reinvention—from climate to national security

[12:33] FTW Ventures investment philosophy and focus areas

[22:50] Hard truths for founders in food and agriculture

[31:13] The story of a founder who proved his market, didn’t wait for funding, and built trust

[37:05] What needs to change in VC: stop party rounds, leave space for small funds, invest with purpose

The nonprofit organization Brian is passionate about: World Central Kitchen

About Brian Frank

Brian Frank is the founder and general partner at FTW Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on technology solutions in food, agriculture, and health. A serial entrepreneur with a background in computer science and product development, Brian has launched and scaled seven startups. He brings that hands-on experience to founders tackling real-world challenges, backing science-backed and mission-driven companies that aim to improve life on the planet.

About FTW Ventures

FTW Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm investing in the future of food, agriculture, and human health. With a thesis grounded in problem-first investing, FTW backs early-stage startups applying biotechnology, artificial intelligence, automation, and sustainable systems to global challenges. Their portfolio includes companies advancing biomanufacturing, food-as-medicine, CRISPR-based crop innovation, and more—pursuing returns across people, planet, and profit. Companies in FTW’s portfolio include Boston Bioprocess, ALTR, Sylvan Health, FreshFry, Izote Biosciences, Arise, Quorum Bio, Earthodic, Heritable, Brilliant Harvest, VoltAir, Geltor, Spoiler Alert, Plantible Foods, Galley, Phytoform, Nfinite Nanotech, Yali Bio, and Debut Biotechnology.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[02:05] Why Geoff believes AI is not ‘just’ a tool but a cognitive force reshaping humanity
[06:29] The subtle but profound difference between tools and intelligent agents
[13:56] Who wins and who loses in an AI-driven future, and what roles must investors play?
[20:36] Can we still design a utopian future with AI?
[24:06] The types of founders Geoff wants to back through SAIF
[26:30] Why mission-aligned safety startups still need product-market fit
[28:46] What happens when AI does everything—and what humans will still choose to do

The nonprofit organization Geoff is passionate about: AI Venture Lab

About Geoff Ralston

Geoff Ralston is the founder of SAIF (Safe Artificial Intelligence Fund) and former President of Y Combinator. A longtime startup investor, entrepreneur, and thought leader, Geoff previously founded Imagine K12, an edtech accelerator later merged with YC. With decades of experience launching and scaling category-defining startups, Geoff now focuses on funding companies that ensure AI becomes a force for good, addressing challenges around safety, security, and the future of human work.

About SAIF

SAIF (Safe Artificial Intelligence Fund) is a venture capital firm dedicated to building a safer future with AI. Founded by Geoff Ralston, SAIF invests in startups focused on AI safety, biosafety, interpretability, and information integrity. The firm supports mission-driven founders creating scalable solutions to counteract risks and ensure that AI technologies empower rather than endanger society.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[01:49] From building treehouses to model airplanes: Nadav’s early love for tech and tinkering
[03:26] How informal advising turned into full-time investing
[04:57] The meaning behind the name at.inc and how it reflects the firm’s thesis
[10:01] “What kind of company will this be in 30 years?”—the power of visionary questions
[13:30] Building conviction: fast no’s, thoughtful yes’s
[15:51] How early-stage founders can build a relationship with Nadav
[20:14] Why Nadav says no: timing and fit

[24:07] How venture capital should evolve to serve today’s founders

The nonprofit organization Nadav is passionate about: Tel Aviv University

About Nadav Eylath

Nadav Eylath is the founder and managing partner of at.inc, a venture capital firm that invests at the very inception of startups. With a background in data science, marketing, and company-building, Nadav brings an operator’s empathy and a long-term investor’s lens to early-stage ventures. His career spans roles at startups acquired by companies like Intuit, as well as over a decade of deliberate, hands-on venture investing. Nadav’s approach is grounded in trust, curiosity, and a passion for helping founders bring technically ambitious and globally relevant ideas to life.

About at.inc

at.inc—short for “at incorporation or at inception”—is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that backs startups from day zero. The firm invests in deeply technical companies with global potential, often writing the first check when founders are just forming their ideas. Generalist by design, at.inc partners with entrepreneurs across sectors, emphasizing long-term vision, high trust, and a hands-on approach. With a focused investment pace and founder-first philosophy, at.inc supports startups throughout their full journey, from inception to global scale.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[02:00] Why Silicon Valley’s "uncertainty and possibility" drew Tomoko from Japan

[04:06] Venture capital as a humble act of early belief—and why VCs are deeply interdependent

[06:46] Kicker Ventures' mission to create a happier and healthier world through science-backed innovation

[12:31] What founders must do in the first meeting to excite impact-driven investors

[19:19] Why founders should build strong communities early and ask for help

[26:00] Tomoko’s call to eliminate barriers to global innovation and unlock hidden talent worldwide

The non-profit organization Tomoko is passionate about: Kadampa Meditation Center SF

About Tomoko Ishikura

Tomoko Ishikura is the Managing Partner at Kicker Ventures, where she leads investments in science-backed innovations shaping the future of healthcare. Originally trained as a pharmacist and molecular biologist, Tomoko transitioned into business development, consulting, and now venture capital. Drawing from her global experience across Japan and Silicon Valley, Tomoko brings a distinctive focus on empathy, impact, and community-driven success to the startup ecosystem.

About Kicker Ventures

Kicker Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm investing in transformative solutions for the future of healthcare. Kicker backs science-backed innovations that foster happiness, empower individuals, amplify the work of health professionals and researchers, and create meaningful human connections. With a deep commitment to measurable impact, Kicker Ventures partners with visionary founders reimagining health and wellbeing for future generations.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

##In this episode, you’ll learn:

[01:50] How Mahesh went from immigrant kid in New York to serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley

[06:50] Why Mahesh believes frustration often leads to the best startup ideas

[10:55] Inside Zoom’s AI journey—and how Mahesh helped launch AI Companion at record speed

[13:14] Lessons on leadership from Eric Yuan: customer obsession and quality over cost

[20:41] Mahesh’s advice to AI-first founders: ship fast, sell faster, and validate deeply

[24:23] What separates point solutions from workflow-embedded companies

[27:03] Mahesh’s nuanced take on AI’s societal risks—and why we’re not ready

[31:25] What is Funda? Why a grassroots founder community is booming

The nonprofit organization that Mahesh supports: UStrive

About Mahesh Ram

Mahesh Ram is a serial entrepreneur and expert in artificial intelligence, most recently serving as Head of AI at Zoom. He was co-founder and CEO of Solvvy, a pioneering AI startup in customer experience, acquired by Zoom. Prior to that, he led GlobalEnglish, a business English learning platform used by millions worldwide. Mahesh advises founders, invests in early-stage startups, and is a founding member of FUNDA, a growing grassroots community of founders of Indian origin. He is deeply passionate about education, technology, and building systems that simplify complex problems.

About FUNDA

Funda is a pay-it-forward community for founders of Indian origin, designed to support early-stage entrepreneurs through collaboration, connection, and shared experience. Built by founders for founders, Funda now includes over 1,250 members across Silicon Valley, Texas, and India. The community offers peer support, curated events, and access to a trusted network—entirely volunteer-driven and mission-focused.

About UStrive

Mahesh actively volunteers with UStrive, a nonprofit providing free virtual mentoring for high school and college students with financial need. The platform matches students with mentors to help navigate college admissions and financial aid processes—removing barriers to higher education for underserved youth.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[03:00] How Andrew’s background in consulting, startups, and venture capital led him to Techstars 

[07:34] How Techstars selects startups from thousands of applications—what matters most
[14:01] The #1 mistake founders make when applying to Techstars, and how to avoid
[20:50] Why founders need to build investor relationships early when thinking about fundraising
[26:04] Why the VC industry needs more transparency—and how that benefits founders

The non-profit organization Andrew is passionate about: Magic Bus

About Andrew Cleland

Andrew Cleland is the Chief Investment Officer at Techstars, where he oversees investment strategy, fundraising, and portfolio growth across Techstars’ global network of accelerators. With over two decades in venture capital and early-stage investing, he previously led investments at Comcast Ventures and Time Warner Investments. An INSEAD MBA graduate, Andrew has backed dozens of high-growth startups and is focused on empowering the next generation of global founders.

About Techstars

Techstars is one of the world’s leading startup accelerators, backing thousands of early-stage companies across 50+ accelerator programs worldwide. Since 2006, Techstars has helped launch 20+ unicorns, including SendGrid, DigitalOcean, Uber, Twilio, DataRobot and Outreach. The program provides mentorship, funding, and global networks to help startups scale fast.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

Stephen Crook, Executive Director at AchieveKids, explains how the organization supports students with special needs through individualized education, behavioral support, and vocational training. For over 60 years, AchieveKids has provided a structured and supportive environment where students can develop independence. By working closely with school districts, educators, and families, the organization helps students transition back into public schools or the workforce. In this special Podcasthon episode, Stephen also shares the challenges and rewards of leading a nonprofit in special education, the impact of mentorship on student success, and how AchieveKids partners with 35+ school districts to fulfill its mission.

In this episode, you'll learn:

[03:00] How Stephen’s journey from psychology research to teaching led him to AchieveKids

[07:34] What makes AchieveKids different from traditional special education programs

[14:01] A powerful success story of a student overcoming severe behavioral challenges

[20:50] Why teacher shortages threaten special education and what’s being done about it

[23:09] The biggest challenges families face when seeking support for their children

[26:04] The future of AchieveKids and how the program is expanding to meet growing needs

About Stephen Crook

Stephen Crook is the Executive Director of AchieveKids, a nonprofit school serving students with special needs. With a background in developmental psychology, teaching, and school administration, he has dedicated his career to improving special education programs and advocating for students with disabilities. Before joining AchieveKids, Stephen worked as a therapeutic teacher and school director, helping students with significant behavioral and emotional needs gain the skills to succeed in school and beyond.

About AchieveKids

AchieveKids is a nonprofit school that serves students ages 5 to 22 with autism, intellectual disabilities, emotional needs, and developmental challenges. With campuses in Palo Alto and East San Jose, AchieveKids partners with 35+ school districts to provide individualized education, behavioral support, mental health services, and vocational training. The goal is to help every student transition into a more independent and fulfilling life.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[03:00] How Allen’s international career led him to Endeavor and a global mission to support entrepreneurs in overlooked markets

[05:55] Why talent is everywhere—but opportunity isn’t—and how Endeavor flips the script on where billion-dollar companies are built

[09:50] The contrarian strategy that made Endeavor Catalyst one of the most successful global venture funds

[15:31] What does it take to become an Endeavor startup? 

[25:48] The biggest challenges founders face outside major tech hubs—and why scaling talent is the hardest part of growth

[29:04] Why Allen is bullish on Latin America, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa as the next breakout regions for global innovation

The non-profit organization Allen is passionate about: Kauffman Fellows

About Allen Taylor

Allen Taylor is the Managing Partner at Endeavor Catalyst, the venture capital fund supporting Endeavor’s global community of high-impact entrepreneurs. With nearly 20 years at Endeavor, Allen has helped drive the organization's global expansion and innovative investment model, which backs companies across Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and beyond. Previously, Allen worked in international development and studied in Argentina, igniting his passion for supporting global entrepreneurship. Allen is also a Kauffman Fellow and serves on the board of the Kauffman Fellows Program.

About Endeavor Catalyst

Endeavor Catalyst is the co-investment fund of Endeavor, the leading global community of high-impact entrepreneurs. Since 2012, Endeavor Catalyst has invested in over 300 companies across 30+ countries, backing founders who are building transformative businesses in emerging and underserved markets. With a rules-based model, Endeavor Catalyst automatically invests alongside professional VCs when Endeavor Entrepreneurs raise Series A, B, or C rounds. Its portfolio includes Latin America’s first unicorn, Mercado Libre, and pioneering companies like Nubank and InstaDeep.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
[02:27] From private equity to venture capital—Connor’s unconventional path and why he invests in overlooked industries

[07:06] How Bridge Venture Fund identifies overlooked industries ripe for innovation

[12:28] The two key questions Connor asks in every pitch meeting

[16:52] How legal tech startups like CaseText are transforming traditional workflows

[17:32] Why non-lead VCs like Bridge Venture Fund have to move fast but still maintain rigorous diligence

[22:38] The most common reason Connor passes on startups: weak unit economics and misleading LTV/CAC assumptions

[27:49] Connor’s perspective on venture capital’s asymmetric risk and why founders bear the brunt of failure

The non-profit organization that Connor is passionate about: World Wildlife Fund

About Connor Ryan

Connor Ryan is a Partner at Bridge Venture Fund, where he focuses on investing in startups serving overlooked and underserved industries. Before joining Bridge, he worked in private equity and investment banking, gaining deep insights into business model sustainability and market inefficiencies. Connor holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and is passionate about supporting founders who bring real innovation to lagging industries.

About Bridge Venture Fund

Bridge Venture Fund is a Chicago-based early-stage VC firm investing in startups that serve industries underserved by innovation. With a focus on sustainable unit economics and market-defining solutions, the firm has backed companies in legal tech, sports sponsorship analytics, retail, and more. Notable investments include CaseText (acquired by Thomson Reuters) and Trajektory.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[06:14] How venture capital has evolved from a simple early- vs. late-stage VC model to today's fragmented landscape with seed, pre-seed, and late-stage funds

[09:57] Entrepreneurship was for misfits in the 90’s; it’s now a top career choice.

[19:06] Networking is a key driver for startup connections and investment in venture capital.

[26:23] How David evaluates startups

[32:21] Common reasons for saying no to a startups

[35:07] Why even great VCs miss billion-dollar opportunities

The non-profit organization that David is passionate about: Institute of Contemporary Art in San Francisco

About David Hornik

David Hornik is the founding partner of Lobby Capital, a Silicon Valley-based venture firm focused on Series A investments. With nearly 25 years in venture capital, he previously spent two decades at August Capital. A seasoned investor, he has backed companies like Fastly, Splunk, and MaintainX. David also created Lobby, a renowned invite-only conference fostering deep founder-investor relationships. In addition to investing, he teaches entrepreneurship at Stanford and Harvard. Known for his relationship-driven approach, he emphasizes market potential, customer validation, and founder expertise when evaluating startups. He and his wife support the Institute of Contemporary Art in San Francisco.

About Lobby Capital

Lobby Capital is a Silicon Valley-based venture firm founded on decades of experience and a powerful network of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders. Emerging from the renowned Lobby Conference community, the firm takes a people-first, hands-on approach to Series A investing. By providing deep expertise, strategic connections, and dedicated support, Lobby Capital helps founders scale and build transformative companies. With a strong belief that great businesses are built by great people, the firm leverages relationships to drive venture success and long-term impact. Its portfolio companies include Vantage Discovery, Kolena, Apera AI, Ownify, Procyon.ai, Faros AI, The Easy Company, Sprout Labs, Better Trucks, ForeVR Games among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

Now, as an investor, Pablo emphasizes the importance of founder passion, solving top-priority customer problems, and the "why" behind ventures. He discusses what makes founders stand out, noting that only 10% of first meetings turn into investments. With vivid examples, like a company scaling to $90M in revenue before a dramatic downturn, Pablo provides an authentic look into the messy realities of early-stage investing.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[01:50] Meet Pablo Srugo: From startup hustler to VC

[06:24] Why some founders make poor investors and vice versa

[09:08] The art of letting go: The ability to step back as an investor

[13:05] How a compelling founder’s personal story and origin drives VC decision-making

[16:49] Pablo’s focus on team, market fit, and value proposition

[23:40] Value creation vs. noise: Understanding and delivering clear value is the most critical factor in gaining an investor’s conviction to invest.

[30:25] Lessons from missed opportunities: Pablo passed on a startup that later scaled 30x and learned the importance of truly understanding the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).

[35:48] The Product Market Fit Show dissects the zero-to-one journey of successful founders and shares lessons from those who failed despite early traction.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[02:05] Felipe’s Path to VC: From entrepreneur to investor, Felipe reflects on early lessons in founder selection at Fundación Chile.

[07:36] Evolving the Chilean VC Landscape: Launching one of Chile's first VC funds to support local entrepreneurs and regional expansion.

[10:31] The Genesis of Taram Capital: Leveraging corporate partnerships to help startups scale their go-to-market strategies.

[13:15] Focus Areas for Investment: B2B SaaS, fintech, e-commerce, and data-driven solutions with a localization focus.

[17:40] Investing with Fewer but Deeper Relationships: Building a network-driven approach to founder evaluation and support.

[26:24] Spotlight on Portfolio Companies: YAPP simplifies health-tech connections; Webdox fosters business growth collaborative contract management.

The non-profit organization Felipe is passionate about: ChileFlorida.org

About Felipe Camposano

Felipe Camposano is the Managing Partner at Taram Capital and Strategic Planning Chair at ASEM-BIO (The Chilean Biotechnology Association). He co-founded Lucien Biotech, holds board seats at DICTUC’s Agro Biotech Center, and previously directed New Business Development at Fundación Chile. Felipe founded INTRA, an enterprise knowledge management firm, and co-founded NEXION, offering tech development services in China. He has advised CORFO and ProChile, taught technology marketing at Universidad Católica, written for BioNexa, and holds patents recognized with innovation awards. His career spans venture creation, investment, and international business development across Latin America and beyond.

About Taram Capital

Taram Capital is a Santiago-based early-stage venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investments in software, information technology, and healthcare. With a primary focus on Chile and the United States, Taram has made investments in companies such as Andes STR, Keirón, Regcheq, Dentalink, TaskHuman, Radar (Financial Services), SimpliRoute, Lirmi, LAP Global, and Webdox.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
[01:49] How Neil’s early frustrations with the U.S. healthcare system inspired a desire to address systemic issues through technology and startups.

[08:43] Creating Necessary Ventures with a mission to invest in companies addressing major societal challenges with innovative solutions.

[11:38] Necessary Ventures investment strategy and philosophy: Mission-driven companies are prioritized for their competitive advantages in talent retention, capital efficiency, and market visibility.

[14:37] The importance of avoiding "gratuitous" uses of technology and focusing on practical, impactful applications.

[19:33] Speed vs. quality in venture capital: Prioritize long-term founder/VC alignment over short-term funding speed.

[23:13] Have deep customer empathy and offer a solution providing transformative value to win over investors.

[28:48] The future of Necessary Ventures: Fostering a unique approach to creating and measuring impact and value-add to startups.

The non-profit organization Neil is passionate about: Upsolve

About Neil Devani

Neil Devani is the founder and managing partner of Necessary Ventures, where he prioritizes investments in companies tackling complex challenges, particularly in healthcare, financial services, and education. His portfolio also includes startups in emerging technologies such as machine learning and robotics. Beyond investing, Neil serves as an advisor to various companies, nonprofits, and venture funds. He holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School, attended medical school at Drexel University, and earned a B.S. from Pennsylvania State University.

About Necessary Ventures

Necessary Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm specializing in seed to early-stage investments in AI, healthcare, and machine learning. The firm focuses primarily on companies in North America and Europe, with a particular emphasis on San Francisco, London, and New York. Its portfolio includes companies such as Plural Energy, Unlearn.AI, Readout AI, Magrathea, Rubi Laboratories, and Mooch, among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
[04:40] Challenges legacy industries face in adopting new technology
[09:15] Beat Ventures’ focus on niche markets with high growth potential
[14:22] The importance of networking in Silicon Valley and proximity to customers
[19:08] How democratized technology is fostering diverse founders and investors
[21:47] Notable AI innovations transforming legacy industries

The non-profit organization Dave is passionate about: San Francisco School Board

About Dave Anderson

Dave Anderson is a Founding Partner and General Partner at Beat Ventures. Dave previously served as an Associate at Toyota AI Ventures. Prior to that, he co-founded Bamboo Detroit, the city’s first and largest co-working space for entrepreneurs, and was the director of venture services at NextEnergy, an early-stage technology incubator. An electrical engineer with experience in advanced battery systems, Dave worked with Bosch Battery Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems. He’s recognized as one of Crain Detroit Business’s 20 in their 20s and featured by Huffington Post and ABC’s 20/20. He holds an electrical engineering degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he helped launch HBS Accelerate.

About Beat Ventures

Beat Ventures is a San Francisco-based VC firm investing in AI-driven companies that enhance human performance in overlooked legacy industries. Focused on pre-seed and seed stages, Beat Ventures supports startups using applied AI to complement human ingenuity, rather than replace it. The firm believes the future's most impactful companies will blend technology and human creativity to advance business and society. Its portfolio includes Volur, Stack AI, Truewind, Bitpart AI, Treehouse, Fishtail, Theo AI, Bolo AI, Poka Labs, Safe, Dropverse, and Clockwork.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[02:06] Yiğit's journey from Google to venture capital, and his unique approach to combining engineering and venture investing.

[06:27] How Vela Partners integrates artificial intelligence and quant-driven algorithms to identify high-potential startups

[10:21] The significance of a balanced quantitative and qualitative assessment in VC investing

[12:41] How AI is enabling the next generation of productivity tools

[19:08] Articulate your personal story, intrinsic motivation, and ability to articulate your commitment to solving a particular problem.

[24:07] What should startups do to attract algorithm-driven funds like Vela Partners?

 [27:02] Slow decision-making pace in VC is a problem

The nonprofit organizations Yiğit is passionate about: American College Institute (ACI) in Turkey

About Yiğit Ihlamur

Yiğit Ihlamur is a co-founder, general partner, and Chief Technology Officer at Vela Partners, a venture capital firm specializing in AI and product-led solutions. Prior to Vela, Yiğit had an impactful career at Google, where he led initiatives for Gmail, Chrome, and Google Workspace, focusing on product-led growth strategies such as self-service signups, activation, and pricing flows. Starting in Google's European headquarters, he initially worked on technical support for IT admins and created productivity tools for internal teams. Yiğit is passionate about advancing human productivity through technology. Outside his professional pursuits, he enjoys kitesurfing, skiing, running, and spending time with his family.

About Vela Partners

Vela Partners is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm specializing in product-led, AI-native startups from inception to Series A. Acting as an "AI startup investing in other AI startups," Vela leverages its proprietary AI to guide investment decisions and enhance its own returns. The firm’s investor-focused tools drive its fund’s performance, while self-service tools for entrepreneurs expand Vela’s brand and distribution channels. Its portfolio includes innovative companies like Vieu, Cartken, Goooods, Nominal, LeakSignal, Base Operations, Cerby, Lightup, Vartana, and Axiom Cloud, among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[02:15] Evolution, mission and core focus of Next Legacy Partners

[09:10] The venture ecosystem expansion; new opportunities for emerging managers

[12:30] Differences between Next Legacy’s emerging and established manager portfolios

[19:32] The importance of differentiation in forming the conviction to back emerging managers

[26:50] Two key areas for improvement in venture capital

The nonprofit organizations Jessie is passionate about: Venture Forward, Alzheimer's Foundation of America

About Jessie Guo

Jessie Guo is an Investment Partner at Next Legacy Partners, focusing on Flagship and Emerging Leaders strategies. A Kauffman Fellow, Jessie also serves on the permanent board of Bridge Funding Global, supporting women and underserved emerging managers. She brings deep expertise in venture capital, having worked at CICC and China Renaissance, where she led private equity and venture capital investments and helped establish CICC’s fund of funds and wealth management businesses. Jessie earned both her bachelor’s and master’s in Finance from Peking University and an MBA with top honors from UC Davis.

About Next Legacy Partners

Next Legacy Partners is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital and private equity firm dedicated to achieving meaningful returns by backing top early-stage venture capital firms and high-potential founders. Focused on democratizing access to venture capital, Next Legacy Partners invests on behalf of philanthropists, athletes, and changemakers, giving them entry into exclusive venture funds and companies. The firm’s mission extends beyond financial returns, aiming to drive positive impact. Next Legacy investments include: Affinity, Instil, Babylist, Rubrik, Lime, Kitopi, NorthOne, Flexport among others. 

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:51] Lochan’s inspiring journey from India to Silicon Valley

[9:19] How venture capital drives innovation

[12:19] Key challenges for emerging fund managers: fundraising, deal sourcing, and increasing competition

[17:56] The pillars of VC Nest: focused events, curated VC-startup mixers, educational series, and thought leadership

[22:50] Emerging fund managers are identifying future unicorns but still struggle with institutional backing (TechCrunch: 30 out of 34 unicorns were funded by emerging managers).

The nonprofit organizations Lochan is passionate about: IIT Bay Area Alumni Association, Overseas Volunteer for a Better India (OVBI)

About Lochan Alagh

Lochan Alagh is the co-founder and managing partner at VC Nest, a platform dedicated to supporting emerging venture capital fund managers and innovative startups. Before VC Nest, Lochan served as Executive Director at FalconX, where she fostered global innovation by forging strategic partnerships with accelerators and helping B2B startups establish a presence in Silicon Valley. She is also the Vice President of the IIT Roorkee Alumni Association (Bay Area Chapter), where she focuses on strengthening the alumni community. Previously, she led business strategy and operations at Cloud Harmonics, a rapidly growing startup, until its acquisition by Ingram Micro. Passionate about community service, Lochan is involved with nonprofits such as Overseas Volunteer for a Better India, working on water conservation initiatives, and New Leaders Council, which trains young progressives to become civic leaders. Additionally, she serves as a board member and secretary for the IIT Bay Area Alumni Association (2022-2024).

About VC Nest

VC Nest is a Silicon Valley-based platform designed to empower emerging venture capital fund managers and foster the growth of the VC-startup ecosystem. It offers a range of resources, including networking opportunities, educational events, and fundraising support to help fund managers thrive. With a focus on collaboration and knowledge sharing, VC Nest provides fund managers with insider strategies on fundraising, access to Fund of Funds, and connections with fellow VCs. Additionally, it offers technology infrastructure, portfolio startup workstations, and actionable insights to drive the growth and success of both funds and startups.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:17] “Silicon Valley—what I call Disneyland for tech—completely transformed my mindset.” - Shreesha Ramdas 

[5:36] New challenges for Indian entrepreneurs building global solutions

[13:36] Founder stories matter

[19:30] Funda: Building a strong community where founders can learn from each other

The community activity Shreesha is passionate about: Funda

About Shreesha Ramdas

Shreesha Ramdas is a seasoned entrepreneur with a proven track record of launching and scaling products in highly competitive markets. He is the CEO and Founder of Lumber, a workforce management platform tailored for the construction industry. Previously, Shreesha was the CEO and Co-Founder of Strikedeck, a customer success automation company that was acquired by Medallia. Before Strikedeck, he served as GM of the Marketing Cloud at CallidusCloud and Co-Founder of LeadFormix, which was acquired by CallidusCloud. Shreesha also held leadership roles at Yodlee, OuterJoin, Catalytic Software, MW2 Consulting, and Tata. In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, he actively invests in and advises several growth companies, including Workato, Enact, RevvSales, and others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[3:57] Building a new type of VC firm: The Upekkha story

[7:36] Why Indian startups struggle to break into the US market

[14:43] The Power of annual contract value (ACV): How ACV shapes startup strategy

[19:03] The vertical advantage: Why Indian founders succeed in niche Markets

[22:03] How biases and bad advice can trap founders into their biggest pitfalls

[28:07] Changing the VC game by improving founder success rates

The nonprofit organization Rajan is passionate about: Sitare Foundation

About Rajan Maruthavanan

Rajan Maruthavanan is the Cofounder and Managing Partner at Upekkha, with extensive expertise in guiding early-stage startups through their critical zero-to-one phase to achieve product-market fit. At Upekkha, he has made over 120 pre-seed investments in SaaS startups and assisted numerous founders with M&A activities in DeepTech and B2B SaaS over the past eight years. Previously, Rajan was an Operator and Head of Product for QuickBooks Global at Intuit, where he managed the India GST strategy and led iCombinator, Intuit’s internal accelerator. He also organized two notable conferences: SaaSx in Chennai (2014-2016) and StartupBridgeIndia at Stanford (2016-2019). Earlier in his career, he co-founded and served as CTO of a computer vision startup, developing a SIFT vector-based visual search for Nokia phones.

About Upekkha

Upekkha, established in 2017, is an AI SaaS accelerator dedicated to helping Indian founders create global software brands. Currently in its 13th cohort, Upekkha has collaborated with over 165 startups and cultivated a network of more than 300 SaaS entrepreneurs. The firm has a diverse portfolio including companies like iMocha, Almabase, Kloudle, and Cloudbankin. Notably, about 25% of its startups hail from tier-II cities, such as Pune, Kochi, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Raipur, Vadodara, Jabalpur, Warangal, Coimbatore, and Trichy.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you'll learn:

[3:12] Moving beyond traditional Silicon Valley thinking to embrace global perspectives and diversity.

[7:21] Why Transform VC prioritizes founders who are deeply obsessed with their customers and solving real-world problems.

[11:15] How VCs build conviction through multiple interactions with founders

[17:54] Bridging the gap for underrepresented founders; what the industry can do to better support these entrepreneurs

[22:28] Practical tips for founders to maximize early meetings with investors

[24:41] Measuring impact in startups: Key criteria and questions for founders to consider when demonstrating their social or environmental impact.

The nonprofit organization Rama is passionate about: VIP Fund

About Raed Masri

Raed Masri is the founder and general director at Transform VC. Raed is a seasoned technology entrepreneur turned top-performing venture capitalist. As the founder of Transform VC, a Silicon Valley firm that has backed multiple deep tech startups, including four unicorns, Raed focuses on identifying untapped founders who can achieve transformative impact and exceptional returns. With a track record that includes two companies with 20x outcomes and three failed ventures, he brings a wealth of experience to his role as a hands-on investor. Raed aims to support 1,000 mindful tech founders to each impact a billion lives and make a billion dollars through deep tech for social and climate impact. He holds an Engineering degree from Carleton University and an MBA from Cornell University.

About Rama Chakaki

Rama Chakaki is a general partner at Transform VC. Rama is an impact-driven tech entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. As a partner at Transform VC, she supports tech founders using deep tech for climate and social impact, with a mission to empower 1,000 founders to impact a billion lives and make a billion dollars. Rama has been a key figure in developing the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Middle East and leads the VIP.fund, an edTech nonprofit aiding youth affected by conflict. Her work has been recognized in publications like Forbes, Bloomberg, and Arab Women Rising. She holds degrees in Computer Engineering and Engineering Management from George Washington University.

About Transform VC

Transform VC is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in, creates and builds sustainable businesses with a long-term investment view. They focus on mission-driven, determined, and authentic founders who use deep tech and network effects for social and climate impact.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:39] How Aaron's career in corporate shaped his approach to technology, business and startup investing

[7:55] Key elements of InsurTech 2.0: The shift from distribution to infrastructure and data management.

[12:40] The excitement around data infrastructure plays in the insurance space and why having good data is crucial.

[14:41] How Cameron Ventures sources and evaluates startups, with a focus on team dynamics and problem-solving capabilities.

[18:35] Common reasons for getting a 'No' from VCs and the importance of character and realistic valuations. 

[21:48] Advice for founders in the current market, including the significance of understanding market trends and valuation issues

[23:07] The role of venture capital in pushing the economy forward

The non-profit organizations that Aaron is passionate about: United Way Oklahoma, Payne Education Center

About Aaron Webster

Aaron Webster is the managing director at Cameron Ventures. He backs founders who are building the new tech stacks for financial services and benefits and has been instrumental in Cameron’s investment in Castellum.AI, jawnt, YellowBird, Coverdash, XP Health, Certificial, and others startups.

About Cameron Ventures

Cameron Ventures is an Oklahoma-based early-stage venture capital firm with affiliate operating companies that serve customers across the United States, primarily in insurance, banking and asset management. The Cameron team is able to empower its portfolio companies with access to financial and strategic capital, seasoned real-world management teams and a substantial customer base. Companies in Cameron’s portfolio include NewRetirement, Coverdash, Castellum.AI, Certificial, jawnt, YellowBird, Method Financial, Surround Insurance, XP Health, among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:39] Silicon Valley thrives on meritocracy, where anyone with ambition, talent, and hard work can quickly connect and succeed regardless of their background.

[4:41] To succeed, emerging managers must proactively create their own opportunities, rather than waiting for them to be given.

[6:46] What is the venture capital secondary market? How is it developing, and what impact does it have on the broader VC ecosystem? What does the future hold for secondary investments?

[12:27] Key strategies for investing in the secondaries market

[22:00] The evolution and impact of Raise since its inception.

The non-profit organizations that Ben is passionate about: Mind The Gap

About Ben Black

Ben Black is a co-founder and managing director at Akkadian Ventures. He has extensive venture capital experience, having previously worked as an investor at Maveron, Rosewood Capital, New Cycle Capital. As an entrepreneur, Black served as vice president of corporate development at Harris Interactive, driving its transformation into a leading internet-based market research firm and leading to a successful IPO. He also co-founded Raise Global to facilitate connections between emerging fund managers and capital partners, enhancing investment opportunities in the venture space.

About Akkadian Ventures

Akkadian Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based direct secondary investment firm that offers liquidity to early employees and investors of venture-backed businesses. For more than a decade, Akkadian has pioneered secondary and opportunistic investments in growth-stage technology companies.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:36] Driven into venture capital by a desire to focus on product and customer engagement

[6:53] Presenting unique and intriguing aspects of your field or venture appeals to VC's intellectual curiosity.

[8:36] Monta Vista investment philosophy: high conviction, concentrated investments; relying heavily on deep domain experts to validate investment opportunities.

[14:09] The founder’s motivation to tackle a market problem should be backed by concrete market insights.

[19:52] The IndUS Entrepreneurs - a comprehensive support system that has had a profound impact on the global entrepreneurial landscape, contributing to significant successes within the Indian community in Silicon Valley and beyond.

The non-profit organizations that Venktesh is passionate about: Foundation for Excellence

About Venktesh Shukla

Venktesh Shukla is the Founder and General Partner of Monta Vista Capital and also the Founding Chair of TiE Angels. Prior to investing, Venktesh drove rapid growth in sales, marketing, and general management roles, collaborating with over 50 startups. As a former president of TiE, he strengthened Silicon Valley’s tech startup network and continues to volunteer, connecting entrepreneurs with key customers. Passionate about supporting Indian startups, Venk influences policy through the Government of India's Startup Advisory Council and supports students through the Foundation for Excellence.

About Monta Vista Capital

Monta Vista Capital is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm focused on early stage B2B companies. Portfolio companies include StrikeReady, Uhnder, minds.ai, ConstructN, XY Retail, Eridan, Boomerang, Motorq, Sparkz among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:54] The making of Gayathri Radhakrishnan: Challenging norms and building a strong sense of confidence and competitiveness.

[10:32] The responsibility and impact that venture capital has on shaping future generations

[14:10] Impact of corporate venture capital, when done right: Hitachi Ventures’ commitment to patient capital with a 10-year fund cycle further underscores their long-term support for startups.

[18:21] Trends and opportunities: Entrepreneurs should explore opportunities where AI can revolutionize industrial processes, enhance safety and efficiency, and contribute to sustainable practices.

[23:37] Passionately understand your problem, stay open to feedback, and ensure your solution has real-world validation and market potential.

[28:20] Aim for follow-up meetings and leverage the investor's network for potential introductions. 

[35:15] What’s the immediate threat posed by AI?

The non-profit organizations that Gayathri is passionate about: SV2

About Gayathri Radhakrishnan

Gayathri Radhakrishnan is currently Partner at Hitachi Ventures, focusing on AI investments in Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Automotive. With over 20 years in technology, she has held roles at Dell, Corning, and Micron Ventures, and served as a Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital. Gayathri holds an MS in EE from The Ohio State University, an MBA from INSEAD, and is a Kauffman Fellow. She has driven strategy at Dell’s Software Group and mentored startups at TechRanch Austin and Techstars Cloud.

About Hitachi Ventures

Hitachi Ventures is the global venture capital arm of Hitachi Group. Hitachi Ventures invests in innovative companies that address society’s key technological challenges in areas like IT, industrial automation (robotics, sensor technology and IoT), cloud services (data management, cybersecurity), mobility (autonomous driving, mobility services, smart infrastructure and security services), energy, smart medicine (AIfor digital imaging, smart diagnostics, remote care), smart city, smart infrastructure and more. It’s portfolio includes companies such as Samsara Eco, Trustwise AI, WEKA, StrikeReady, Archetype AI, WASE, Cure51, Proscia, Thea Energy, Captura among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:48] How growing up in Edison, New Jersey, influenced Dan Kimerling’s personal and professional life.

[4:07] Deciens’ philosophy: Concentrated, bold, partnership-driven investments.

[7:42] Founders seek genuine partnerships with VCs.

[15:54] Achieving greatness requires personal courage, not group consensus.

[18:28] Success in VC means investing in non-consensus deals with a robust framework.

[29:28] Strategies for better alignment among VCs, entrepreneurs, and LPs.

The non-profit organizations that Dan is passionate about: Albuquerque Community Foundation

About Dan Kimerling

Dan Kimerling is the founder and managing partner at Deciens. He is passionate about leading investments in transformative companies at their earliest stages and sits on the board of many Deciens portfolio companies, including Chipper, Therma, and Treasury Prime. He co-founded Standard Treasury, which was acquired by Silicon Valley Bank, where he led API Banking and Global Research. Earlier, he was an analyst at TechCrunch. Dan graduated with honors from the University of Chicago with an A.B. and A.M., studied mathematical finance at Booth, and received several awards. He was named to Forbes’ "30 under 30," is a Kauffman Fellow, and is active in the Young Presidents’ Organization.

About Deciens

Deciens is a venture capital firm dedicated to supporting early-stage founders revolutionizing financial services. The firm identifies visionary entrepreneurs at the inception of their journey, offering extensive support beyond funding to realize their visions. Deciens collaborates strategically with industry leaders such as Chipper Cash, Africa's largest fintech; Treasury Prime, a frontrunner in banking-as-a-service; and Therma, an innovator in industrial energy management. Through these partnerships, Deciens champions entrepreneurs driving the digital transformation of traditional institutions.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:20] Venture capital allows you to engage with and learn from driven entrepreneurs at the forefront of innovation.

[5:14] Next Legacy Partners mission: linking philanthropy, athletes, and cultural figures with venture capital.

[6:49] Define your unique differentiation as an emerging manager.

[10:27] Emerging managers should align their strategy with their unique strengths and personal approach, remaining open-minded instead of adhering to any one-size-fits-all model.

[21:39] Emerging trends in venture capital, including AI's transformative impact and the need for innovation to address challenges like liquidity and evolving market conditions.

[28:03] VCs should prioritize founders as their primary customers and focus their efforts on adding value to them.

The non-profit organizations that Vishal is passionate about: Anjali, Smile Foundation

About Vishal Tripathi

Vishal Tripathi is an investor at Next Legacy Partners. Vishal analyzes and oversees venture capital funds and industries at Next Legacy, leveraging prior roles as a portfolio manager at Plexo Capital. With a background in financial engineering and quantitative research at J.P. Morgan, he brings extensive expertise in capital allocation and early-stage venture capital. Beyond his professional endeavors, Vishal finds enjoyment in reading DC comics, watching UK panel shows, developing computer games, and avidly following Cricket and Chess.

About Next Legacy Partners

Next Legacy Partners is a venture capital firm formed from the merger of Legacy Venture and Next Play Capital. It stands out with its dual mission to connect the philanthropic world with venture capital (Legacy Venture's focus) and to bridge athletes and cultural luminaries with venture capital (Next Play Capital's focus). Next Legacy Partners is highly community-driven and distinctively focuses on established large funds, direct investments into startups, and emerging leaders in the venture capital industry.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:41] 'Jason Bourne meets banking': The fascinating early career journey of Atlas Berry.

[5:22] How corporate development experience paved the way for a venture capital role.

[6:33] The inception of Mission One Capital: Identifying software-driven solutions to climate issues.

[12:17] Guidance for founders tackling climate and sustainability challenges: Understand the problems in these areas and respecting regulatory constraints.

[16:35] The importance of addressing human issues for successful sustainability solutions.

[20:22] Emerging trends in climate tech, including energy, mobility, carbon markets, circularity, and environmental management.

[26:00] Why timing is crucial in evaluating sustainability-focused investment opportunities.

The non-profit organizations that Atlas is passionate about: The Nature Conservancy

About Atlas Berry

Atlas Berry is the founder and general partner at Mission One Capital. He began his career in investment banking at JPMorgan, working in Mergers & Acquisitions across New York, Johannesburg, and London. Notably, Atlas established the venture arm for the Grammy-award-winning rock band Linkin Park, where he led investments in high-profile companies such as Lyft, Robinhood, and Impossible Foods. Additionally, he is a two-time TEDx keynote speaker, has mentored at Techstars and the MIT Startup Accelerator, and has served on the Technology Advisory Boards for New York City and Delta Airlines.

About Mission One Capital

Mission One Capital is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture capital firm specializing in ClimateTech and Equitable Access startups. The firm invests in seed-stage companies dedicated to creating a more sustainable and equitable future. Its portfolio includes innovative companies such as Zevvy, Twice, Helio, Cloverly, CHI, Derapi, UPFRONT, Carbonara, and others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:45] Transferring military leadership skills to tech and investing for social impact

[4:14] K. Ventures takes a unique approach to disabilities by investing seed capital in startups serving this community.

[6:22] Startup opportunities: The disabilities community is the largest underrepresented group in the world.

[9:23] It takes a lot of mentorship and support to learn the craft of being an entrepreneur.

[16:27] Feel comfortable in the way that you want to talk about your business and yourself.

[19:18] VCs are guided by their belief in the founding team's ability to lead and create something groundbreaking.

[22:35] More investors need to really think about the hard societal problems

The non-profit organizations that Chris is passionate about: Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, iMentor

About Chris McKelvy

Chris McKelvy is the founder and managing partner at K. Ventures. He has a diverse background spanning tech, business, non-profits, and the military. Notably, he led Oculus VR's partnerships & e-sports division, instrumental in its $2B acquisition by Facebook. Chris orchestrated multimillion-dollar partnerships with tech giants like NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Unreal, and Ubisoft. A combat veteran with the 101st Airborne Division and graduate of Army Ranger school, he holds degrees from Harvard and Syracuse. Additionally, he served proudly as Vice Chairman of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation for over eight years.

About K. Ventures

K. Ventures is a Massachusetts-based venture capital firm with a mission to catalyze the next generation of disability care. The firm invests in early-stage technology companies serving those with intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities. This includes down syndrome, autism, ADHD and dyslexia as well as other overlooked conditions. Portfolio companies include Juno, Juniper, Mightier, Finni Health, and NeuroNav.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode:

[2:03] Alexa’s path to venture capital: Discover how Alexa transitioned from her role in a non-profit organization to making her mark in the competitive world of venture capital.

[8:26] Three critical aspects that every founder should understand about angel investors to optimize their interactions and avoid common pitfalls.

[12:38] The significant impact of new emerging managers on the venture capital landscape and what this means for the industry.

[16:40] The "Three S’s" – sourcing, selecting, and stewardship – essential criteria for assessing and choosing the best emerging fund managers.

[22:33] The current state of investment in female founders: are they receiving the funding they rightfully deserve?

[28:11] Swimming with Allocators podcast, where limited partners share their decision-making processes in VC investments.

The non-profit organization that Alexa is passionate about: Norman Lear Center USC

About Alexa Binns

Alexa Binns is a seasoned investor and marketer, known for her acute ability to identify emerging trends and technologies. Over her career, she has risen from associate to partner in venture capital, making significant investments at firms such as Maven, Halogen, and Spacecadet. Some of her notable angel investments include Chipper Cash, Sana Benefits, and The Flex Co.

In addition to her investing prowess, Alexa brings a decade of operational experience, having developed both digital and physical products for high-profile clients including Planned Parenthood, MTV, Disney, and Target. She excels in innovative marketing strategies; her accomplishments range from writing a master’s thesis on building a brand on YouTube to helping sell the Twitch influencer marketing platform NoScope. She was also nominated for a Mashable Award for her work with Foursquare and pioneered some of the first advertising campaigns on Twitter.

Alexa also co-hosts Swimming with Allocators, a venture podcast that offers insights from the limited partner (LP) perspective. Alongside Earnest Sweat, she interviews top allocators and industry leaders weekly, exploring their strategies and perspectives on the next decade of venture capital.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:24] From a 10th grade circuits and chips enthusiast to technology executive and founder

[5:50] Vijay’s evolution as a venture capital investor fueled by technology curiosity

[13:41] Debate about AI being a good or bad thing - it’s not worthy!

[15:04] Get these 3 things right for success with an AI-first startup.

The non-profit organization that Vijay is passionate about: Upward

About Vijay Reddy

Vijay Reddy is a partner at Mayfield with over a decade of AI and deeptech investing experience. Prior, Vijay was an investor at Clear Ventures and Intel Capital. He witnessed AI's rise from its inception, and with a founder-first approach, he has invested across the AI stack, backing companies like SambaNova, DataRobot, and BabbleLabs. He began his career as an entrepreneur, co-founding a startup after leaving his PhD program, and has held senior roles at Broadcom and Intel.

About Mayfield

Mayfield is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in AI-first companies

at the Seed, Series A and Series B stages. The firm has raised 20 U.S. funds since 1969, and currently has $3 billion under management. Mayfield takes pride in an investment team that has a founder DNA and operates from a shared set of beliefs and partners for the long term with entrepreneurs pursuing big ideas. Companies in Mayfield’s portfolio include: Outreach, seekout, alchemy, auradine, chemix, crunchbase, Gutsy, LexCheck, OwnID, Qwiet, Vijil, VERSA Networks among others.  

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:45] From ‘78 to 2024: How has the insurance industry evolved?

[5:03] The genesis of Corvus, and reasons for focusing on cyber insurance

[13:25] Hiring the first set of team members: lessons and tips for founders

[19:20] Notable achievements and challenges faced while building Corvus

[26:31] Advice on choosing the right investors for your startup.

[33:51] Areas of opportunity for insurtech entrepreneurs to innovate.

The non-profit organization that Phil is passionate about: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

About Philip Edmundson

Philip Edmundson is the founder and CEO of the insurtech company Corvus Insurance. With a background in insurance broking and tech entrepreneurship, Philip started Corvus in 2017, aiming to enhance insurance underwriting and assist policyholders in risk reduction through data and technology. Philip emphasizes that insurance should go beyond risk transfer. Before Corvus, he co-founded William Gallagher Associates, acquired by Arthur J Gallagher, and played key roles in industry networks.

About Corvus Insurance

Corvus Insurance (now a subsidiary of Travelers Insurance) is an insurance company that focuses on cyber risk, loss prevention, and mitigating adverse events using data-driven and AI-powered tools. The Corvus mission is to make the world safer from cyber threats. The company delivers insights to broker partners, helping to make them smarter about the complex risks their clients face.  

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:05] Startups attract people who love to be part of disruptive innovation.

[4:53] Finding purpose in setbacks: the story of how Jetstream started

[9:59] Trends and opportunities in climate tech investing.

[14:03] Building a startup in the climate tech space

[19:47] Founders’ curse of knowledge - what is it? How can founders avoid the curse of knowledge?

[25:21] There’s something special about a founder who can influence an investor to make subjective decisions.

About Tommy Leep

Tommy Leep is the founder of Jetstream. He is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and business advisor with experience in startup funding and growth. He held key roles at Floodgate and Rothenberg Ventures before delving into venture capitalism. With experience at Meraki, Inc., Intuit, and Yahoo! Music, he brings a diverse skill set. Tommy advises startups like Around, Payable, and Patreon, and formerly led Rothenberg Ventures' SF office. He's also advised Orchestra Inc. (now part of Dropbox).

About Jetstream

Jetstream is a venture capital firm investing in pre-seed climate, sustainability, and biodiversity startups. Companies in Jetstream’s startup portfolio include Verdi, Pachama, Windborne Systems, Glacier, Albebo, Lightship, Pathways, Cecil, Wildgrid among others.  

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:33] Venture’s main appeal is the ability to disrupt and create positive change.

[4:25] Is it hard to find a good VC to invest in as an LP? Why is that so?

[12:54] Eric Sippel’s emerging manager selection rubric; 3S (sourcing, selection, and stewardship/value add) - which is the most important S?

[26:18] What happens in the first, second meeting with an emerging manager? What questions should VCs expect from Eric?

[33:03] Investing in underrepresented VCs isn’t just ‘good’. It’s critical to having a broader aperture for outsized portfolio returns.

The non-profit organization that Eric is passionate about: Goodwill San Francisco Bay

About Eric Sippel

Eric Sippel invests in emerging managers through his family office, Sippel Farb Family Office. He’s also a philanthropist and current chair of Bay Area Goodwill.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[6:15] Fairview employs a dual investment strategy to cover both established and niche areas in private markets.

[13:02] New, appropriately sized VC firms focusing on specific stages have the opportunity to generate significant returns.

[16:53] The venture capital landscape has undergone substantial changes in the past 30 years.

[27:00] Technology's pervasive influence creates vast opportunities for disruption across various industries.

[32:34] Advice for investors, especially emerging managers: Be a great investor and entrepreneur; value collaboration and sharing best practices with peers.

The non-profit organizations that Aakar is passionate about: San Francisco Achievers, New Breath Foundation

About Aakar Vachhani

Aakar Vachhani is a Managing Partner at Fairview Capital Partners and a key member of Fairview’s investment committee. In this role, he actively engages in research, due diligence, investment monitoring, and business development for Fairview's venture capital and private equity portfolios, as well as direct co-investment initiatives. He established and leads Fairview's San Francisco office.

Before joining Fairview, Aakar worked with Cambridge Associates, a prominent investment advisor catering to foundations, endowments, and corporate/government entities. Earlier in his career, he gained experience at MK Capital, a multi-stage venture capital firm with a specific sector focus on software and cloud services.

About Fairview Capital Partners

Fairview Capital Partners is a Connecticut-based investment management firm specializing in cutting-edge segments of the private markets. Founded nearly three decades ago, Fairview has evolved into one of the largest minority-owned investment firms in the United States, managing over $10 billion in fund capitalization. With a clientele including leading foundations, endowments, pension plans, and family offices, Fairview Capital's innovative and inclusive approach, coupled with its entrepreneurial spirit, continues to make an indelible mark on the venture capital industry.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[3:50] Underrepresented communities of founders and investors significantly influence the growth of the venture capital ecosystem

[9:26] How Gaingels provides universal access to the wealth creation potential of venture capital

[16:59] Cloud technology revolutionized starting companies in the last decade, while artificial intelligence is the current game changer

[24:09] Principles behind Gaingels investment approach

[28:53] Why founders should establish relationships with investors before pitching

The non-profit organization that Lorenzo is passionate about: StartOut

About Lorenzo Thione

Lorenzo Thione is a Managing Director at Gaingels. He is a serial entrepreneur and investor, known for his diverse contributions at the intersection of technology, art, commerce, and social impact. A Tony Award-winning Broadway producer for "Hadestown" and co-creator/producer of the George Takei musical "Allegiance," he also directed/produced its record-breaking 2016 film. Lorenzo co-founded Social Edge and previously co-founded Powerset (acquired by Microsoft in 2008) and Artify. A prominent LGBT advocate, he co-founded and is board chair emeritus of StartOut, a leading non-profit fostering LGBT entrepreneurship. Lorenzo is an active investor, board member, and advisor to numerous startups.

About Gaingels

Gaingels is a Vermont-based LGBTQIA+/Allies private investment syndicate, dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion within the venture capital ecosystem. With over 2000 individual members, including accredited investors, Gaingels actively supports innovation economy companies committed to building diverse and inclusive leadership. Their unique approach involves members contributing beyond financial investment, providing introductions, advice, and connections to portfolio companies. Some of the companies it has backed include: Shimmer, Leap AI, Base Operations, Overplay, Abbey Cross, Zette, Magma, Cambium, kinship among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:00] Invest in your networks early.

[5:54] Starting a company during an economic downturn: is it a good idea?

[9:43] The multifaceted role of VCs as super connectors and coaches.

[16:20] The best founders identify opportunities in the current world and articulate a clear vision of how to navigate toward a better future.

[25:34] Founders deserve investors who are wholeheartedly committed and thoroughly convinced of the startup's potential for success.

The non-profit organization that Anne is passionate about: UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital's Center for Child Protection

About Anne Dwane

Anne Dwane, Co-Founder & Partner at Village Global, has a wealth of experience with a background that includes tech company founding, venture-backed CEO positions, and executive roles in public companies. Over her 20-year career, she has successfully managed P & Ls and excelled in scaling operations from startup to IPO and building effective teams. Notable achievements include leading companies to successful acquisitions by Monster and Chegg, as well as managing P&L responsibilities for Chegg before and after its IPO (valued at $1 billion). Currently, she serves on the board of Harvard Business Publishing.

About Village Global

Village Global is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm dedicated to supporting  amazing entrepreneurs working on big ideas. With a typical investment range of $250,000 to $1.5 million, the firm goes beyond funding, offering founders access to a vibrant community, expert guidance, and transformative introductions. Chaired by Reid Hoffman and backed by esteemed visionaries such as Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Anne Wojcicki, and more, Village Global has an impressive portfolio that includes companies like Excarta, Simply Homes, Juno, Evisort, Siena AI, Canopy, Risk Ledger, OpenCover, Boost Capital, Atmosfy, among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:18] Patrick’s real-life story of maneuvering the challenges of an inevitable career change.

[7:19] Unexpected paths can lead to entrepreneurial success.

[10:10] True fulfillment in business comes from building a purpose-driven business that addresses societal challenges.

[15:57] What's the difference between therapy and coaching?

[19:20] How coaching helps with self-awareness, self-confidence, psychological safety and communication.

[26:03] Whatever the size of the company, company culture should never be an afterthought.

The non-profit organization that Patrick is passionate about: Cousteau

About Patrick Mork

Patrick Mork is the founder and CEO of LEAP. He is a startup CEO coach, motivational speaker and author of Step Back and LEAP. An ex-Google executive and serial tech maven, Patrick previously worked for a renowned company in Silicon Valley as Chief Marketing Officer. During his tenure at Google, he built and led the marketing team that created and launched the Google play brand. He founded LEAP as a way of helping early-stage companies to reinvent themselves by creating cultures that empower their employees to do work that gives them meaning and purpose.  

About LEAP

LEAP is a Chile-based cultural transformation company that helps leaders build company cultures of meaning and purpose. Prior to starting LEAP he spent over 20 years in various marketing leadership roles in several high profile technology startups and at Google where he built and led the marketing team that launched the Google Play brand.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[6:13] AWM Capital's human-centered approach to athlete wealth management

[9:14] Venture capital's role in family office asset allocation

[16:15] The pivotal role of networks in venture capital

[19:36] Assessing venture funds, navigating both the easy and challenging aspects

[28:13] Tips on selecting the best Limited Partner for your company

The non-profit organization that Justin is passionate about: RAISE Global

About Justin Dyer

Justin Dyer is the Chief Investment Officer, Director of Wealth Strategy, and Partner at AWM Capital. He leads AWM’s investment committee, research teams and investment operations. He has served on LP Advisory Committees and has been on the selection committee for the RAISE Global Conference, which is the premier community for forward-thinking venture capital investors and emerging fund managers. 

About AWM Capital

AWM Capital is a multi-family office serving professional athletes, entrepreneurs, and business professionals, with a deeply-rooted belief that wealth goes beyond the financial.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[3:47] Discover invaluable lessons from the pioneers of the insurtech industry

[7:40] The story of Metromile: “I was excited and naive enough to think that we could pull that off.” - Steve Pretre

[15:43] Early-stage investing isn't just about funds but also about providing strategic support to startups

[22:40] Insights into corporate venture capital and why alignment of goals is paramount

[27:18] The importance of staying true to your business vision and not blindly following VC advice

The non-profit organization that Steve is passionate about: Woodside Wildebeests

About Steve Pretre

Steve Pretre is a partner at World Innovation Lab. He is a veteran of multiple successful startups and has deep operating experience across product development, marketing, and strategic planning. Prior to joining World Innovation Lab, Steve was the co-founder and CEO of Metromile, an early innovator that paved the path for the current wave of insurance startups. He also held executive roles at Asurion, leading their mobile applications business unit as the company grew.

About World Innovation Lab

World Innovation Lab is a venture capital fund supported by various governments and global corporations. WiL invests in companies looking to expand into new markets. They assist US startups in entering Japan and Asia and support Japanese startups in global expansion. Notable recent direct investments include Algolia, Asana, Automation Anywhere, Auth0, DataRobot, Kong, Mercari, MURAL, TransferWise, and Unqork. WiL also supports established and emerging venture funds. Additionally, they collaborate with corporate investors to enhance innovation through new business creation, startup partnerships, and cultural change. WiL acts as a bridge between startups and corporations in key innovation hubs globally, initially focusing on Japan and the US.
 
Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[4:51] How venture capital drives innovation and the crucial role of limited partners (LPs) in this process

[14:25] Factors LPs consider when selecting fund managers

[22:05] Identifying positive signs of fund growth and red flags that LPs watch out for

[27:56] The evolving role of allocators in the future of venture capital and how founders need to rethink what capital and VC relationships mean to them

[32:28] Dive into the ongoing debate surrounding GP commit

The non-profit organization that Miles is passionate about: CMU

About Miles Dieffenbach

Miles Dieffenbach is the Director of Investment at Carnegie Mellon University Endowment He manages the $3.6 billion endowment across a comprehensive global portfolio of all major asset classes, including private equity, venture capital, public equities, hedge funds, real estate, distressed opportunities and fixed income.
Fun fact: Miles initially planned on being a professional footballer. He served as Penn State Varsity Football Captain and had a short stint as offensive guard at Pittsburgh Steelers. He jokingly remarks that he feels like he’s playing a similar role as the director of investments.

About Carnegie Mellon University Endowment

Carnegie Mellon University Endowment is an endowment based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fund provides a permanent source of income to support the university's missions. It also provides a stable, predictable, and growing stream of resources for current use in achieving the academic goals of the university, while preserving the purchasing power of the fund for future generations. The investment office evaluates, selects, and monitors current and prospective investments in which to allocate the university's endowment assets. The fund’s assets are managed by the executive management team.  

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[4:07] Accolade’s contrarian portfolio building: leading with concentrated investments

[13:06] Why does it take so long to invest in a VC fund?

[22:19] Most common questions from General Partners to LPs

[24:32] Fund size should be the output, not an input

[29:39] Blockchain investing versus traditional investing

[34:05] Focusing on real valuations will make venture capital better.

The non-profit organization that Aram is passionate about: AGBU

About Aram Verdiyan

Aram Verdiyan is a partner at Accolade Partners. Previously, he worked on the investment team at Andreessen Horowitz and before that in BD, sales and marketing at Aviatrix, a cloud native enterprise software company.

About Accolade Partners

Accolade Partners is a DC-based fund of funds organized primarily to invest in a diversified portfolio of top-tier venture capital and growth equity funds principally investing in technology and healthcare. Accolade’s investment focus is the United States. The fund of funds has invested in many VC firms including Equal Ventures, Zeev Ventures, Wonder Ventures, Notation Capital, Mucker Capital among others.
 
Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:54] Getting into insurance - Theresa Blissing’s life-changing mission

[5:43] Insurance is everywhere

[8:27] Future of Insurance in Asia: Diversity and Nuances

[21:33] Stay on top of how technology is helping reshape the insurance industry on the Asia InsurTech Podcast.

The non-profit organization that Theresa is passionate about: Girl Gone International

About Theresa Blissing

Theresa Blissing is the founder and director of Accelerating Insurance, an innovation advisory firm in Southeast Asia. With a decade at multinational insurer Generali and a leadership role at German consultancy Detecon, she brings extensive industry experience. Theresa is also a trailblazer in big data and analytics within insurance, contributing to some of the first academic studies on its adoption in Southeast Asia.

As a thought leader, Theresa founded the Asia InsurTech Podcast and InsurTech Mentors, creating unique platforms for industry experts across Asia. Her commitment to knowledge sharing extends to speaking engagements at conferences like Asia Insurance Review, Techsauce, Uniglobal, and InsurTech Insight, as well as lecturing at institutions such as the Singapore College of Insurance and Thammasat University.

About Accelerating Insurance

Accelerating Insurance is an insurance consultancy that navigates the insurance landscape, helping insurers cut through the noise, understand emerging trends, and demystify technology. By closely monitoring InsurTech developments and sharing success stories, Accelerating Insurance contributes to reshaping the future of insurance, advocating for meaningful change in both technology and the people driving innovation.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:28] Pre-2005 venture capital: An enigma mastered by just a few hundred experts. What's evolved?

[9:03] Contrarian view: Concentrated VC portfolios triumph over diversification.

[13:15] Ahoy's portfolio: Home to unique ventures.

[18:26] Nurturing LP/VC connections.

[23:47] Standing out in the world of 'chaos capital' as a VC investor

The non-profit organization that Chris is passionate about: Habitat for Humanity

About Chris Douvos

Chris Douvos founded Ahoy Capital in 2018 with a focus on building a boutique firm committed to investment excellence and fostering strong partnerships. With nearly two decades of experience in venture capital, Chris is a pioneering figure in the micro-VC movement. He excels in identifying and nurturing emerging funds, facilitating transparent dialogue between capital providers and consumers, and shares his insights through his blog, SuperLP. His expertise is not limited to capital; he is also sought after for his advisory role on numerous manager's boards. Chris is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and business schools, and he serves as a valuable resource for tech and business media.

Before establishing Ahoy Capital, Chris led investment efforts at Venture Investment Associates and The Investment Fund for Foundations. He honed his skills in illiquid investing while working with Princeton University's endowment and started his career as a strategy consultant at Monitor Company.

Fun Fact: Chris is known for his exclusive brick oven pizza parties, attended by LPs, GPs, and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. 

About Ahoy Capital

Ahoy Capital is a Silicon Valley-based boutique fund manager that scours the innovation ecosystem in search of attractive risk-adjusted returns while maintaining a high level of engagement with its Partners. Focusing on investments in both early-stage venture capital funds and start-up companies, Ahoy Capital seeks outstanding opportunities in the application of emerging disruptive technologies, as well as the development of nascent frontier ideas that will continue to have profound effects on the ways in which people live and work.
 
Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:42] The advantages and responsibilities of angel investing

[9:25] Key considerations when choosing an investor in the pre-seed to seed stage

[14:27] The path to achieving startup success: crafting a precise problem statement, building with integrity, and maintaining agility during implementation.

[18:58] Founder's dilemma: balancing speed with the importance of doing things right

[27:19] Fostering a robust US-India startup ecosystem will take true community building

The non-profit organization that Priya is passionate about: SaaSBOOMi

About Priya Ramachandran

Priya Priya Ramachandran is the Founder and Managing Partner of Foster Ventures. As an Operator and a GTM expert, Priya works with cross-border companies and helps entrepreneurs with product market fit, international market entry advice and introductions. Before starting Foster Ventures, Priya was with BoldCap, BetterCloud, Coupa, Intel Security and LogiGear Corporation leading various strategic operational roles with a focus on Product Strategy, Customer Strategy & Adoption and Customer Success. Priya is also an active mentor at SaaSBOOMi with a focus on enabling and empowering cross-border founders.

About Foster Ventures

Foster Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture capital firm with a focus on B2B Enterprise SaaS. As an operator-led VC, Foster works with early-stage startups, supporting founders building global products. Portfolio companies include vitrina, rocketlane, atomicwork, lyric, SimpliContract among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[3:24] One of the hardest and most aspirationally awesome things that a human can do is start a company.

[7:16] Even an experienced entrepreneur needs help raising series A.

[10:54] What does it mean to create a category-defining company today?

[16:00] Back to the basics: defensibility and unit economics

[23:30] How has the venture capital industry evolved and how have your perspectives changed? 

The non-profit organization that Eric is passionate about: StartX

About Eric Ver Ploeg

Eric Ver Ploeg is a founding partner at Tunitas Ventures, building on a successful angel investment track record. Eric is a 2x venture-backed startup founder, where he raised rounds from Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, JMI Equity, VantagePoint, and others. He spent 11 years as Partner at large multi-stage venture firms, where he was a board member of 25+ startups, and had a vote in ~500 Series A to Pre-IPO investment decisions leading to ~130 investments.

About Tunitas Ventures

Tunitas Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based seed- stage venture firm that focuses on helping companies raise future Series A from the best possible investor. The firm invests across all technology sectors (except Healthcare/Life Sciences). Portfolio companies include InspectHOA, blotout, GO2, Via.Delivery, among others.  

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[3:47] What approaches is Insight Partners employing to establish the most scalable framework as a leading global software investor?

[7:32] A VC's reputation is built on their interactions with founders, regardless of whether or not they get on the founder’s cap table.

[11:29] Genuine success narratives within healthcare emerge at the crossroads of empathetic product development and high-quality go-to-market strategies.

[16:10] 2023 to 2025 will be a phenomenal time to start something in AI.

[24:56] Certain occasions demand the recognition that achieving greatness requires strategic boldness and the willingness to take early leaps.

The non-profit organization that Scott is passionate about: Camp Jabberwocky

About Scott Barclay

Scott Barclay is a managing director for the health practice at Insight Partners. He’s focused on how teams—armed with technical prowess and an earned empathy to the problem—can build something greater than themselves in healthcare with software and data. Previously, Scott was a partner at DCVC, an angel investor, and an operator at Surescripts. He has been instrumental in Insight’s investment in UnoBravo, Kintsugi, Trialjectory, IDOVEN, AiVF among others.

About Insight Partners

Insight Partners is a New York-based global software investor that partners with growth-stage technology and software companies, with a deep focus in Fintech, Cybersecurity, AI/ML, DevOps, and Healthcare sectors. Insight’s portfolio companies include wiz, Calm, Checkout, Divvy, Kaseya, Espressive, ncino, onetrust, Pluralsight, among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[4:20] The essence of being a VC lies not in having strong opinions, but in serving as the strongest support system for founders.

[6:30] Why great VCs refrain from saying: "Let me know how I can help you."

[12:06] Ultimately, a startup’s success depends on the compelling nature of its product(s).

[16:30] Don’t rely solely on a candidate's provided references when recruiting.

[20:25] For founders, unsolicited advice is unnecessary.

[25:57] Venture capital is not broken!

The non-profit organization that Oren is passionate about: ICON

About Oren Zeev

Oren Zeev is the founder of Zeev Ventures, a one-man VC firm that invests in growth-stage companies. He also serves as a board member at Houzz, HomeLight, Tipalti, TripActions, Next Insurance, among others. Oren is a former board of Audible (went public and then acquired by AMZN) and of Chegg, (NYSE: CHGG) where he was the main investor and one of the two main early backers respectively, a former board member of RedKix (acquired by Facegook) and a former chairman of Loop Commerce (acquired by Synchrony Bank). Prior to that, he was a general partner at Apax Partners from 1995 to 2007.

About Zeev Ventures

Zeev Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture fund that invests in technology, financial, e-commerce, and consumer service sectors. Its portfolio companies include: Trustmi, Sentra, Caramel, ShipIn, groundcover, GrowthSpace, HomeLight among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  

Twitter | Linkedin  | Instagram  | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[6:47] 3 ways of how to become ‘the money behind the money’.

[11:05] Why is it difficult to evaluate VC firms?

[20:35] What goes into starting a VC firm? What are the benefits of using FOFs in your VC journey?

[26:00] Missing opportunities, how to handle NOs as a VC, and the importance of relationships in venture capital.

[28:44] Future of venture capital: will venture capital become a more attractive asset class?

The non-profit organization that David is passionate about: NESsT

About David York

David York is a founder & Managing director at Top Tier Capital Partners. He leads the Corporate Development team and is responsible for the management, development & growth of the firm’s offerings, and is a member of the Investment and Management Committees at the firm. 

David has 30+ years of industry knowledge and networks, which uniquely equip him to be a liaison and international ambassador not only for Top Tier’s brand, but also the broader venture community. Previously, he led the fund of funds business at Paul Capital Partners, before spinning it out and founding Top Tier. Prior to Paul Capital, he spent seventeen years on Wall Street running various trading desks.

David is also a board member in various for-profit and nonprofit organizations. He’s on the Board of Directors of NESsT, a 23-year-old Social Development Enterprise and Impact Investing non-profit investment firm focused on the development of social entrepreneurs in Central European and Latin American countries.

About Top Tier Capital Partners

Top Tier Capital Partners is a venture capital specialist managing niche-focused funds of funds, secondaries, and co-investment strategies. The firm makes primary and secondary investments in venture capital funds and co-invests in select portfolio companies.

Top Tier’s history is marked with investments in renowned VC firms such as Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Atlas Ventures, Abingworth, Initialized, Accel, and A.Capital Ventures, and its current portfolio companies include Paro, Prime Roots, 

Plus One Robotics, Komprise, Career Karma, Talkdesk, LaunchDarkly, among many others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[4:13] Venture capital is a game of exceptions and contrarian thinking.

[9:27] Founder's genuine obsession with their idea creates infectious passion.

[13:30] Great entrepreneurs recognize their strengths and hire accordingly to achieve their mission.

[18:31] Aggressive realism is crucial for founders and investors in the challenging venture market.

[22:47] Generative AI has the potential to bring about transformative changes eagerly awaited by the market.

The non-profit organization that Ruth is passionate about: WVC:E

About Ruth Foxe Blader

Ruth Foxe Blader is a Partner at Anthemis and thought leader in fintech and insurtech. At Anthemis, Ruth leads strategic investment efforts across Europe and North America. Ruth specializes in technology-enabled business models, insurance technology, risk transfer, early stage investing, product strategy and digital transformation.

Prior to joining Anthemis, Ruth worked for Allianz SE and was a founding member of the AllianzX team, where she led investments in startups including Lemonade, MoneyFarm, Argus Cyber Security and SimpleSurance.

About Anthemis Group

Anthemis Group is a global multi-stage investment platform that deploys human, intellectual and financial capital diversely and inclusively to affect change and build resiliency in the financial system. By creating fertile ground for a diverse group of startups, investors, entrepreneurs, institutions, academics, and visionaries to converge, Anthemis believes they can solve the financial systems’ most pressing challenges faster, better and for the benefit of all. Its portfolio companies include Elevate, Rize Ag, Project Admission, TreasurySpring, Flyby Robotics, Agreena, Flock, Kasheesh among others.
 
Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:20] Charles Moldow's early entrepreneurial ventures during the dynamic evolution of the internet.

[7:58] The role of a VC in sometimes discouraging founders to protect them from their own pitfalls.

[13:01] The revealing nature of a founder's personal life story, showcasing their unique abilities.

[19:54] "Don't prepare to impress me. Just share your authentic truth." - Charles Moldow

[23:43] The importance for entrepreneurs to explore the vast array of promising opportunities for leveraging technology in the insurance industry.

The non-profit organization that Charles is passionate about: safespace

About Charles Moldow

Charles Moldow is a general partner at Foundation Capital. At Foundation, he identifies technology trends and new user experiences that will change the financial services landscape. His thesis investing has him focused on fintech, insurtech and proptech opportunities with a crypto overlay to everything he evaluates. Since he joined Foundation Capital in 2005, he’s made seventeen successful investments, five of which have gone public and twelve have been acquired. Charles’ public portfolio includes early-stage investments that have led to notable IPOs with DOMA (IPO 2021), Rover (IPO 2021), LendingClub (IPO 2014), OnDeck (IPO 2014) and Everyday Health (2014). 

Fun fact: Charles moonlights as AAA Little League coach and family vacation planner.

Learn more about Charles here.

About Foundation Capital

Foundation Capital is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture capital firm that’s dedicated to the proposition that one entrepreneur's idea, with the right support, can become a business that changes the world. The firm is made up of former entrepreneurs who set out to create the firm they wanted as founders. 

Foundation Capital is currently invested in more than 60 high-growth ventures in the areas of consumer, information technology, software, digital energy, financial technology, and marketing technology. These investments include AdRoll, Beepi, Bolt Threads, DogVacay, Kik, ForgeRock, Lending Home, Localytics, and Visier. The firm's twenty-six IPOs include Lending Club, OnDeck, Chegg, Sunrun, MobileIron, Control4, TubeMogul, Envestnet, Financial Engines, Netflix, NetZero, Responsys and Silver Spring Networks.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[6:38] AI - a net good or a net bad?

[10:25] Challenges of integrating AI solutions into healthcare management. Who’s better positioned to provide these solutions - startups or big companies?

[14:31] Lessons on raising startup capital from 20+ fundraising experiences

[21:36] Networking advice: Start early and offer value to your networks

[24:54] Similarities and differences between investing in startups as an angel investor versus investing in funds as an LP

The non-profit organization that Munjal is passionate about: South Asian Heart Center

About Munjal Shah

Munjal Shah is a co-founder and CEO at Hippocratic AI. He is a serial entrepreneur, startup advisor, and investor who has built / helped build numerous other technology and AI startups. He previously served as CEO & co-founder  of Health IQ, Like.com, & Andale. Munjal Munjal is also an advisor/investor in several companies including Blindsight, PatientPing, LiftLabs, Counsyl, Honor Health, Retrace.ai, Interaxon, Wildflower, Reify Health, Scopley, Pubmatic and more.

About Hippocratic AI

Hippocratic AI is building a safety-focused large language model (LLM) for the healthcare industry. It’s founded by hospital administrators, doctors, medicare experts, payor experts, and AI & LLM researchers. The company raised a $50MM seed round from A16z and General Catalyst.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

4:32 Are insurtech startups effectively paying the insurance industry’s huge technology debt?

9:50 Why there shouldn’t be a divide between incumbent carriers and startups

15:34 Innovation and value creation in insurance is possible when startups and incumbents collaborate.

22:24 InsurTech NY’s role in the evolution of insurtech

26:36 What are startups and insurance companies doing to prepare for the future?

The non-profit organization that David is passionate about: Female Founders in FinTech Foundation

About David Gritz

David Gritz is a co-founder and managing director at InsurTech New York, working to build NYC as the global hub for InsurTech activity. He previously served as the Innovation Director at SVIA and led product for Zero, a loss control InsurTech acquired by EverestRe.

About Bryan Falchuk

Bryan Flachuk is the founder and managing partner at Insurance Evolution Partners and the President & CEO of The Property & Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB). His other roles include: mentor at InsurTech New York; an innovation, motivation & success expert; insurance thought leader; 4x best-selling author and 3x @TEDx speaker.

David and Bryan are both co-authors of a book series called ‘Future of Insurance’.

About InsurTech NY

InsurTech NY is a resource center for the insurance innovation community in the New York metropolitan region and beyond. Its mission is to help support the insurance industry take advantage of the latest digital technology to improve efficiencies and increase revenue, and be ready for the inevitable digital transformation. They do this through their public events, corporate innovation program, competition, accelerator, MGA lab and the venture fund.

About Insurance Evolution Partners

Insurance Evolution Partners is an insurance consultancy that  advises carriers and their partners on how to navigate an evolving industry facing disruption and change.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

2:35 Significant stepping stones that helped Tanvi transition from being an operator to a venture capitalist

6:37 As an investor, you’re helping founders to build change from the ground up.

8:50 Be valuable to your networks to succeed in venture capital

17:33 Are you building a product or a platform? Will it be there for a long time?

20:10 Women in Corporate Venture is a rising trend.

The non-profit organization that Tanvi is passionate about: Transition Play

About Guest Speaker

Tanvi Narain is an investor at Counterpart Ventures, where she sources new FinTech investment opportunities that fit the fund’s B2B strategy. Prior to joining Counterpart, Tanvi worked at Plaid where she managed a range of growth stage fintech customers; advising them on products opportunities & go-to-market strategies.She previously spent 6 years in financial services and payments at Discover Financial and Visa where she held roles in marketing and product management.

About Counterpart Ventures

Counterpart Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based life cycle VC fund, focused on investing in B2B SaaS, mobility, and marketplace technologies that target nontrivial problems or fill missing gaps in large markets. Its portfolio companies include Dori, Upflowy, Remofirst, Cloudbeds, VComply, Intricately among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:11] Insights from pioneering Guatemala’s first venture capital fund

[7:08] Investing in both venture fund investments and startup investments: the Invariantes model

[13:34] Investors who maintain a long-term perspective seek professional relationships to add value beyond just investing.

[20:21] More education is needed to demystify the venture capital asset class

The non-profit organization that Fernando is passionate about: Volcano Summit

About Guest Speaker

Fernando Pontaza is a Co-Founder and Managing General Partner at Invariantes Fund - Guatemala’s first, homegrown, early-stage VC fund. He’s been directly involved in every step, from constituting the fund, designing the deck, raising capital, evaluating deals to everything in between. After over 10 years in finance and a decade of managing portfolios he has learned an enormous amount about the power of creating wealth.

About Invariantes Fund

Invariantes Fund is an early stage venture fund investing in technology companies that leverage software as infrastructure. The fund is based in Guatemala City and invests in the United States and Latin America.

Portfolio companies include: Picker, Hamama, Favor, Monkey Foods, Revere VC, Reforge, Axiom Space, Symba, Vinovest among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

2:01 Lessons about business from a former politician

10:39 Why ‘hire great people’ is universal advice across industries

15:09 Networks are unbeatable when it comes to looking for amazing people to work with.

18:30 Lessons from failure can produce value in future endeavors.

22:26 Importance of diversity in the VC ecosystem, including the participation of minorities and women

About Guest Speaker

Adrian Fenty is a managing general partner at Mac Venture Capital. Prior to founding MaC, Adrian was co-founder and Managing Partner at M. Ventures and Special Advisor to Andreessen Horowitz. He began his tech career as a consultant to Rosetta Stone, EverFi and several software startups.

Fenty is a former two-term city Council member and Mayor in his hometown, Washington DC.

About MaC Venture Capital

MaC Venture Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on finding ideas, technology, and products that can become infectious. The firm invests in technology companies that benefit from shifts in cultural trends and behaviors in an increasingly diverse global marketplace. MaC VC is the result of the merger between successful LosAngeles and Bay Area-based Seed funds, Cross Culture Ventures, and M Ventures.

Portfolio companies include: Fursure, Preveta, Archetype, Starfish Space, WARP, Spartan Radar, Spill, Blaze, UTVATE among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[6:32] 3 key characteristics of emerging managers that LPs compete for

[10:56] What the best LPs do to remain top of mind of fund managers

[16:18] Lessons from common VC mistakes

The non-profit organization that Alex is passionate about: Bridge Funding Global

About Guest Speaker

Alex Edelson is the Founder and General Partner at Slipstream Investors. Before starting Slipstream, Alex was the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at QED Investors and Nigel Morris's Chief of Staff.

About Slipstream Investors

Slipstream Investors is a DC-based VC fund of funds that invests in pre-seed and seed funds, many of which are emerging managers, and in their breakout portfolio companies.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[9:34] How Verdis chooses VC firms to invest in 

[16:10] California is home to the majority of U.S. unicorns, followed by New York, according to Verdis data

[25:07] Leaning on diversification to increase the chances of getting big winners

[31:29] Advice for GPs intending to work with a family office

The non-profit organizations that Jamie is passionate about: Cradles to Crayons

About Guest Speaker

Jamie Rhode is Principal at Verdis Investment Management. She joined Verdis from Bloomberg, where she held roles in both equity research and credit analysis. There, she created, managed and leveraged an extensive library of statutory and financial and market data for buy and sell-side clients that use Bloomberg to make investment decisions.

A licensed Chartered Financial Analyst, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Finance and Marketing from Drexel University’s College of Business Administration.

Fun fact: Jamie is an Eagles fan. Go Birds!!

About Verdis Investment Management

Verdis Investment Management is a single family office investing globally from their base outside of Philadelphia. Verdis was established in 2004, building on a rich legacy that has spanned three centuries. The family office is focused on venture capital, private equity and hedge fund investment sourcing and due diligence.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram |

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[3:32] Why solo GPs prioritize deal quality over quantity, and best ways to catch their attention

[9:08] Entrepreneurs need to have strong conviction in their idea and show that they will take the leap, leave everything else and start their company.

[14:59] Carta’s tough time raising capital; investors thought it was “essentially replacing spreadsheets”

[19:07] Why recruiting a founder rarely works

About Guest Speaker

Dr. Manu Kumar is the Founder and Chief Firestarter of K9 Ventures, Co-Founder and CEO at HiHello, and the Co-founder, Investor, and Board Observer at Carta. He’s also a board member in several companies, including Everlaw, enuma, Nexkey, Bugsee, Traptic, Crave.io Inc., Avoma, Forethought Technologies, Workona Inc., HiHello, Invisible AI, and Daughters of Rosie. 

Manu is a self-confessed entrepreneur at heart. He started his first company (SneakerLabs, Inc.) at the age of 20 with $5,000 from a summer internship.

About K9 Ventures

K9 Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in concept-stage and seed-stage technology startups in the San Francisco Bay Area. K9 Ventures has made more than 74 investments. More than 25% of them are diversity investments. The firm’s most notable exits include Lyft, Twilio, and Osmo. Companies in its current portfolio include Teleo, Invisible AI, Avoma, Forethought, Nexkey, Everlaw among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you'll learn:

3:45 Make calculated bets during slow periods to capitalize on contrarian perspectives.

12:16 Founders who start their company to solve a problem understood through a lived experience are able to build some of the best startups.

18:30 How has investment decision-making changed since and after the pandemic?

21:38 Is venture capital still patient?

The non-profit organization that David is passionate about: Tipping Point

About Guest Speaker

David Thacker is a General Partner at Greylock, where he invests in technology startups that focus on solving significant challenges through exceptional product design. He has been at the forefront of Greylock's investments in companies such as Curated, Instawork, Pragma, Wealthsimple, and AmplifyMD, to name a few. Prior to joining Greylock, David had an impressive career as a technologist, having held key product leadership roles at renowned companies like Google and LinkedIn.

About Greylock

Greylock is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that  invests in entrepreneurs that focus on consumer and enterprise software companies. The firm has invested in market-defining companies, including Airbnb, AppDynamics, Apptio, Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET), Cloudera, Docker, Dropbox, Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD), Medium, Nextdoor, Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW),Pandora (NYSE: P), Pure Storage, and Workday (NYSE: WDAY).

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[**3:23**] The value of venture capital in the eyes of a limited partner

[**8:31**] How do you know you have good access to venture funds as an LP?

[**13:14**] Revere’s playbook for removing barriers to the free flow of capital from the LP side

[**22:41**] Looking past the down cycle into the future of VC

The non-profit organization that Eric is passionate about: NVCA Venture Forward

About Guest Speaker

Eric Woo is a co-founder and CEO at Revere VC, and is an acknowledged thought leader in the VC emerging managers ecosystem. At Revere, he leads product development and investment analysis & due diligence efforts. Previously, Eric was Head of Institutional Capital at AngelList, where he worked closely with investors to curate early-stage fund and deal opportunities, and developed systematic and data-driven strategies for institutional investors. 

About Revere VC

Revere VC is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that empowers investment advisors, wealth managers, and allocators with the tools to expand their venture capital programs. Revere is best known for creating the industry’s first standardized framework for evaluating fund managers.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:55] New York’s is becoming an increasingly attractive hub for startup ecosystem players.

[6:56] Equal Ventures investment philosophy and process; and why consensus doesn't lead to great investment decision making.

[17:09] The hype days are gone. You can’t just tell a story and try to raise money without a real business.

[18:26] Emerging Managers Circle benefits to emerging GPs as they pursue their dreams of starting their own firms.

[21:03] How more diversity at the LP and GP levels can unlock the hidden potential of the startup ecosystem

The non-profit organization that Richard is passionate about: BLCK VC, BVCC

About Guest Speaker
Richard Kerby is Co-founder and General Partner at Equal Ventures. Prior to co-founding Equal Ventures, Richard was an investor at Venrock, where he led seed-stage and Series A stage investments in 6Sense, Amino Apps, Beckon, Burner, Luxe Valet, and Salsify.

Prior to joining Venrock, Richard was an investor at Institutional Venture Partners (IVP),where he focused on identifying and evaluating later-stage investments. While at IVP, Richard worked with IVP portfolio companies such as Dropbox, FleetMatics, PopSugar, Shazam, and Yext. Prior to joining IVP, Richard worked in the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse.

About Equal Ventures

Equal Ventures is a New York-based early stage venture capital firm that backs founders and businesses that are disrupting legacy markets. Its core focus areas are retail, care, insurance, supply chain and climate. Portfolio companies include wrapbook, gerry, ODYSSEY, MVMNT, WeeCare, SmartHop, ThreeFlow among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:45] Genuine continuous fascination with new technology is crucial to success in deep tech.

[10:23] Fundamental questions that any investor would ask when assessing the business model of a deep tech startup.

[13:40] Showing that you clearly understand what the problem is and how you’re going to solve it is a sure way of getting to a second meeting with the investor.

[23:44] Deep tech founders need investors who appreciate the technology and who can help them to prepare for the next stage in their journey.

[25:52] How can more transparency around how to invest in VC funds help the VC ecosystem?

About Guest Speaker

Karthee Madasamy is the founder and managing partner at Mobile Foundation Ventures (MFV) Partners. Karthee invests in frontier-tech startups in robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing,Autonomous Platforms, and Internet of Things. Before MFV, Karthee spent 11 years as a Managing Director at Qualcomm Ventures where he invested across the US, Israel, and India. He started Qualcomm Ventures' investment activities in both Israel and India. Some of his notable investments include Waze (acquired by Google), Validity Sensors (acquired by Synaptics), and BORQS (NASDAQ IPO), among others. Before Qualcomm Ventures, Karthee led technical and product marketing roles in three semiconductor and wireless startups in Silicon Valley.

About MFV Partners

MFV Partners is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage deep tech venture fund based. Founded in 2018, MFV backs visionary deep tech entrepreneurs aiming to transform large industries like Auto, Manufacturing, Energy, Agriculture and Healthcare. 

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[4:04] Can fintech startups still do anything transformational in the U.S. financial services market?

[9:22] What does “this is too early” from an investor really mean?

[11:20] When does Restive Ventures nod ‘we want to invest in your company’ and when and why does it say ‘no’?

[20:41] What happens if one partner really loves your idea and the others don’t like it that much? How can you overcome this hurdle as a founder?

[22:35] Interesting trends for Fintech entrepreneurs. Is it a good time to start something?

The non-profit organization that Ryan is passionate about: SaverLife

About Guest Speaker

Ryan Falvey is a Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Restive Ventures (formerly Financial Venture Studio). He has spent the last 15 years identifying, supporting and leading market-changing innovations in technology. Since 2015, he’s invested in 40 early-stage fintech firms, which have grown to represent approximately $3 billion in aggregate equity value. Prior to founding Financial Venture Studio, Ryan led the development of the Financial Solutions Lab, a partnership between JPMorgan Chase and the Financial Health Network. Before managing the Lab, Ryan worked with leading tech firms to develop payment solutions at Silicon Valley Bank. He also served as Strategy Group Lead at Enclude Solutions, overseeing global strategy consulting work around mobile-enabled financial products.

About Restive Ventures

Restive Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm on a mission to help entrepreneurs build the world’s best fintech companies. Its portfolio companies include Canary, FairPlay, Power, Daylight, Ivella, Additional Wealth, FarmRaise among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you'll learn:

[**4:56**] Ask investors questions to make the conversation more interesting.

[**8:10**] Build something and let investors reach out to you.

[**12:23**] Do the risks you’ve taken show that you really want to be in the game?

[**18:14**] Enterprise value will drive startup fundraising in the future.

The non-profit organization that Semil is passionate about: Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV)

About Guest Speaker

Semil Shah is the founding general partner at Haystack Ventures. Semil has also been a Venture Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners since 2018. In 2022, he was featured on the inaugural Midas Seed List (in partnership with Forbes Magazine) as one of the top 25 seed investors worldwide. 

Fun fact: Before Semil got into investing, he had a winding career path that took him to an early-stage startup, to the galleys of the NY restaurant scene, and even a butcher shop.

About Haystack Ventures

Haystack Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that backs outlier founders at the earliest stages. Haystack has been a fortunate investor in 200+ companies, including DoorDash, Instacart, Hashicorp, Figma, Opendoor, Carta, Applied Intuition, Filecoin, Ironclad and more.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[6:50] Water is a tricky industry. You need to have non-obvious insights for your business idea to take off.

[10:58] How sitting on the real pain point results in an outrageous founder-market fit

[17:07] Quality of written communication is a leading indicator of future success in entrepreneurship.

The non-profit organization that Tom is passionate about: Imagine H2O

About Guest Speaker

Tom Ferguson is the founder and managing partner at Burnt Island Ventures. Previously, Tom ran the Accelerator at Imagine H2O for 5+ years, seeing hundreds of water startups a year.

About Burnt Island Ventures

Burnt Island Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture fund that finds, funds and supports the best of water entrepreneurs. Its portfolio companies include Daupler, Aclarity, Spout, 2SWater, SewerAI among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[5:34] Underrepresented founders don't need more advice. They need capital.

[7:45] Is it now easier for founders of overlooked backgrounds to get venture dollars?

[12:44] 5Ps of evaluating whether a company is investible or not

[21:20] Downturns are a reality check for startups.

The non-profit organization that Samara is passionate about: Latinx VC

About Guest Speaker

Samara Hernandez is a founding partner at Chingona Ventures. Prior to founding Chingona, Samara was an early stage investor at MATH Venture Partners, where she led new investment review, diligence and execution. Samara previously worked at Goldman Sachs in sales as well as advising on portfolio construction and consulting on business practices.

Samara is actively involved in the Chicago tech community and is passionate about helping underrepresented groups get into STEM education, venture capital and entrepreneurship. She co-founded the Latinx Founders Collective organization to bring together Latinx founders, investors, and community leaders to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. In addition, she is an active member of Latinx VCs, a San-Francisco based group of experienced venture investors coming together to connect, engage, and foster the Latinx VC ecosystem.

About Chingona Ventures

Chingona Ventures is a Chicago-based venture capital firm that invests in badass founders at the earliest stages of technology and technology-enabled companies all over the U.S. Chingona Ventures focuses on industries that are massively changing and founders whose backgrounds uniquely position them to create businesses in growth markets that are often overlooked. Companies in its portfolio include: Certiverse, Elevate, Tiny Organics, SUMA Wealth, Innovare, Olivex, Paerpay, Scout, She Matters, Cartwheel among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[4:56] VCs who can share their operator experience empathetically can be of great value to deeptech founders.

[8:17] The founder’s character ultimately matters.

[13:52] Cool technology is great, but can you present a well thought out process to the vision?

[16:21] Brilliant founders are total nerds on their topics, and they influence everyone they meet with their passion.

[19:37] How high-speed fundraising can undermine founder/investor relationship building

The non-profit organization Chris is passionate about: Korean American Community Foundation

About Guest Speaker

Chris Kim is the co-founder and managing partner at Union Labs. Chris has been a serial entrepreneur and angel investor before starting Union Labs. Previously, he was the CTO for smart home security company August Home (acquired by Assa Abloy) and prior to that he managed cybersecurity and consumer e-commerce products at Bank of America, eBay and various other startups.

About Union Labs

Union Labs is a Silicon Valley-based deeptech seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in exceptional founders from diverse backgrounds who are applying deep technologies to solve hard problems in the physical world. Union’s core focus areas include: Industrial IoT, Consumer IoT, Health, Climate Tech, Insurtech, Cyber Security, AI/Machine Learning, Autonomous Technology and Manufacturing. Union labs portfolio companies include: Urban Machine, Rendered AI, EncircleLabs, camect, butlr., zerofy, Antimatter among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[1:27] Getting into venture capital as a service-oriented person

[9:22] Can metrics and data be used reliably to evaluate early-stage startups?

[13:27] How does what has happened with your product relate to your personality as a founder? And why do investors care?

[17:30] Build a product that won’t tap out quickly.

[21:16] Clarity in synthesizing the metrics early on and having a compelling vision for the company is a huge plus for a founder when talking with a VC.

The non-profit organization Edward Suh is passionate about: Gold House

About Guest Speaker

Edward Suh is a founding partner at Alpine VC. He is a consumer tech VC who’s keen on using metrics and data to increase diversity in the venture capital system. Edward built internal data platforms for Goodwater Capital and Redpoint, where he worked previously, that helped to identify and flag companies on the basis of their metrics. He now uses the same metrics-based approach in his new firm to evaluate investment opportunities.

About Alpine VC

Alpine VC is a new seed-focused fund that predominantly invests in consumer as well as consumerized enterprise companies globally.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[3:34] Defy the statistics if you want to stand out.

[6:22] Fall in love with stuff and you’ll have a golden touch on them.

[13:08] Every successful person certainly has many missed swings that they don’t talk much about.

[23:05] Remarkable people and experiences are everywhere. Keep your eyes and ears wide open.

The non-profit organization that Guy is passionate about: Digital Nest - Watsonville

About Guest Speaker

Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and the creator of Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People podcast. He is an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley), and adjunct professor of the University of New South Wales. He was the chief evangelist of Apple and a trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation. He has written Wise Guy, The Art of the Start 2.0, The Art of Social Media, Enchantment, and eleven other books. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

Next Episode

In our next episode, we welcome Edward Suh, founding partner at Alpine VC, to talk about focusing on metrics and data to remove biases when looking for investment opportunities.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[7:08] Learning to silence “Mr.Monkey” in order to succeed as an entrepreneur

[12:41] Why going after a bad market doesn’t work even for great entrepreneurs

[18:01] Are you obsessed about your idea but are always ready to take feedback?

[20:05] Doing a bit of research on investors before meeting them can help a founder to avoid getting unnecessary no’s.

The non-profit organization Mike is passionate about: Mr. Monkey and Me

About Guest Speaker

Mike Smerklo is a Co Founder & Managing Director at Next Coast Ventures. Formerly, Mike was CEO of ServiceSource (SREV) and prior to that served as Director of Business Development at Opsware. He’s also the author of “Mr. Monkey And Me,” a book which looks into the psychology and mental rigor of starting, growing and operating a successful business.

About Next Coast Ventures

Next Coast Ventures is an Austin-headquartered venture capital firm. Next Coast’s thematic investing approach targets Texas and other emerging technology hubs. As one of the fastest-growing venture capital firms in Texas, the firm has invested in several standout technology companies across the U.S. Next Coast’s portfolio companies include Navegate, Everlywell, Bridgespan, Tenfold/Callinize, Submittable, Brain Check, among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[5:48] Is early-stage investing harder than later-stage investing?

[8:12] Don’t be afraid to ‘dumb it down’ when explaining what your company does.

[15:58] Do founders need to worry about regulations in the seed and series A stages?

[18:27] Fundamental things the overvaluation game is missing

[21:37] You are not necessarily subject to the current downturn if…

The non-profit organization Jasleen is passionate about: Curry Senior Center San Francisco

About Guest Speaker

Jasleen Kaur is a Principal at Nyca Partners. Prior to joining Nyca, Jasleen was a Principal at CE Innovation Capital, focused on investing in Fintech and Enterprise Software, and prior to that worked at JPMorgan in the Technology Investment Banking Group. She has worked across both New York and San Francisco throughout her career. 

About Nyca Partners

Nyca Partners is a New York-based venture capital and advisory firm that focuses on the fintech sector. Nyca connects innovative companies to financial institutions and technology companies as well as entrepreneurs, VCs, and its strategic Limited Partner base.

Portfolio companies include April, IMTC, Fidel API, RenoFi, Cowbell, Propel, Truv, Sardine, Additional Wealth, Tint.ai among others.

Next Episode

In our next episode, we invite Mike Smerklo, co-founder and managing director at Next Coast Ventures, to share his journey and lessons learned through his experiences as an entrepreneur and now an investor.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[3:38] Why the ‘why story’ is more important than the pitch deck

[8:44] Bangalore is closer to San Francisco than Sacramento is.

[15:12] There’s always a chance to turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’.

[20:10] “I'm bullish on overlooked founders” - Taylor Clauson

The non-profit organizations Taylor is passionate about: Big Brothers Big Sisters

About Guest Speaker

Taylor Clauson is the Founder and Managing Partner of Abstraction Capital. Taylor invests in early-stage B2B companies that are building tools for developer productivity and software infrastructure. He spent 7 years at a Kansas-City based firm called OpenAir Equity Partners, investing in and building IoT and data companies. Also, he is a Kauffman fellow, class 23.

About Abstraction Capital

Abstraction Capital is a Kansas-based early-stage venture capital firm building tools for developers and software infrastructure. Abstraction also focuses on companies building dev tools and workflow automation that reduces the time required to build, deploy, and measure the performance of the software.

Next Episode

In our next episode, we welcome Jasleen Kaur, an investor at Nyca Partners, to talk about how she finds investment opportunities across wealth tech, SMB technology, and ESG areas.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[6:37] Is a bit more entrepreneurial experience a drawback?

[9:45] Why founders with non-traditional paths into venture are becoming more interesting to VCs

[12:01] Do you need an investor network for your company to get in front of investors?

[15:03] Barrier to entry litmus test

[18:38] Founder’s resourcefulness vs geographic location: Which is more important?

The non-profit organization that Ariana is passionate about: Society of Women Engineers

About Guest Speaker

Ariana Thacker is the Founding Partner at Conscience VC. Ariana is a technical investor with technical expertise spanning Fortune 500 companies to early-stage start-ups. She is also a community leader for diversity. She allocates 50% of her portfolio to diverse and female founders. Ariana tenured as President of Society of Women Engineers and is the founder of congressionally-recognized philanthropic organization.

Fun fact: Ariana writes poetry & rap

About Conscience VC

Conscience VC is a Miami-based early-stage fund pioneering the intersection of consumer and science.  Portfolio companies include Shapeways, Nimbus, Wave Life, Aqua Cultured Foods, Last Gameboard, Harmony Baby Nutrition among others.

Next Episode

In our next episode, we welcome Taylor Clauson, the Founder and Managing Partner at Abstraction Capital, to talk about how he builds conviction from the founder’s ‘why story’.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

[2:11] How the venture ecosystem is growing in Europe

[7:34] Why taking money from the wrong investor is the worst thing a founder can do

[14:15] Tips on how to make your pitch deck say less but be more impactful

[19:50] Essential components of strong investor-founder relationships

The non-profit organizations Andrew is passionate about: The International Conclave of Entrepreneurs (ICE)

About Guest Speaker

Andrew Scott is a founding partner at 7percent Ventures. Currently based in London & Lisbon, Andrew has been an investor since 2014, has 20 years’ experience in technology, and is a founder of 6 startups. His specialisms include D2C, social & market networks, B2B SaaS and quantum computing.

Andrew is also co-founder of ICE, a non-profit global network of tech founders and investors, established in 2009.

About 7percent Ventures

7percent Ventures is a London-based venture capital firm that invests in early stage tech startups which represent billion dollar opportunities. The firm focuses on next generation early stage tech investing, bridging Europe and the USA. 7percent portfolio companies include Challau, Earnr, Neurolabs, Gensyn, Hybryd, Volta, Versadex, among others.

Next Episode

Coming up in Episode 96, we welcome Taylor Clauson, the managing partner at Abstraction Capital to talk about the importance of telling your why story.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode that will drop next Tuesday. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

5:24 The product may change, but the character and abilities of the founding team is something you can bank on.

7:04 How mentorship makes accelerator programs all worth it.

11:34 How to convince an investor that your startup is a good investment for him and his LPs

15:01 Hard questions expose the behavior, dynamics and vibe of the founding team.

The non-profit organizations Kfir is passionate about: Magen David Adom in Israel

About Guest Speaker

Kfir Kachlon is the Co-founder and General Partner at 91 Ventures. He is an early-stage investor focused on supporting brilliant teams who are building industry-defining tech startups. Kfir previously founded AnD Ventures, an early-stage VC firm focused on the Israeli startup ecosystem. 

Prior to founding AnD Ventures, he was a senior member of OurCrowd’s investments team and the FrontierTech and AgriFood technologies lead at OurCrowd, where he led dozens of investments in cutting-edge technologies.

About 91 Ventures

91 Ventures is a new Israeli early-stage venture capital firm focused on deep tech startups.

Next Episode

Coming up in Episode 95, we welcome Andrew Scott, founding partner at 7percent Ventures.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode. 

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1:32 It's way too early to say anything like ‘FinTech is overdone’ or ‘FinTech is dead’. 

13:50 Does a playbook exist for raising startup capital in the current market downturn?

19:48 Web 3: many entrepreneurs following the hype; investors looking for impact

23:27 Why ‘move fast and break things’ is not a good strategy for FinTech startups

The non-profit organizations Jake is passionate about: GiveWell

About Guest Speaker

Jake Gibson is the Founding Partner at Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV). Jake is one of the most active and most experienced FinTech venture capital investors. He's based in Silicon Valley and invests in very early-stage startups. Previously, he was an active angel investor and before that an investor at 500 FinTech. He is also the co-founder of NerdWallet, which is one of the earliest fintech startups. He served there as COO from 2010 to 2014. The personal finance company went public in 2021.

About Better Tomorrow Ventures

Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV) is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage fintech-focused fund that leads rounds in pre-seed and seed-stage companies globally. BTV is currently investing out of its second fund, driven by the “Everything is FinTech” theme. Companies in its portfolio include Unit, Salsa, Amitruck, Vitt, Creditbook, FarmRaise, CloudTrucks among others.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, you’ll learn:
4:13 How can caring venture capitalists help in creating a more verdant future that is more equitable for all?
11:28 Why you should understand your investor’s fund term/investment timeline
13:45 Bring your technical team to the first meeting
24:06 Tips for increasing transparency within the venture capital industry

The non-profit organizations Maryanna is passionate about: World Central Kitchen, CARE

About Guest Speaker

Maryanna Saenko is a co-founder of Future Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in frontier technologies across diverse industries. Maryanna has an interest in robotics, quantum computing, biotechnology, aerospace, and the future of food. Previously she was at Khosla Ventures, and prior to that at DFJ, where she focused on frontier technology investments. She was also an investment partner at Airbus Ventures where she led a series of venture investments strategically aligned with Airbus’ future-of-aerospace initiatives. Before Airbus, Maryanna was a consultant at Lux Research and a research engineer at Cabot Corporation.

About Future Ventures

Future Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage founder-led, mission-driven companies at the cutting edge of disruptive technology and new industry formation. The firm’s areas of focus include commercial space exploration, deep learning, quantum computing, robotics, AI, blockchain, sustainable transportation, synthetic biology and clean meat. Recent Future Ventures’ investments include: 64xBio, Alice Technologies, Beeflow, Cambrian, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Copernic Catalysts, Deep Genomics, Doloromics, Earthshot Labs, Faeth, Gameto, Ockam, Opentrons, and Verdant Robotics.

Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

Follow Us:  Twitter | Linkedin | Instagram | Facebook