Venture with Grace

James Joaquin is an early-stage investor in world positive startups building breakthrough technologies that move humanity forward. He is passionate about the responsible use of AI to solve the unsolvable across trillion-dollar industries. As a co-founder of Obvious, he has led investments for the firm that span advanced materials (Diamond Foundry), plant-based protein (Beyond Meat), and labor marketplaces (Incredible Health). With an experienced background as a startup operator, James served as President and CEO of Xoom.com (IPO). He was previously President and CEO of Ofoto from its early beginnings through acquisition by Kodak, leading its growth into the world's largest online photo service. He also co-founded When.com, an Internet calendar and events service, which was acquired by AOL. James started his entrepreneurial career while studying computer science at Brown University, where he co-founded Clearview Software, which was later acquired by Apple. He spent six years in engineering and marketing roles at Apple. James grew up in a Portuguese fishing community in southeastern Massachusetts. Topics: - Generative science's transformative impact on investment sectors - Key areas disrupted by generative science AI models - Due diligence for data quality in generative science #GenerativeScience #AIforScience #Climatetech #Biotech #MaterialsScience

Entrepreneur and personal branding expert, Casey Adams, kicked off his career at 17 with his acclaimed podcast, "The Casey Adams Show," now among the top 100 business podcasts worldwide. His dialogues with prominent figures like Larry King, Rick Ross, and Maye Musk, have enriched his listeners' perspectives. As Co-Founder of MediaKits, a game-changing SaaS platform for creator analytics, Casey was integral to its success, leading to its acquisition by Viral Nation in 2022. Casey continues to innovate in the tech sphere, building new companies and leveraging his expertise to make strategic investments, shaping the future of the industry. Topics: - The Creator Economy: Trends, Opportunities and Predictions - How to Launch a Wildly Successful Podcast for Your Startup/ VC firms - Building a SaaS Startup for the Booming Creator Economy #startuppodcasting #podcastgrowth #creatoreconomy #SaaSstartup #startupacquisition

Zach DeWitt is a partner at Wing, bringing firsthand founder experience to the startups and founders he works with—most of which are product-led growth (PLG) SaaS, AI-powered applications, and Web3. Before joining the Wing team, he was the CEO and co-founder of Drop, Inc., where he and his team built two award-winning iPhone apps before selling the technology to Snapchat in 2016. He has worked in the tech, media, and telecommunications groups at TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs, playing a key role in several major technology deals, including TPG’s investment in Uber. He graduated cum laude from Yale with a degree in economics, and is a Harvard Business School Baker Scholar. Zach writes about the proliferation of PLG, highlighting the best (public and private) PLG companies in his weekly newsletter, Notorious PLG. Topics: - Best practices for building a successful PLG motion - Trends and opportunities in AI-powered software - Monetization and pricing models for PLG companies #ProductLedGrowth #PLG #PLGStrategy #PLGSaaS #AIPoweredApps

With over 18 years of experience in the cybersecurity field, Nir Polak is a venture partner at SignalFire, a data-driven venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. Nir is also an investor and board member at Dig Security, a cloud-based security platform that automates threat detection and response. Additionally, Nir is the co-founder and chairman of the board at Exabeam, a leading provider of user and entity behavior analytics solutions. Nir has multiple skills in start-up environment, strategic partnerships, and start-ups, and Nir has a passion for building innovative and scalable products that solve complex security challenges. Nir is driven by the mission of empowering security teams with the best tools and insights to protect their organizations and customers. Nir brings diverse perspectives and experiences to the cybersecurity industry, and Nir values collaboration, creativity, and customer satisfaction. Topics: - Cybersecurity trends and challenges - Cloud security and cloud computing - VC Funding Landscape for AI Cybersecurity Startups #AIcybersecurity #CyberAI #MachineLearningCyber #BehaviorAnalytics

Chris Harper is a VC at Torch Capital. Before Torch, Chris was an early-stage investor at Red Sea Ventures, a New York-based fund focused on consumer and consumerized B2B businesses. While at Columbia Business School, Chris was president of the VC Fellows program. As a fellow, he spent a year with General Catalyst developing a thesis on consumer services for the new millennial family. Chris was also a member of the New York investment team for Rough Draft Ventures, investing in pre-seed and seed companies founded by students. Earlier in his career, Chris ran edtech investing programs for the Department of Education at Luminary Labs for three years and worked in the Goldman Sachs trading division for two years. Chris graduated from Yale with a BA in History, and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Topics: - Blurring Lines between Consumer and B2B - Impact of AI on Early-Stage Consumer - Future of Consumer Tech #VCPodcast #VentureCapital #ConsumerTech #AIinTech #StartupInvesting

Han Shen is the Founding Partner of iFly. VC. Han’s career in venture capital started in 2009 and has spanned at VantagePoint and Formation 8, where he was the first hire on the investment team. He led and/or contributed to the investment in Motive Drilling (acquired by Helmerich & Payne), Lucid (acquired by Acuity), Comfy (acquired by Siemens), Oculus (acquired by Facebook), Taxon (acquired by DuPont), and AlertMe (acquired by British Gas). Earlier in his career, Han worked for Rohm and Haas Company, the largest US specialty chemical company, where he was credited as key inventor of four US patents. Han has served on the board of multiple portfolio companies including BorderX Lab, Sweet a Little, Motive Drilling, and Grabit, and has closely advised entrepreneurs in building a startup from the ground up. He received the title of “Honorary Employee” (with badge #36) from one of his current portfolio companies to recognize the instrumental role he has played. Han earned his bachelor’s degree from Nanjing University, Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and MBA from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. Topics: - Identifying Hidden Opportunities - Key Criteria for Early-Stage Investments - Diversification Strategies for VC Portfolios #VentureCapital #PortfolioConstruction #VCInvesting #Diversification #StartupSuccess

Amy Nauiokas is a transformational CEO, founder, governor and advocate who has spent three decades running and building purpose-led organizations at the intersection of access, equity, and innovation. She has dedicated her career to seeing around corners and leading teams to uncover what could be rather than accepting the status quo. After a rapid rise to the top of the global financial services industry, she pivoted from corporate CEO at Barclays Stockbrokers to fintech and media entrepreneur. Through her industry leading VC, Anthemis, she led the digital revolution in Financial Services, investing in and supporting more than 250 companies and thousands of other entrepreneurs. At her award-winning production company, Archer Gray, she’s focused on bringing new, diverse, and innovative stories to life. Amy is an experienced board member, with roles on Make-a-Wish Foundation, Edible Schoolyard and a 20-year term on Dickinson College’s Board of Trustees, as well as countless startup and growth-stage company boards. Across all her ventures, Amy strives to define what values-driven leadership looks like, charting a course for and influencing system-level change agents around the world. Topics: - From Traditional Finance to Fintech Leadership - Innovating Financial Services through Fintech - The Future of Fintech #Fintech #VC #Innovation #PurposeDrivenLeadership #ImpactInvesting #DiversityInTech

When it comes to the business of women, Ali knows a golden opportunity when she sees it. As one of the very first employees at Refinery29 — a company that now has over 450 employees globally — Ali was tasked with building an ad and brand partnerships business from the ground up. She answered this challenge by assembling a world-class team that integrated custom collaboration with brands across every core business pillar— from editorial and design, to product and consumer marketing. Under her leadership, the sales team generated tens of millions of dollars in just four years, slotting Refinery29 a spot on Inc500 for three consecutive years. From there, Ali became the first CRO at Goop, where she successfully architected and launched the US business by applying her brand advertising skills to a vast suite of brand touch points. Next, Ali followed her entrepreneurial spirit to launch her own start-up company, joining forces with Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso to create the famed, female-focused media business Girlboss. Girlboss grew to host thousands of women, galvanizing female voices across in countries throughout the world. Today, Ali is leading her second successful start-up venture alongside Co-Founder Rebecca Minkoff, Female Founder Collective. - Support and invest in women-led businesses - Create successful collaborations with brands - Leveraging social media and other platforms for community engagement #WomenInBusiness #FemaleFounders #WomenEntrepreneurs #StartupSuccess #BrandBuilding

Charlotte Ross is a Partner of Inspired Capital. Prior to Inspired Capital, Charlotte was an Associate at New Enterprise Associates (NEA). At NEA, she led investments in The Wing, Mejuri, CoEdition and Choosy. Charlotte served on the Boards of those companies in addition to the Boards of Duolingo, Framebridge and Landit. Charlotte also spent three months working at Tamara Mellon, an NEA portfolio company, prior to their launch. Charlotte began her career as an Investment Banking analyst in the Technology, Media and Telecom group at Goldman Sachs, where she worked on a variety of M&A and capital markets transactions for software and consumer internet companies. Charlotte has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 in Venture Capital and earned a B.A. in Economics from Yale University. Topics: - Lessons Learned from Board Experiences and Portfolio Companies - Winning Competitive Deals and Building a Strong Portfolio - Building and Leveraging a Network in the Industry #VentureCapital #InvestmentStrategy #NetworkBuilding #StartupSuccess #HealthcareInnovation

Peter Walker runs the Insights team at Carta, focused on discovering key data and narratives across the private capital ecosystem. In a former life, he was a marketing executive for a media analytics startup and led the data visualization team at the Covid Tracking Project. Topics: - Data-Driven Insights in the Private Capital Ecosystem - Current Trends in Private Capital - Future of Data in Venture Capital #DataDriven #PrivateCapital #DataVisualization #VentureCapital #Insights