

Venture with Grace
Grace Gong
I host a top VC podcast called Smart Venture Podcast (SVPpro.com). Past guests include C-level/VPs of Google, Meta, Amazon, Sephora, Dunkin' Donuts, Chipotle, Pepsi, Instagram, Deloitte, Reddit, Lyft, etc. Managing Partners of top funds (many were featured on the Forbes Midas List) and unicorn founders (founders of Craigslist, Square, Loom, Cruise, etc.) Venture with Grace is my new spin-off series that features top LPs, GPs, solo GPs, Angel Investors, top AI founders, and other experts in tech and business to cover specific domain expertise.
Watch this Live on LinkedIn/ YouTube: Grace Gong
Watch this Live on LinkedIn/ YouTube: Grace Gong
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 2, 2024 • 55min
Christopher Gallant: The Strategy Behind Chamberlain Coffee's Rise
Christopher Gallant is the CEO of Chamberlain Coffee, a popular brand founded by renowned YouTube influencer Emma Chamberlain. With over 15 years of experience in launching, growing, and leading premium food, beverage, and consumer brands, Chris is an accomplished General Manager and strategist. As a passionate and dynamic leader, he is known for his focus on taking action. He has a proven track record of delivering results in both entrepreneurial and corporate environments.
Topics:
- Building a Successful Premium Consumer Brand
- Partnering with Top Creators and Influencers to Create a Brand
- Achieving Longevity Beyond the Creator's Name
#coffee #creator #influencer #emmachamberlain #VC

Mar 2, 2024 • 1h 8min
Michael Daugherty: Engineering Progress Through Angel Investing and AI
Michael Daugherty is the CTO and co-founder of Quill, a cutting-edge desktop client that leverages local AI to enhance productivity post-meeting, currently in private beta. Before Quill, Michael honed his skills in computer science at MIT and played a pivotal role as an early team member and Chief Strategy Officer at AngelList. There, he was instrumental in developing AngelList Syndicates and steering AngelList Venture to an impressive $1B+ in AUM.
Topics:
* How angel investors can transition into fund managers
* Rapidly transforming cutting-edge technology into market-ready products
* Harnessing AI to augment human productivity and creativity
#startup #investing #VC #tech #AI

Mar 2, 2024 • 1h 7min
Decoding Disruption: Arjun Sethi's Data-Driven Journey in VC Investing and Scaling Startups 🚀
Arjun Sethi is a co-founder and partner at Tribe Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in using data science to invest in and support disruptive technology companies. Before Tribe Capital, he was a partner at Social Capital, where he focused on technology investments. Arjun is also known for his entrepreneurial endeavors, including co-founding MessageMe, a messaging app that was acquired by Yahoo, and serving as the CEO of Lolapps, a social gaming company. He is also the co-founder of Termina, which was spun out and created out of Tribe Capital, a $1.7B+ AUM leading quant venture firm focused on using product and data science to engineer N-of-1 products, companies, and investments. In 5 years, it generated 13 Unicorns and 17 emerging ($98B+ value of Tribe funded companies). He is on the board of Carta, Kraken, Alpaca, and Docker, among other companies.
Topics:
- Using data to evaluate companies
- Investing in frontier technologies
- Extensive experience scaling startups

Mar 2, 2024 • 1h 7min
John Lin: Navigating Fintech's Future with F-Prime Capital's Insights
John Lin is an investor at F-Prime Capital, where he leads the west coast’s technology practice. Previously, he was a Principal at Trinity Ventures where he invested in companies like Squire, Baton, Side, Gatsby, Grow, Synapse, Branch and Harmonize. He was also an angel investor in Seated, Deepen, Relationship Hero, Apostrophe, Mureni, and Motion AI. Prior to joining Trinity Ventures, he founded Townhall, a messaging platform, where he led product and engineering . The company was acquired by Roomi, where he eventually led product and engineering for the organization. John started his career at McKinsey, Yelp, and Globespan Capital. John graduated with degrees in Business and Computer Science from UC Berkeley.
Topics:
- The state of Fintech
- How will AI transform vertical SaaS?
- What opportunities does this create for startups and investors?
#fintech #startup #tech #vc #venturecapital

Feb 29, 2024 • 1h
Stanley Onyimba: Catalyzing Growth for Innovators at CapitalG
Stanley joined CapitalG in 2022 as a Vice President on the growth team where he leads advisory efforts to help the firm’s fintech, Web3, and international portfolio companies scale their go-to-market operations and increase their top-line growth. He also leads the firm’s product and technology senior expert advisor networks that work with portfolio companies to enhance their product offerings and partnership opportunities.
Before joining CapitalG, Stanley spent 7 years at Google, most recently leading health product partnerships for Google Search and steering COVID-19 product partnerships. He also co-founded a fintech startup in Area 120, Google’s internal accelerator, in which he connected emerging market startups to funding and expertise. Prior to Google, Stanley was an early team member of a government technology startup (acquired by Kofile) where he led business development. He began his career at Goldman Sachs in New York.
Stanley holds a BS in Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University. Stanley was born in Nigeria, grew up in Maryland and currently resides in Oakland, CA with his wife and daughter. He is an active angel investor across a range of industries. His personal investments include Stripe, Robinhood, Impossible Foods, AudioMob, Fractional.app (YC W21), PayHippo (YC S21), and Diverse Angels Fund (LP). Outside of work, Stanley is an avid Baltimore Ravens fan and loves playing competitive sports.
Topics:
- Insights into Post-Investment Partnerships
* Understand the Investment Ecosystem
* Leverage Big Tech Partnerships
🍎 Apple: http://apple.co/3d6bGea
🎤Spotify: http://bit.ly/gracegong
💻Website: http://smartventurepod.com
🍿YouTube: https://bit.ly/gracegongyoutube
📰 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/421p8tJ
🔥TikTok: http://bit.ly/3IMfbK9
👏LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/3Xs8GQP
❤️IG: http://bit.ly/3kfBWMs
💡Twitter: http://bit.ly/3GwyeWc
___________________________________________________
Grace Gong hosts a top VC podcast called "Smart Venture Podcast" (SVPpro.com). Past guests include C-level and VP executives from Google, Meta, Amazon, and others; Managing Partners of leading funds, many of whom were featured on the Forbes Midas List; and unicorn founders such as the founders of Craigslist, Square, Loom, and Cruise. Prior to this, Grace worked in venture capital and private equity. She has authored books that topped the New Release in Venture Capital category on Amazon. Additionally, she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Finance and is an angel investor.

Feb 27, 2024 • 1h 1min
IGNIA's Alvaro Rodriguez: Impact Investing in Latin America
Alvaro Rodriguez Arregui is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of IGNIA. IGNIA invests in world-class tech entrepreneurs solving problems faced by the emerging middle class in Latin America. Led investments in Rapyd, Tiendanube, Abra, Arcus, Credijusto, Lentesplus, ProducePay, UnDosTres and Sr. Pago. Former Chairman of the Board of Compartamos Banco (Gentera), the largest microfinance institution in the Americas. Former Chairman of the Board of Directors of ACCION International a 60 year US non-for-profit. Rodriguez was formerly CFO of Vitro, CEO of Farmacias Benavides and CFO of Grupo Elektra. In 2005 Alvaro was named Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum (WEF). He is also a Board Member of Harvard University’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies; the Social Progress Index (co-founder); and Oxford University Säid School Global Council. In 2012 Forbes magazine named Alvaro as one of the 30 Top Social Entrepreneurs of the world. In 2014, the President of Mexico awarded Alvaro with the National Entrepreneurship Award. 2019 HBS Alumni Achievement Award. He is a Pan-American Games and US Elite Nationals rowing medalist (1991) and was eighth in the World University Games (1989). He holds a BS from ITAM and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Topics:
- Venture Capital in Emerging Markets
- Cross-Border Investment and Collaboration
- Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship
🍎 Apple: http://apple.co/3d6bGea
🎤Spotify: http://bit.ly/gracegong
💻Website: http://smartventurepod.com
🍿YouTube: https://bit.ly/gracegongyoutube
📰 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/421p8tJ
🔥TikTok: http://bit.ly/3IMfbK9
👏LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/3Xs8GQP
❤️IG: http://bit.ly/3kfBWMs
💡Twitter: http://bit.ly/3GwyeWc
___________________________________________________
Grace Gong hosts a top VC podcast called "Smart Venture Podcast" (SVPpro.com). Past guests include C-level and VP executives from Google, Meta, Amazon, and others; Managing Partners of leading funds, many of whom were featured on the Forbes Midas List; and unicorn founders such as the founders of Craigslist, Square, Loom, and Cruise. Prior to this, Grace worked in venture capital and private equity. She has authored books that topped the New Release in Venture Capital category on Amazon. Additionally, she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Finance and is an angel investor.

Feb 27, 2024 • 1h 5min
Scaling Startups with Jess Mah: Insights from inDinero to Biotech
Jess Mah, entrepreneur and founder of successful companies like inDinero and Astonishing Labs, discusses venture building, innovation in health and technology, and scaling startups with exit strategies in this insightful podcast episode.

Feb 27, 2024 • 1h 4min
Startup Accounting: Sandy Yang on Due Diligence and FinTech
Sandy Yang is the Head of Accounting at Plaid, a leading fintech company that enables applications to connect with users' bank accounts. Prior to joining Plaid, Sandy was the Director of Accounting at One Medical and held various accounting roles at different SaaS companies. With a strong background in accounting and finance, Sandy has extensive experience in managing financial operations, implementing accounting systems, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Her expertise in startup accounting, coupled with her role at Plaid, positions her as a valuable resource for startups looking to navigate the complexities of financial management. Sandy's insights on accounting best practices, financial planning, and strategic decision-making are invaluable for entrepreneurs seeking to build and scale their businesses effectively.
- Financial Management for Startups
- Accounting Systems and Automation
- Scaling Financial Operations for Growth
🍎 Apple: http://apple.co/3d6bGea
🎤Spotify: http://bit.ly/gracegong
💻Website: http://smartventurepod.com
🍿YouTube: https://bit.ly/gracegongyoutube
📰 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/421p8tJ
🔥TikTok: http://bit.ly/3IMfbK9
👏LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/3Xs8GQP
❤️IG: http://bit.ly/3kfBWMs
💡Twitter: http://bit.ly/3GwyeWc
___________________________________________________
Grace Gong hosts a top VC podcast called "Smart Venture Podcast" (SVPpro.com). Past guests include C-level and VP executives from Google, Meta, Amazon, and others; Managing Partners of leading funds, many of whom were featured on the Forbes Midas List; and unicorn founders such as the founders of Craigslist, Square, Loom, and Cruise. Prior to this, Grace worked in venture capital and private equity. She has authored books that topped the New Release in Venture Capital category on Amazon. Additionally, she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Finance and is an angel investor.

Feb 27, 2024 • 1h 3min
Empowering LatAm Startups: Gina Gotthilf's insights from Duolingo to Latitud
Gina is a co-founder and COO at Latitud, a platform helping build the next generation of iconic tech startups in Latin America through digital products, a dedicated fellowship and fund.Previously, Gina led growth and marketing at Duolingo from 3 to 200 million users via organic strategies (PR, a/b testing, internationalization, partnerships) and was part of the executive team. She also worked on the Mike Bloomberg presidential campaign, helping oversee the creation of digital ad campaigns at a historical daily spend. In her younger days, Gina founded a boutique agency in Brazil to help tech companies grow in Brazil. She represented Tumblr in Latin America, creating and implementing a strategy that led to hockey-stick growth via tactics spanning PR, community, localization, and partnerships. She also led MediaMath’s launch in the country and developed international digital marketing campaigns for luxury brands such as LVMH, Estée Lauder and American Express.
- Building the Next Generation of Tech Startups in Latin America
- Growth and Marketing Strategies for Startups and VC firms
- International Expansion and Localization Strategies
🍎 Apple: http://apple.co/3d6bGea
🎤Spotify: http://bit.ly/gracegong
💻Website: http://smartventurepod.com
🍿YouTube: https://bit.ly/gracegongyoutube
📰 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/421p8tJ
🔥TikTok: http://bit.ly/3IMfbK9
👏LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/3Xs8GQP
❤️IG: http://bit.ly/3kfBWMs
💡Twitter: http://bit.ly/3GwyeWc
___________________________________________________
Grace Gong hosts a top VC podcast called "Smart Venture Podcast" (SVPpro.com). Past guests include C-level and VP executives from Google, Meta, Amazon, and others; Managing Partners of leading funds, many of whom were featured on the Forbes Midas List; and unicorn founders such as the founders of Craigslist, Square, Loom, and Cruise. Prior to this, Grace worked in venture capital and private equity. She has authored books that topped the New Release in Venture Capital category on Amazon. Additionally, she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Finance and is an angel investor.
🍎 Apple: http://apple.co/3d6bGea
🎤Spotify: http://bit.ly/gracegong
💻Website: http://smartventurepod.com
🍿YouTube: https://bit.ly/gracegongyoutube
📰 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/421p8tJ
🔥TikTok: http://bit.ly/3IMfbK9
👏LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/3Xs8GQP
❤️IG: http://bit.ly/3kfBWMs
💡Twitter: http://bit.ly/3GwyeWc
___________________________________________________
Grace Gong hosts a top VC podcast called "Smart Venture Podcast" (SVPpro.com). Past guests include C-level and VP executives from Google, Meta, Amazon, and others; Managing Partners of leading funds, many of whom were featured on the Forbes Midas List; and unicorn founders such as the founders of Craigslist, Square, Loom, and Cruise. Prior to this, Grace worked in venture capital and private equity. She has authored books that topped the New Release in Venture Capital category on Amazon. Additionally, she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Finance and is an angel investor.

Feb 27, 2024 • 1h 3min
How to Build an Effective University VC Startup Program ft Linda Tong
Linda Tong studies computer science at Stanford University. She has been a venture fellow at Pear VC, Floodgate Fund, 8VC, interned at Foothill Ventures, and freelanced for other early stage funds on university venture sourcing and diligence. At Pear, she evaluated investment opportunities for Pear Competition ($100K uncapped SAFE for student founders) and spearheaded university sourcing strategy and branding for the Stanford engineering community.
Topics:
- How VC firms can attract the best engineering founders
- How to source from Stanford and other university entrepreneurial ecosystems
- Student trends in entrepreneurship and investing
🍎 Apple: http://apple.co/3d6bGea
🎤Spotify: http://bit.ly/gracegong
💻Website: http://smartventurepod.com
🍿YouTube: https://bit.ly/gracegongyoutube
📰 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/421p8tJ
🔥TikTok: http://bit.ly/3IMfbK9
👏LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/3Xs8GQP
❤️IG: http://bit.ly/3kfBWMs
💡Twitter: http://bit.ly/3GwyeWc
___________________________________________________
Grace Gong hosts a top VC podcast called "Smart Venture Podcast" (SVPpro.com). Past guests include C-level and VP executives from Google, Meta, Amazon, and others; Managing Partners of leading funds, many of whom were featured on the Forbes Midas List; and unicorn founders such as the founders of Craigslist, Square, Loom, and Cruise. Prior to this, Grace worked in venture capital and private equity. She has authored books that topped the New Release in Venture Capital category on Amazon. Additionally, she is a LinkedIn Top Voice in Finance and is an angel investor.


