Venture with Grace

Bradley Tusk is a venture capitalist, political strategist, philanthropist, and writer. He is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Tusk Ventures, the world’s first venture capital fund that invests solely in early stage startups in highly regulated industries, and the founder of political consulting firm Tusk Strategies. Bradley’s family foundation is funding and leading the national campaign to bring mobile voting to all U.S. elections. Tusk Philanthropies also runs and funds anti-hunger campaigns that have led to the creation of anti-hunger policies and programs (including universal school breakfast programs) in 19 different states, helping to feed over 12.5 million people. Bradley is the author of The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups From Death by Politics and Obvious in Hindsight, writes a column for the NY Daily News, hosts a podcast called Firewall about the intersection of tech and politics, and is the co-founder of the Gotham Book Prize. He recently opened a bookstore, podcast studio, event space and cafe called P&T Knitwear on Manhattan's lower east side. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. Previously, Bradley served as campaign manager for Mike Bloomberg’s 2009 mayoral race, as Deputy Governor of Illinois, overseeing the state’s budget, operations, legislation, policy and communications, as communications director for US Senator Chuck Schumer, and as Uber’s first political advisor. Topics: - Navigating Startups Through Complex Sectors - The Synergy of Tech and Society - The Evolution of Healthcare and Legal Services 🍎 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.

Jon Levy is a behavioral scientist and New York Times bestselling author known for his work in trust, human connection, belonging, and influence. Jon specializes in applying the latest research to transform the ways companies approach marketing, sales, consumer engagement, and culture. His clients range from Fortune 500 brands, like Microsoft, Google, AB-InBev, and Samsung, to startups. More than a decade ago, Jon founded The Influencers Dinner, a secret dining experience for industry leaders ranging from Nobel laureates, Olympians, celebrities, and executives, to artists, musicians, and even the Grammy winning voice of the bark from “Who Let the Dogs Out.” Guests cook dinner together, but can’t discuss their career or give their last name, and once seated to eat, they reveal who they are. Over time, these dinners developed into a community. With thousands of members, Influencers is the largest community of its type worldwide. Topics: - The Science of Trust and Human Connection - The Art of Cultivating Influence - Behavioral Insights for Teams and Leadership 🍎 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.

A graduate of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Ross Pomerantz is a multifaceted individual known for his role as Corporate Bro. He is not just a content creator but also an entrepreneur, angel investor, and a "chill dude." His work mainly revolves around satirical portrayals of corporate life, especially focusing on the life of a Silicon Valley software salesman. His content has garnered him a significant following, making him a modern-day equivalent of Dilbert but in video form. His comedic take on office life and corporate culture has led to a massive following and recognition as a business humor influencer. * Journey from Corporate Sales to Comedy and Content Creation * The Role of Humor in Business and Startup Culture * Innovative Storytelling Techniques for Startups and Venture Capital 🍎 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.

Samir Kaji is the CEO and co-founder of Allocate, a platform that democratizes access to the best technology and life sciences private alternatives. Allocate removes the barriers of discovery, diligence, and access that prevent qualified investors from participating in this lucrative asset class. He also host Venture Unlocked, a podcast and blog that dives into the inner workings of venture capital. Samir share his insights and perspectives from working with over 700 private funds and venture-backed startups at First Republic Bank and SVB, where he completed over $12 billion in debt transactions and made early stage investments in companies like Carta, Side, Policy Genius, and Fanduel. Topic: * LP Investment Strategies in Venture Capital * Investment Curation Process * Impact of Economic and Market Trends 🍎 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.

Chris Douvos founded Ahoy Capital in 2018 to build an intentionally right-sized firm that could pursue investment excellence while prizing a spirit of partnership with all of its constituencies. A pioneering investor in the micro-VC movement, Chris has been a fixture in venture capital for nearly two decades. In addition to successfully identifying and catalyzing nascent funds, he bridges a gap between the providers of capital and the consumers of capital by creating platforms for transparent dialogue. Chris authors the blog SuperLP in which he chronicles his adventures investing in venture capital and private equity; and his brick oven pizza parties, small gatherings of LPs, GPs, and entrepreneurs, are well-known in the Valley. He is sought after not only for investment capital, but also for his advice, and serves on numerous managers' advisory boards. Prior to Ahoy Capital, Chris spearheaded investment efforts at Venture Investment Associates and The Investment Fund for Foundations. He learned the craft of illiquid investing at Princeton University’s endowment. He started his business career as a strategy consultant at Monitor Company. Chris regularly speaks at industry conferences and business schools, and is a frequent resource for tech and business media. He earned his B.A. with Distinction in history from Yale College in 1994 and an M.B.A. from Yale School of Management in 2001. He was awarded the CFA Charter in 2004. Topics: - Building and maintaining relationships with Institutional LPs - The evolution of Micro-VC and its future trends - What institutional LPs look for in funds in terms of differentiation 🍎 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.

Crystal McKellar is a Harvard-trained lawyer. She learned to invest from Peter Thiel and began her venture career in 2012 at a growth-stage venture capital fund backed by Thiel. There, she held board positions at Neurable, Siren Care, DoubleDutch (acq. Cvent), and Fractyl Labs, and was instrumental in the fund's 2012 investment in Palantir Technologies.While working for Thiel, Crystal supported several frontier health tech startups, and from her work with Palantir developed a deep network in the national security tech arena.  Since then, Crystal has been at the forefront of a nascent but growing movement in Silicon Valley to develop and deploy the best technologies in the service of our national security. In 2019, Crystal launched her first early-stage fund under the name Anathem Ventures, later rebranding as Aloft VC, and invested in contrarian bets turned category-leaders including Vannevar Labs, Brave Health, Cooler Heads, Obviant, Siren Care, Mach Industries, and Angle Health. Many of the founders in Aloft’s portfolio began their careers at Palantir or elsewhere within the Thiel network. Prior to her career in venture capital, Crystal graduated with honors from Yale College and Harvard Law School, and practiced securities law at global law firms Davis Polk & Wardwell and Morrison & Foerster. While practicing law, she made her first angel investment in the national security space into SpaceDev, which designed and built the hybrid rockets for Paul Allen’s SpaceShipOne, the first-ever crewed private spaceflight. Prior to her legal career, Crystal was an award-winning actress, starring on the hit television series The Wonder Years. Topics: - Journey from Law to Venture Capital - Trends in Frontier Technology Investments - Portfolio Construction 🍎 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.

Joey Primiani is the founder and designer at Superfuture. Superfuture is a creative venture studio and collective of artists, engineers and dreamers out to create magical consumer product experiences at the intersection of technology, arts and culture. Passionate and creative, his designs have been called “ingenious” by Fast Company, “charming ... incredibly unique” by Mashable, and “simple and brilliant” by TechCrunch. Named to Forbes list 2016's 30 Under 30 in the consumer technology category and Business Insider’s 25 Under 25 Hot Young Stars in Silicon Valley Tech, Primiani founded his first web and graphic design company at the age of 8. His work focuses on the intersection of technology, art and pop culture to empower people to connect, communicate, collaborate and be creative in a way like never before. Topic: • Investing in Design-Driven Startups • Design as a Competitive Advantage • Venture Capital in Design 🍎 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.

Mike Duda is the Managing Partner at Bullish. Bullish is a Marketing Operating Partner focused on being in the growth business. One-part Creative Agency, one-part consumer investment Firm, they deploy capabilities from both worlds to help brands speed the transformation of opportunities into outcomes. Brand Agency campaigns for the likes of: Anheuser Busch, Walmart, GoDaddy, Pepsi, Nike, The Light Phone, TaylorMade. Capital investors in: Harry's, Casper (exited), Warby Parker , Peloton (exited), Primary, KiwiCo, function of beauty, Clare, Revtown, NomNom (exited), Hu Chocolate (exited), HumanCo, HoneyLove, Bubble Beauty, Sunday Lawn, Dirty Labs, rae wellness, Hally Hair, Cuup, Thousand Bike Helmets and other rising consumer disruptions. Topic: 1. Future of Consumer Brand Building 2. Navigating Brand Identity in a Digital World 3. Investment Insights in Consumer Startups 🍎 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.

Rohit Dave is the Head of Corporate Development at Block. Prior to that he was the Head of Portfolio Capital Markets at Juxtapose and former VP and head of Corporate Development at WeWork and Corporate Development at Twilio and Samsung. Topic: * M&A strategy insights: deal evaluation frame work * Post-acquisition integration * Understanding your acquire’s perspective 🍎 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.

Kelli Fontaine is a Partner at Cendana Capital, where she focuses on investing in early-stage venture capital funds worldwide. Cendana’s portfolio includes notable funds such as Forerunner, Uncork, and Mucker Capital among many others. Topics: * Effective strategies for identifying and engaging with top emerging fund managers. * Insights and takeaways from her extensive experience in fund investments. * Best practices in portfolio management for LPs. 🍎 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.