Events Archives - Page 2 of 3 - National Venture Capital Association

Category: Events

Exploring the Future of Impact Investing

blog, Ecosystems, Events November 3, 2017/by Christy Chin

At a time when the world’s problems seem more intractable – in light of the California wildfires and Las Vegas shooting – there is hope that social capital will be leveraged to address the climate change, poverty, access to healthcare and improving education. It certainly is a rising trend, as recent data shows that the impact investing market in the U.S. has a floor of $114 billion, although the actual market size is much larger.

While a critical mass of impact investors gathered in San Francisco for Social Capital Markets (SoCap), the world’s leading conference on impact investing and social enterprise, the NVCA seized the opportunity to bring participants in the venture ecosystem active in this space together to discuss its opportunities and challenges. Not surprisingly, the event attracted more than 70 attendees from a wide spectrum on the investing scale: both new and established, large and small venture capital firms, limited partners, entrepreneurs and foundations. Read more

A Summer Start in San Francisco

blog, Ecosystems, Events July 5, 2017/by Maryam Haque

At the start of the summer, I moved to San Francisco with NVCA to establish a full-time presence for our organization here. The journey West has brought me back to the place I called home for six years before my four-year stint in DC, but more importantly it’s been the start of a new chapter and exciting time for NVCA to engage more closely with the venture ecosystem in the mecca of the industry.

Just one month in and I’ve already had the chance to meet with a range of VCs and startups. Some highlights from June:

SoftTechVC’s Summer Party was a warm welcome my first week in San Francisco, where I met founders at many SoftTech portfolio companies. Read more

NVCA Provides Resources and Insights for New VCs

blog, Ecosystems, Events June 14, 2017/by Jessica Straus

Last week, NVCA held a digital class on Successful Fundraiser’s Philosophy: How Micro VCs Get Off the Ground & Succeed. With micro VC funds playing an important role in the startup lifecycle—micro VC funds closing in 2016 finished with $1.5 billion in commitments, according to PitchBook—NVCA and our members are an important resource for new fund managers who are getting off the ground and learning to navigate the fundraising process. The formation of new venture capital funds is critical to the future of innovation, and NVCA was pleased to be able to provide the ecosystem with tools and insights to help expand the VC community.

We began the webinar with an insider’s perspective from Cindy Padnos of Illuminate Ventures on how micro VC is evolving and what were some of the lessons that she learned from the process of raising her first institutional fund. Padnos described what it was like for her to launch a new VC firm, from Illuminate’s proof of concept fund, to how she brought in original investors and how the success of that fund helped her close Illuminate’s Fund 1 in 2013, from which Illuminate has made 15 investments and so far has had 3 M&A exits. Read more

NVCA Brings VC and DC Together at Annual Meeting

blog, Events, Public Policy May 18, 2017/by Ben Veghte

It has been one week since the venture capital community convened in Washington, D.C. at the 2017 NVCA Annual Meeting and everyone is still buzzing from the event and our new format.

We rewrote the script for this year’s event to focus exclusively on policy and direct engagement with policymakers to advance a pro-innovation agenda that supports new company creation. Crucial to that mission was moving the Annual Meeting to our nation’s capital. Read more

Having a Talent Strategy Makes a Difference

blog, Diversity, Events, VentureForward March 20, 2017/by Jessica Straus

Diversity is core to competitiveness. A 2014 Harvard Business School study, The Cost of Friendship, found that success rates of entrepreneurs diminish when co-investors have similar backgrounds and experiences. As an industry, we have a lot of work to do, and NVCA is committed to helping investors and entrepreneurs build diverse, competitive teams.

Last week, the NVCA team, our members, and partners Deloitte, Proskauer Rose, Silicon Valley Bank, Miller Law Group and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center joined together to host Policies Driving Innovation in San Francisco to provide data, insights and resources. We also rolled out the new NVCA Sample H.R. Policies – a free resource to help venture firms build inclusive H.R. practices. Read more

Another Successful Leadership Gala in the Books

blog, Events March 15, 2017/by Ben Veghte

A week has passed since our sold-out Leadership Gala and the glowing reviews keep rolling in. From our members and non-members, board of directors, sponsors, and the media, everyone is raving about the event and already marking their calendars for 2018.

Now in its third year, the Leadership Gala was the brainchild of former NVCA Board Chair Scott Sandell of New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Thanks to his vision, the event has quickly emerged as a must-attend event (did I mention it was SOLD OUT!?!) for the venture industry, book-ended by high-profile speakers and unparalleled networking with the venture industry’s finest. Read more

Growth Equity’s Year Ahead

blog, Events, Venture Investment September 13, 2016/by Hannah Veith

As a growth equity investor, Board Member of NVCA, and current Chair of the Growth Equity Member Peer Group, I am focused on advancing the growth equity asset class through education, policy, and investor community engagement. With that in mind, I wanted to provide a brief update of our recent activities. Read more

Advancing the Innovation Ecosystem by Accelerating Corporate and Venture Partnerships

blog, Corporate Venture, Events August 10, 2016/by Lisa Lambert

As a venture investor who has been on both sides of the fence, I know how critical it is for corporate venture capital firms (CVCs) and private venture capital firms (VCs) to play in the same sandbox. In fact, our collective mission is now more crucial than ever. If we are to succeed at driving the growth of innovation, building competitive advantage, and establishing market leadership, CVCs and VCs must work together. The question is: how?

Corporations have proven themselves to be valuable syndicate partners to the private venture community in recent years. However, many CVC groups are realizing that it can also be strategic to be indirect investors. CVC’s primary objective is to access the innovation ecosystem for product development, expansion and acquiring talent. Many of them would prefer to access the community through a strategic partnership with VC firms rather than building an investment organization themselves. Likewise, as venture investors continue to fundraise, the opportunity to have CVCs serving as Limited Partners (LPs) in their funds could be mutually beneficial.

A Look Back at the Leadership Gala & Summit

blog, Events May 12, 2016/by Ben Veghte

Last Thursday leaders from across venture capital and the entrepreneurial ecosystem converged on the Palace Hotel in San Francisco for the NVCA Leadership Gala & Summit. The event was a huge success and provided for a great opportunity to download a little content, network with peers and reconnect with NVCA. Read more

NVCA Brings Entrepreneurs and VCs Together at Office Hours May 6 in San Francisco

blog, Events February 17, 2015/by Jessica Straus

On an annual basis, the venture capital industry collectively invests in 3,000-4,000 companies and about one-quarter of those investments go to companies that are raising their first round of venture capital. In 2014, venture capitalists invested in 4,356 companies and 1,409 were first-time fundings. How did these entrepreneurs cross the finish line and what’s their next mountain to climb? At NVCA, we launched Office Hours to connect entrepreneurs and VCs to help high growth companies make the ascent.

Office Hours takes place in the midst of VentureScape, NVCA’s annual conference that convenes over 700 venture capital investors, business and political leaders, limited partners, regional venture capital associations, venture-backed companies, essential service providers, universities and the media. Beyond participating in Office Hours, entrepreneurs join all of VentureScape programming from May 6-7, including the After Hours evening event.

Black History Month: Celebrating Leaders & Initiatives Driving More Black Representation in VC

blog, Diversity, Ecosystems February 26, 2021/by Maryam Haque

Black employees comprised 3% of all investment partners at U.S. VC firms in 2018, and 1% of total venture funding went to Black or African American startup founders in 2020. As an industry, we are far from where we should be with respect to Black representation among senior leaders. We have a long way to […]

NVCA Member Spotlight: Blue Bear Ventures

blog, Ecosystems, Member Spotlight February 18, 2021/by Cassie Ann Kiggen

Welcome to our Member Spotlight series where we give a profile overview of our many diverse members. For this deep dive, we spoke to Deepak Gupta, Managing Partner at Blue Bear Ventures.