EVCA Newsletter | August Edition - Tons of New VC Jobs, Events, and Features
Venture capitalists deployed a historically unprecedented amount of capital last year, driven by what some industry experts have determined, whether rightfully so, as the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Only a few months later, with public capital markets teetering, a new attitude of self-discipline has spread across the industry. While VC firms have amassed a hefty $497B of dry powder as of May this year, deal pace has dramatically slowed. According to the law firm Sidley Austin, the number of VC deals have declined by 24.5% from Q1 to Q2 2022. Almost overnight, FOMO has turned into a new philosophy birthed by conditions of economic uncertainty. Self-restraint and self-discipline are the new operating creeds.
Yet while the looming threat of a recession has put a chill on the state of VC activity, there are some notable positive aspects to this more disciplined approach to VC. Valuations, which had escaped the laws of physics for the better part of the pandemic, are coming down to the realm of reason. As VCs become more selective in their capital deployments, market consolidation will occur. Startups that had been unnecessarily propped up with cash will sputter, with the strongest players emerging in their wake. Whatever the scenario, you can count on one thing: a massive change to our ecosystem is coming.
And with that bit of introductory fanfare, welcome back to this edition of the EVCA newsletter!
Meet Divya Sudhakar, Partner at Geodesic Capital
We had the chance to interview Divya Sudhakar, who is a Partner at the growth-stage VC firm Geodesic Capital. Divya shares her origin story--from starting her career in investment banking, leading enterprises SaaS investments at Intel Capital and In-Q-Tel, and, in her most recent chapter, investing in growth-stage startups at Geodesic. In her interview, Divya also shares her thoughts about life and career.
Featured Investors
This month we highlight Valentina Rodriguez of Wonder Ventures and Andrew Chan of Builders VC as our featured investors of the EVCA community
Valentina Rodriguez is a Principal at Wonder Ventures, an LA-based pre-seed fund focused on finding & backing the best founders in SoCal earlier than anyone else. Prior to Wonder, Valentina was an equity strategist and credit trader at Morgan Stanley as well as a founder in the CPG space. Valentina received her B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University, where she was a coxswain on the varsity women's rowing team
Andrew Chan is a Senior Associate at Builders VC, an early-stage fund investing technologies modernizing antiquated industries. On the team at Builders, he leads investments in industrial technology, applied machine learning, and emerging markets (specifically SEA). Prior to working at Builders, Andrew was a hard tech investor at Riot Ventures; he started his career as a researcher at NASA JPL writing software to model icy-ocean world interiors for Europa-Clipper. Andrew holds a B.S. in Geophysics and English Literature from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
EVCA Leadership Spotlight: Growth Investment Vertical Lead, Russell Yue of Tru Arrow Partners
This EVCA Leadership Spotlight Series is intended to help the broader community get to know what's going on behind the scenes at the EVCA, as well as highlight the valuable contributions of the roughly 50 individuals across the venture capital industry who make the EVCA possible.
Russell Yue is a Vice President on the investment team at Tru Arrow Partners in New York City. He focuses on late stage venture and growth investments in software, internet, and fintech. Prior to joining Tru Arrow, Russell was a growth investor with H.I.G. Capital and Greycroft. Earlier in his career, Russell worked in financial planning at Fastly.
What We’re Reading
Here we share our favorite content produced from EVCA members across the world:
EV Charging: Market Predictions and Outlook Through 2025 - Allen Chen of BMW i Ventures, shares his outlook and predictions for the EV charging space through 2025
VCs and Their Founders *Should* Be Friends - Andrew Chen of Builders VC, unpacks the reasons why VC/founder relationships should be amazing and strong friendships too
Can Medicare Save the InsurTech Market? - Tianxiang Zhuo & James Shecter of Fika Ventures, discuss 6 key factors that impact Medicare being seen as an investment opportunity
Deep Tech: Large-Scale Answers to Real-World Challenges - Andrew Ekaputra of AIP Investment Partners, dives into three areas that are already being transformed by deep tech’s profound global impact
Fintech Trends in Q2 2022 - Phin Upham of Haymaker Ventures, provides data analysis for fintech trends occurring in Q2
Events
Founders Live NYC | Startup Pitches + Networking | August 10 | Hosted by Founders Live
Venture Capital Panel: Investment & Innovations in Energy and Climate Tech | August 11 | Hosted by Idea to IPO
Summer Speaker Series: Barry Eggers | August 16 | Hosted by Startup UCLA
VC Activity in the New Macro Environment | August 18 | Hosted by PitchBook and NVCA
Venture Finance Trends with Wilson Sonsini and Special Guests | August 18 | Hosted by Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center
ESG in VC: Moving Beyond Talk to Action | August 24 | Hosted by Venture Forward, NVCA, PitchBook, and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center
Spotlight On St. Louis | August 31 | Hosted by NVCA
Sentech Africa Tech Week Summit & Awards 2022 | August 31 | Hosted by Topco Media
Jobs
Analyst Operations and Partnerships Role in San Carlos, CA at JetBlue Technology Ventures
Investment Associate Role in Silicon Valley, CA at Altos Ventures. If interested, send your resume to
talent@altos.vc with a short email cover explaining why you are interested in the positionInvestment Analyst Role in Bentonville, AR at SymBiosis Capital Management. If interested, submit a resume and brief cover email to talent@symbiosis.vc
Associate Role in Santa Clara, CA at Presidio Ventures. If interested, contact the recruiter Stacie Blair at sblair@pacfirm.com
Senior Associate Role in Boston, MA at Presidio Ventures. If interested, contact the recruiter Stacie Blair at sblair@pacfirm.com
Investment Associate Role in Chicago, IL at Cedar Pine. If interested, email Derek your resume at dmazur@cedarpine.com
Investment Analyst Role in Boston, MA or San Francisco, CA at Building Ventures
Investor Role in New York, NY or San Francisco, CA at VMG Catalyst
Connect with us: EVCA, Sam, Adam, and Isaac
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