EVCA Newsletter | November Edition - The Latest VC Jobs, News, Events
In line with the spirit of Halloween, TechCrunch recently released a story titled “Venture capital will soon be brimming with ghosts.” The article’s featured image is of a ghost wrapped in a white sheet, levitating in the air with turquoise sunglasses to suggest a mood of playfulness rather than ghoulishness. However, the message of the story is clear: sometime in the near future, the venture capital industry will go through a “natural selection cycle,” where many firms will be forced to either merge or wither away.
With certain well-publicized layoffs at venture firms including Softbank and Backstage Capital, the dynamic of “survival of the fittest” appears to be already in motion. However, rather than fret about turbulent times that may lie ahead, the best we can do is accept the cyclical nature of economic forces. With every boom, there is a bust. With every downturn, a period of regeneration follows. Or perhaps it’s merely time for we—as the emerging generation of VCs—to pick up the mantle and seize the opportunity of changing economic times to steer the industry to new and loftier heights. In the long view of things, the future rests in us.
And with that bit of introductory fanfare, welcome back to this edition of the EVCA newsletter!
Spotlight Feature: Meet Philipp Seifert, Partner at 468 Capital
We had the chance to interview Philipp Seifert, who is a Partner at 468 Capital. Philipp shares his origins story—from starting his career in investment banking, working as a VP at Sapphire Ventures, and, in his most recent chapter, investing in early-stage enterprise startups as a Partner at 468 Capital. In this interview, Philipp also shares his thoughts about life and career.
Featured Investors
This month we highlight Caie Kelley of SOUNDwaves Holdings and Justin Young of Prologis Ventures as our featured investors of the EVCA community.
Caie Kelley is a Senior Associate at SOUNDWaves, the climate-focused arm at Sound Ventures, where she focuses on investments in early-stage companies across the circular and sustainable economy. Prior to joining SOUNDWaves in early 2021, she was an investor at Permira focused on growth and private equity-stage companies across the tech and consumer landscape, and at JP Morgan in technology investment banking. Caie graduated from Harvard with a degree in Economics and Global Health and Health Policy and currently lives in Los Angeles.
Justin Young is a Principal Investor with Prologis Ventures, the venture capital and corporate development arm of Prologis, the global leader in industrial private equity real estate. Justin is responsible for helping lead the group’s early and late-stage investment practice within Supply Chain & Logistics, Ecommerce infrastructure, Automation, and Fintech. He was previously Head of Supply Chain Innovation and investments at Orange Silicon Valley, the innovation lab and corporate venture arm of the European telco, Orange. Prior to Orange, Justin worked in commodities trading with C.H. Robinson, a leading global 3PL. He managed enterprise supply chains with varying complexities across industry verticals related to retail, eCommerce, CPG, and perishable commodities. Justin holds a Bachelor of Science in Business and Packaging Engineering from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo.
EVCA Leadership Spotlight: Los Angeles Chapter Leads, Jenieri Cyrus of Urban Innovation Fund and Gabriella Brignardello of Fika Ventures
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.
Jenieri Cyrus is an Associate at the Urban Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in the future of cities. Previously, Jenieri served as an Associate at AEW Capital Management, a real estate investment manager, where he was responsible for sourcing, performing due diligence, and closing commercial real estate transactions and developments. As a graduate student, Jenieri worked at venture capital firms Benhamou Global Ventures, Green D Ventures, Navitas Capital, and Dundee Venture Capital. In these roles, he developed domain expertise around early-stage real estate technology, construction technology, and B2B SaaS. He earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and BA from Dartmouth College.
Gabriella Brignardello is a Vice President at Fika Ventures, a Los Angeles based early-stage fund investing in primarily fintech and enterprise software. Gabriella began her career as a consultant at Parthenon in the private equity practice before transitioning to a venture role at WndrCo, a consumer tech multi-stage fund. She holds a BS in Symbolic Systems: Human Computer Interaction from Stanford. In her free time, you can find Gabriella working on the WSJ crossword, playing Settlers of Catan, or hanging out at the beach with her dog, Beau. She is also very involved in fundraising and operational initiatives for Mi Casa de Angeles, the 501c3 nonprofit she founded in 2009 with the mission of improving the quality of education in underserved areas of Peru, her father’s home country.
What We’re Reading
Here we share our favorite content produced from EVCA members across the world:
Investing in cybersecurity: a deep look at the challenges, opportunities, and tools for cyber-focused VCs - Ross Haleliuk of LimaCharlie.io, provides a comprehensive guide for investors specializing in cybersecurity, cybersecurity startup founders, and aspiring entrepreneurs
Why America Must Develop Space, and How We’ll Do It - Ryan McEntush of Andreessen Horowitz, materializes a framework for space exploration and development
Who are VCs kidding with their phony fund sizes? - David Cruz e Silva of The European VC, shares why phony fund size announcements are bad for the VC/startup ecosystem
A Venture Capitalist Told Me How He Decides Which Startups to Fund, and I Couldn’t Believe It - Aaron Dinin of Duke University, shares the real reasons why people invest in startups and how they aren’t always what you’d think
Startups are reacting to the changing economy in a surprising way - Beth Karlsson of Lightspeed Venture Partners, analyzes how 190 startups are preparing for economic uncertainty in 2023 and beyond
The underestimated factor-luck - Paul Ventura of K Fund, shares why he fundamentally believes that luck plays a major role in venture capital
Events
Mike Maples, co-founder and GP of Floodgate for a Zoom fireside chat | November 8 | Hosted by Adam Dawkins of EVCA | RSVP on EVCA #Events channel
2022 San Francisco Lighting Rounds | November 8 in San Francisco | Hosted by gener8tor
Make Climate Action Everyone’s Business Forum | November 6 - 18 | Hosted by ICC
Q3 2022 Venture Monitor Webinar: What data is telling us about the VC market slowdown | November 8 | Hosted by Pitchbook, NVCA, and J.P. Morgan
Miyoko Schinner, founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, Zoom townhall | November 9 | Hosted by Adam Dawkins of EVCA | RSVP on EVCA #Events channel
M&A and CVCs: Navigating the Sell-Side M&A Process from a CVC Perspective | November 9 | Hosted by NVCA and Morgan Lewis
Brand Creators 2022 | November 19 | Hosted by Rollingout and Black Bookstore
Discussion of "The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World” | November 22 | Hosted by Austin Forum
The Dynamism of Venture is Reaching Washington: A Fireside Chat with Steve Case | November 29 | Hosted by NVCA and CEO Bobby Franklin
Jobs
Investment Analyst Role in San Francisco, CA at Munich Re Ventures
Analyst/Associate Role in San Francisco, CA or Boston, MA at Baukunst
Partner Role in San Francisco, CA at M12. If interested, email your resume and include as the subject, your name + firm/role you’re interested in to Adam Dawkins at adam@evca.org
Senior Associate/Vice President Role in San Francisco, CA at Acrew Capital. If interested, email your resume and include as the subject, your name + firm/role you’re interested in to Adam Dawkins at adam@evca.org
Principal Role in Bay Area, CA at Afore Capital. If interested, email your resume and include as the subject, your name + firm/role you’re interested in to Adam Dawkins at adam@evca.org
Partner Role in San Francisco, CA at Obvious Ventures. If interested, email your resume and include as the subject, your name + firm/role you’re interested in to Adam Dawkins at adam@evca.org
Associate, Senior Associate, and Principal Roles in Palo Alto, CA at Prosperity7 Ventures. If interested, email your resume to Daisy at daisy.garcia@p7vc.com
Senior Associate/Vice President Role in Chicago, IL at Jump Capital. If interested, email your resume to Saaya Nath at saaya@jumpcap.com
Associate Role in New York, NY at Trestle Partners. If interested, email Thomas at thomas@trestlelp.com
Ask
Interviewees for a Stanford Study on Women in VC: Are you a woman in VC open to sharing your experience working at a VC firm? Megan Tobias Neely, who is a professor at Copenhagen Business School and a Stanford researcher, is looking for interviewees for an academic study of inequality in the workplace and access to capital. The study focuses on patterns in how gender, race, and social class might influence people’s career paths and entrepreneurial endeavors. Participation will be kept anonymous and confidential. Please email Megan at mtneely@stanford.edu if interested in becoming an interviewee for this study.
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