VC Best Practices is an educational series for a group of relatively new investors who want to be exposed to the best venture and startup thinking. Each event is attended by accredited investors and non-partner VCs that skew intentionally, but not exclusively, toward underrepresented backgrounds.
Many emerging fund managers start by raising capital from a long list of smaller LPs such as successful founders, operators, and high net worth individuals. But raising $15M to $100M and beyond requires a different approach altogether.
In this panel, we’ll hear from investors who have broken through that ceiling. They’ll share how they shifted their fundraising strategy, what it really takes to attract larger institutional capital, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. Whether you're on Fund I or scaling to Fund III, this conversation is packed with tactical insights for GPs looking to go beyond friends, family, and angels.
This is an in-person event in New York City that will not be streamed, so we look forward to seeing you there.
Speakers:
Nick Adams, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Differential Ventures
Previously, Nick was a Venture Partner at Supernode.vc, f.k.a. Flatiron Investors, where he evaluated seed-stage tech companies and led the due diligence for multiple investments. Before joining the venture capital community, Nick held senior sales, marketing and product management roles for software companies that have realized over $1.3 billion in exit value, including: Opower (IPO), RAGE Frameworks (acquired by Genpact), Basware (Publicly-traded on OMX), and Comverge (acquired by Itron).
Nick sits on the board of several tech companies, including Ocrolus, which was named the '2020 Fastest Growing FinTech Company in the US’ by Inc. Magazine. He is also on the board of ‘Off the Record,’ a non-profit dedicated to the support of venture-backed startup founders. He has a MSc in Global Finance from NYU and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, a MBA in Corporate Finance from Northeastern University, and a BA in History from Brandeis University where he played four years of varsity baseball.
Jessica Peltz Zatulove, Founding Partner at Hannah Grey
Jessica was previously the Senior Managing Partner at MDC Ventures, and was recognized on the Global Corporate VC PowerList for top CVC fund managers in 2019 and 2020.
Before transitioning to VC, Jessica specialized in connecting marketers with emerging tech and spent 10+ years as an operator working with Fortune 500 brands. Her deep understanding of the intersection between customer needs, branding, and technology has enabled her to guide countless startups on positioning and commercializing their business effectively.
Jessica is also the co-founder of Women in VC, the world’s largest community for women investors now includes 6,000+ women spanning 3,500+ venture funds across 200+ cities and 75+ countries. Jessica is a graduate of Indiana University, she lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.
Charley Ma, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Pathlight Ventures
Prior to Pathlight, Charley built and scaled multiple enterprise software startups - leading their GTM teams across sales, marketing, customer success, and more from $0 to $200m as the first revenue hire for companies such as Plaid, Ramp, and Alloy. Charley grew up in the Bay Area and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics and minor in Mathematics. He started his career at JP Morgan across teams covering payments strategy, blockchain (before it was cool!), and R&D.
Sponsors:
Cooley LLP — Our lawyers advise venture capital firms, corporate VCs, growth equity firms, family offices and high-growth companies on 1,700+ private financings each year. We understand all angles and offer support at all stages of investment. Our integrated, cross-disciplinary team can take you from fund formation to investment to exit, partnering with your internal resources to guarantee seamless collaboration and offering the specialty platform you need to support your portfolio companies.
KPMG — Whether you are looking to reach new heights, embrace technology, plan for an exit, or manage the transition of wealth or your business to the next generation, KPMG Private Enterprise advisers can help you drive your business forward through each stage of the business journey. Your success is our legacy.
Stifel is a diversified global wealth management, investment bank, and commercial banking company. Our Venture Banking group provides commercial banking and debt capital financing solutions to venture capital-backed technology companies and their investors. Committed to supporting the innovation community, our entrepreneurial culture and long-term vision make Stifel Bank the right banking partner for Founders and Companies.
This is event is hosted by nextNYC. To learn more about nextNYC and/or sign up for their newsletter, visit http://next.nyc