Webinar
How to Invest in Chestnut Street Ventures
Join our presentation to learn about Chestnut Street Ventures. This is an excellent opportunity to meet the team and hear about their approach to investing in private-stage companies. This presentation will be led by Managing Partner Brian Keil.
See video policy below.
Post Webinar Summary
The Chestnut Street Ventures webinar introduces the fund, part of Alumni Ventures, which provides access to venture capital investments focused on startups. The session, hosted by managing partners Brian Keil and Jonathan Meltzer, outlines the firm’s strategy of creating diversified portfolios with investments in 20 to 30 startups, particularly targeting Penn alumni-founded ventures. They emphasize the benefits of venture capital, such as high returns and low correlation with public markets, making it a strong diversification tool. Chestnut Street Ventures relies on its wide network, proactive deal sourcing, and partnerships with top venture firms to access quality investment opportunities. The webinar also covers practical steps for investors to engage, such as fund setup, accreditation requirements, and liquidity expectations over the fund’s ten-year life.
During this session, we will cover:
- HomeThe goal and structure of the fund
- HomeThe Chestnut Street and Alumni Ventures approach to investing
- HomeSome examples of current portfolio companies
- HomeThe benefits of diversifying into venture capital
- HomeThe minimum requirements needed to invest in the fund
Note: You must be accredited to invest in venture capital. Important disclosure information can be found at av-funds.com/disclosures.
About your presenters
Brian is a seasoned venture capitalist with over 20 years of investing experience across a range of industries. Before joining Chestnut Street Ventures, Brian was the Managing Director for New York Ventures, the venture capital arm of the State of New York. Prior to that, he was VP of Strategy & Corporate Development at Arbitron (now Nielsen Audio) and a Managing Director at the Peacock Fund, the venture capital arm of NBC Universal. Before joining the Peacock Fund, Brian worked at GE Capital and Bain & Co. Brian holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School and a BS in Industrial Engineering from The University of Southern California.
Jonathan has almost 20 years of investment experience. He previously managed over $300 million of venture capital, private equity, and credit investments at a $1 billion single-family office. Prior to that, Jonathan invested throughout the capital structure of private companies at Ulysses Management and at American Capital, frequently serving as a board member or advisor. Jonathan began his career as an investment banker, spending five years at Wasserstein Perella and at Goldman Sachs. He earned his BS in Economics cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in three years, and his MBA with honors from Columbia Business School.