Webinar
Masterclass Live! An Insider's Guide to VC
Watch an on-demand presentation hosted by Triphammer Managing Partner Brian Keil and Partner Wesley Yiu. In this session, you will discover the framework our team uses to evaluate promising startups, walk through the process, and learn how you, too, can invest in startups just like this through Triphammer Ventures.
See video policy below.
Post Webinar Summary
Brian Keil, Managing Partner at Triphammer Ventures, hosted a masterclass on venture capital, offering insights into how the industry operates and how Triphammer Ventures fits within the ecosystem. Keil and his colleague Wes outlined the fundamentals of venture capital as a high-risk, high-reward asset class, emphasizing its power-law dynamics where a small percentage of investments drive most returns. They discussed the stages of venture funding, the lifecycle of VC funds, and the importance of diversification across industries, stages, and geographies. Triphammer’s co-investment model prioritizes partnerships with experienced lead investors to align with the needs of portfolio companies. The team highlighted current trends, including a market reset, significant dry powder available for investment, and optimism for increased IPO and M&A activity in 2025, signaling strong opportunities ahead for venture capital.
Triphammer Ventures is Alumni Ventures’ fund for Cornell alumni and friends of the community.
During this session, we will discuss:
- HomeUnderstanding the time horizon of venture investments
- HomePerforming due diligence and reviewing the typical types of materials available in a deal
- HomeWeighing some of the challenges, key risks, and how to factor those into the ultimate decision
- HomeTracking companies after investment and the purpose of portfolio monitoring
- HomeMore details about Triphammer Ventures
About Alumni Ventures
Top 20 VC Investors in North America (2024)
#1 Most Active Venture Firm in the U.S. (2023)
#1 Most Active Venture Firm in the U.S. (2022)
World's Most Innovative Companies (2022)
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 Alumni 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.
Wesley has a background in both technology and investing. Previously, he served as a product manager at BlackRock Solutions. While at BlackRock, he helped grow and scale their enterprise risk analytics platform, including facilitating the on-boarding of a $300 bn AUM client. He later transitioned to a traditional investment role where he worked as an investment strategist for the fixed income division of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which manages over $400 bn in AUM across macro and credit strategies. He is also the author of the blog The Unofficial VC. Wesley received his BS from the College of Engineering at Cornell University.