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Why Diversify with Venture Capital?

Masterclass Shorts from Alumni Ventures

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Alumni Ventures

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Discover how thoughtful diversification in venture capital can enhance returns and minimize risk, creating opportunities to invest in companies from the ground up.

What’s The Big Deal About Diversification?

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Venture capital can be high-risk, but a well-diversified portfolio can help mitigate that risk while capturing significant upside. In this video, Alumni Ventures’ team shares insights on their approach to diversification across different stages, sectors, and geographies. By strategically diversifying, Alumni Ventures aims to increase the chance of supporting high-growth companies that can drive returns for the portfolio. Watch to learn how diversification can unlock the potential of venture capital.

Watch Time ~4 minutes

Featuring

Laura Rippy
Laura Rippy
Managing Partner, Alumni Ventures Board Member

Laura is a leader of multiple funds at Alumni Ventures and serves on the Board. While at Alumni Ventures, she built Green D Ventures (Dartmouth-centric) to be the largest alumni fund at AV. In her expanded role, she now leads The Yard Ventures (Harvard-centric) and the Alumni Ventures Women's Fund. In 2024, her team will launch the U.S. Strategic Tech Fund. She was a three-time CEO, Board Member, and executive in many tech startups in Boston, Seattle, and DFW. She has previous experience at Microsoft across enterprise software and founding startup teams over seven years. Laura did strategy consulting in Germany during the economic unification of West and East Germany. Laura Rippy holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB in Government from Dartmouth College.

Andy Ervin
Andy Ervin
Deputy Chief Investment Officer

Andy is Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Alumni Ventures, where he supports investment operations, analytics, and portfolio management. Previously, Andy held several executive roles at a VC-backed start-up in Boston called MiniLuxe, where he led finance and operations during a period of significant growth. Andy was also a consultant at The Parthenon Group and began his career as an actuary at the Liberty Mutual Group. Andy holds a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Michael Collins
Michael Collins
CEO, Alumni Ventures

Mike is the CEO and Founder of Alumni Ventures. He has been involved in almost every facet of venturing, from angel investing to venture capital, new business and product launches, and innovation consulting. He began his career at VC firm TA Associates. He holds an undergraduate degree in Engineering Science from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mark D. Edwards
Mark D. Edwards
Chief Investment Officer

Mark Edwards is the Chief Investment Officer at Alumni Ventures. A seasoned private equity executive who was an early investor in AV, Mark has served on the investment committees of Green D Ventures and Spike Ventures since inception. Mark has over 20 years of direct investing experience, having served in leadership roles at Five Peaks Capital Management, JLL Partners (~$4B of capital under management), and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (~$10B of capital under management). He holds an AB with honors from Stanford University and an MBA with distinction from Tuck (Tuck Scholar).

Peter MacEwan
Peter MacEwan
Deputy Chief Community Officer

Peter has startup experience in both the nonprofit and business sectors, a BA from Wesleyan University, and an MBA from The Wharton School. Peter developed expertise building teams and strategic planning in the San Francisco Bay Area, driving growth across multiple seed- and early-stage companies (with many nights spent as informal adviser to a network of entrepreneurs). Peter has a passion for social impact and loves working with people who love what they do and strive to get better at it.

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Alumni Ventures

Alumni Ventures is a network-powered VC firm that helps accredited individuals invest in venture capital.

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