VC Masterclass

In recent years, the investment world has started to recognize the untapped potential of women-led startups. These ventures are not just about bridging the gender gap; they represent a golden opportunity for individual investors to diversify their portfolios and achieve higher returns. This blog post delves into why investing in women-led startups is a sound financial strategy, drawing insights from The XX Edge and the experiences at Alumni Ventures’ Women’s Fund.

Some of the most important innovations of the last century were initially dismissed as crazy, trivial, or useless. Yet, these “dumb ideas” have profoundly reshaped our world — and made some investors very rich. History shows us that natural human resistance to change and a preference for the familiar often lead to skepticism toward innovations. However, time and again, many of those inventions that initially seemed silly or pointless have become game changers. Let’s explore just a few of the supposedly “dead-on-arrival” innovations.

In the final installment of our Masterclass series on The Art of Evaluating a Deal focuses on the importance of assessing CEOs and their teams. Key points include emphasizing “founder-market fit” and scrutinizing team dynamics.

We’re continuing our blogs on how AV teams typically evaluate a deal. As part of our Masterclass series, this addresses some of the basic questions our investors have about venture.

As the CEO of Alumni Ventures, America’s largest venture capital firm for individual investors, I’ve seen firsthand the impact that VC can have on businesses and the portfolios of accredited investors. The essence of that impact is powerfully captured in The Venture Mindset, a recently released bestseller by Stanford Professor Ilya Strebulaev and tech executive Alex Dang. The duo brings a great mix of academic insight and rigor, plus boots-on-the-ground, been-there entrepreneurship. For anyone considering venturing into this asset class — or building a nimble business — it’s an insightful must-read.

In the second part of our Masterclass on The Art of Evaluating a Deal, we evaluate the lead investor in a venture round. In VC, a select group of firms consistently outperforms market indices — so as a value-add co-investor, we’re looking to invest alongside those leaders. Our checklist includes the firm’s quality, the lead partner’s sector, stage experience, and their conviction. We use a case study to bring the example to life and discuss the challenges in separating a firm’s performance from a lead partner’s.

How do venture capitalists select the companies they invest in? What do they evaluate—and how? Welcome to our four-part Masterclass blog series. We’ll walk you through how we evaluate deals at Alumni Ventures. This first installment delves into the Deal Dynamics that shape our investment decisions.