Smart Venture Podcast Grace Gong

Alex Edelson is the Founder and General Partner of Slipstream Investors. Before starting Slipstream, he worked at QED Investors, a top fintech-focused venture capital firm with $4.3 billion in assets under management. Alex joined as Nigel Morris's Chief of Staff and became the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. He previously worked at a fintech startup and spent seven years practicing law. Alex holds a J.D. and B.A. from the University of Michigan.
 
You can learn more about:
How LPs evaluate emerging managers How to build a successful VC fund Portfolio construction, thesis building, and fund strategy =====================
YouTube: @GraceGongCEO Newsletter: @SmartVenture LinkedIn: @GraceGong TikTok: @GraceGongCEO IG: @GraceGongCEO Twitter: @GraceGongGG =====================
Join the SVP fam with your host Grace Gong. In each episode, we are going to have conversations with some of the top investors, superstar founders, as well as well-known tech executives in silicon valley. We will have a coffee chat with them to learn their ways of thinking and actionable tips on how to build or invest in a successful company.

Sophia Amoruso is the founder and managing partner of Trust Fund, an early-stage venture fund focused exclusively (yet broadly) on investing in tech-enabled products that help people start and build businesses. Trust fund’s investors include Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, Ev Williams, Naomi Gleit, Andrew Chen, Jeff Jordan, Jesse Draper, Rob Hayes, and Phil Hellmuth. Some of their portfolios include Public, Liquid Death, and MoonPay, among others. She is also the founder of Nasty Gal, Girlboss and a New York Times Bestselling author. 
 
You can learn more about: 
How to Brand Your Business How to Invest in Top Startups Lessons from Being an Entrepreneur to Venture Capitalist =====================
YouTube: @GraceGongCEO Newsletter: @SmartVenture LinkedIn: @GraceGong TikTok: @GraceGongCEO IG: @GraceGongCEO Twitter: @GraceGongGG =====================
Join the SVP fam with your host Grace Gong. In each episode, we are going to have conversations with some of the top investors, superstar founders, as well as well-known tech executives in silicon valley. We will have a coffee chat with them to learn their ways of thinking and actionable tips on how to build or invest in a successful company.

Dave Long is the CEO of Orangetheory Fitness. He leads the company's franchise model, regional development, and product development strategy. After founding the company in 2010 with two partners, Dave has led the brand through countless pivotal achievements, including launching two apps, creating a proprietary heart rate monitor with strategically chosen partners, and signing celebrity brand ambassadors. In addition, Dave facilitated Orangetheory Fitness's exponential growth and expanded the brand worldwide, with studios now open in several countries. The scientifically backed fitness franchise continues its rapid expansion with no end in sight under Dave's leadership. Before that, Dave helped grow Massage Envy from 25 to 800 locations. Dave also helped European Wax Center expand the concept from 4 to over 550 locations in less than nine years.

You can learn more about:

1. How to build an iconic fitness brand
2. How to build an effective system to scale your business
3. How to stay on top of the tech trends and apply them to your businesses
 
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YouTube: @GraceGongCEO Newsletter: @SmartVenture LinkedIn: @GraceGong TikTok: @GraceGongCEO IG: @GraceGongCEO Twitter: @GraceGongGG =====================
Join the SVP fam with your host Grace Gong. In each episode, we are going to have conversations with some of the top investors, superstar founders, as well as well-known tech executives in silicon valley. We will have a coffee chat with them to learn their ways of thinking and actionable tips on how to build or invest in a successful company.

Jake Seid is the Co-Founder and General Partner at Ballistic Ventures, a VC firm focused on early-stage cybersecurity and security-related venture investments, with a debut fund of $300M. Before working at Ballistic, Jake was a Managing Director at Lightspeed Venture Partners and founder and Managing Director at Stone Bridge Ventures—his portfolio includes Blend, Brex, Bolt, Abnormal Security, Carta, Cresta.ai, Drata, and more. 
 
You can learn more about: 
Investing trends in the cybersecurity space Starting and building a successful fund  How to attract the best founders  =====================
YouTube: @GraceGongCEO Newsletter: @SmartVenture LinkedIn: @GraceGong TikTok: @GraceGongCEO IG: @GraceGongCEO Twitter: @GraceGongGG =====================
Join the SVP fam with your host Grace Gong. In each episode, we are going to have conversations with some of the top investors, superstar founders, as well as well-known tech executives in silicon valley. We will have a coffee chat with them to learn their ways of thinking and actionable tips on how to build or invest in a successful company.

Sergio Monsalve is the Founding Partner of Roble Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in entrepreneurs building human enablement technologies. Before founding Roble Ventures, Sergio was a Partner at Norwest Venture Partners and the Board Member and Investor of Udemy. He also invested in other billion-dollar companies such as Kahoot! and Adaptive Insights. 
You can learn more about: 
From working at a top fund to starting a fund. Insights into founding Roble Ventures and key strategies for success in venture capital. A look into future trends in work, learning, and AI, and what makes a successful ed-tech company. =====================
Our sponsor, LD Talent, will transform how you hire, manage, and upskill your tech team. Visit https://www.ldtalentwork.com to get 100 dollars in free credit, and build your product and distributed team quickly, efficiently, and creatively. Disclosure: I am an investor in the company.
Disclosure: I am an investor in the company. 
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YouTube: @GraceGongCEO Newsletter: @SmartVenture LinkedIn: @GraceGong TikTok: @GraceGongCEO IG: @GraceGongCEO Twitter: @GraceGongGG =====================
Join the SVP fam with your host Grace Gong. In each episode, we are going to have conversations with some of the top investors, superstar founders, as well as well-known tech executives in silicon valley. We will have a coffee chat with them to learn their ways of thinking and actionable tips on how to build or invest in a successful company.

Ambar Bhattacharyya is the Managing Director at Maverick Ventures. During his venture capital career at Maverick Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Bain Capital Ventures, Ambar has led or been actively involved in investments resulting in 16 IPOs & acquisitions, with six companies achieving valuations of over $1B in the public markets.
Ambar has received broad recognition for his leadership, including Fortune Magazine's "40 under 40", Business Insider’s “30 leaders under 40 transforming healthcare”, San Francisco Business Time’s "40 under 40" list, and as a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum. He was also selected to be an Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow in 2022. Ambar has been cited by publications including Business Insider, CNBC, Fast Company, Forbes, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal for his thoughts on the startup ecosystem and innovation. 
You can learn more about: 
How to invest in the top healthcare companies?  How to accelerate your career growth in venture capital?  The healthcare AI landscape deep dive.  =====================
YouTube: @GraceGongCEO Newsletter: @SmartVenture LinkedIn: @GraceGong TikTok: @GraceGongCEO IG: @GraceGongCEO Twitter: @GraceGongGG =====================
Join the SVP fam with your host Grace Gong. In each episode, we are going to have conversations with some of the top investors, superstar founders, as well as well-known tech executives in silicon valley. We will have a coffee chat with them to learn their ways of thinking and actionable tips on how to build or invest in a successful company.