Playing the Long Game to Secure Seed Funding

Journey from Seed to Series A

The Importance of Finding a Value-Add Investor

We are joined by Nandini Agarwal and Andy Kalmon.

Join Sabina Hemmi and Jake O’Shea as they dive into raising capital at the idea stage.

Triet Nguyen began his career aspiring to work in the events industry, specifically organizing music festivals, but gained valuable experience at nonprofit organizations like The Dallas Entrepreneur Center and Capital Factory, a Texas-based accelerator fund. It was at Capital Factory that he discovered his passion for startups and venture capital, which led him to co-found Cheese Plug, an on-demand charcuterie board delivery service, during the COVID-19 pandemic. He later transitioned to MicroVentures as a Venture Deal Flow Associate before joining Render Capital in March 2023. With expertise in portfolio support, angel investing, venture scout networks, and advising startups and emerging funds, Triet brings a well-rounded perspective as both an investor and a founder.

Ben York is the CEO at Genetica. With a background in finance at Citi Group focused on equity derivatives and securitized products, he carried that knowledge into the tech space where he got involved in venture capital at The Arcview Group. Leading deal flow and due diligence at Arcview helped him learn a lot about startups, and eventually led him to working with Christian at Genetica as an advisor. After a year, he transitioned to Genetica full time as the CEO.

With over 13 years of experience in the talent acquisition world, Christian is the Chief Growth Officer at Genetica, a leading cannatech company that is transforming the way people access and consume cannabis and CBD products. He is also an angel investor, advisor passionate about cannatech, mental health, and innovation. He is currently invested in over 2 dozen companies and is part owner of OC Soccer Club. He has also joined the Founder Mental Health Pledge, a coalition of startup investors, founders, and leaders coming together to destigmatize and encourage mental healthcare for founders and the greater startup community.