Venture with Grace

Nir Eyal is an author, speaker, and expert in behavioral design, which combines psychology, technology, and business. He wrote the bestsellers Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. Nir has taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Design School and has sold two tech companies since 2003. With a background in video gaming and advertising, he helps companies create positive user behaviors and teaches people how to build healthy habits. As an investor, Nir supports habit-forming products that improve lives, with investments in companies like Eventbrite, Kahoot!, Anchor.fm, Canva, and Product Hunt. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Tushar Roy is a Partner at Square Peg Capital, focusing on investing in venture and growth stage online and technology companies across Southeast Asia, Australia, and Israel. With almost a decade of experience in the region, he specializes in identifying and supporting tech founders to help them achieve their goals. Tushar’s current portfolio includes Chope, Cialfo, Doctor Anywhere, FinAccel, Kaodim, Neuron, Pluang, PropertyGuru, StashAway, Talon.One, and Timo. He has also worked closely with Amber, Q-CTRL, and Vero. Tushar holds an MBA from INSEAD and is dedicated to helping startups grow and succeed in a competitive landscape.

Jack McClelland is an investor and engineer at Afore, a pre-seed focused venture capital fund managing approximately $300 million across three funds. He actively supports and invests in early-stage founders while also developing internal tools crucial for Afore's operations. Jack leads the Alpha Program, a pre-seed deal investing $1 million at $10 million (post) into promising tech startups globally, regardless of industry or traction, with a particular enthusiasm for young technical talent. His journey began with founding a software company in high school, followed by initiatives to empower other young founders through platforms like Rough Draft and Contrary. Prior to Afore, Jack gained diverse internship experience across companies ranging from pre-seed to IPO stages and top-tier VC firms, complementing his education in Computer Science and Finance from Boston College. Rooted in an educational environment promoting design thinking and passion projects, Jack is passionate about supporting spirited leaders who tackle real-world challenges with innovative solutions, reflecting his belief in the transformative potential of entrepreneurship.

Mo Koyfman is the Founder and General Partner at Shine Capital. In 2022, Shine Capital announced the launch of two new funds: Shine II, a $200M early-stage fund, and Shine Opportunities I, a $100M vehicle. Prior to starting Shine, Mo was the Managing Member at Moko Brands, where he made angel investments in notable companies such as Coinbase, Polychain, and Harry's. Before Moko, Mo spent over 7 years as a General Partner at Spark Capital. At Spark Capital, he invested in companies like Plaid, Warby Parker, and Skillshare. Before joining Spark, Mo spent over 5 years at IAC. During his time at IAC, he oversaw a group of companies including Connected Ventures (parent of Vimeo), CollegeHumor, and BustedTees.

Jason Marks is the founder and CEO of Telo Trucks. He led the Autonomous Vehicles and Driver Assistance Systems test programs at National Instruments (NI), where he was a Chief Business Development Manager. He developed the test systems for five major U.S. automakers’ Autonomy and ADAS test systems for their 2024 model year vehicles. He’s an experienced Sales, Marketing, and R&D leader with patents in LiDAR.

Howard Ko is an Investment Partner at Morpheus. With expertise spanning across robotics, healthcare, insuretech, fintech, and proptech, Howard brings a unique blend of knowledge to the table. Currently serving as a board member for Rize, RIOS, Rugged Robotics, IngeniousIO, and Tagnos, as well as a board observer for Bridg and RapidDeploy, Howard is deeply involved in shaping the success of emerging ventures. Prior to his current roles, Howard gained valuable experience at Mission Ventures, specializing in software and semiconductor investments, and in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Salomon Smith Barney, where he played integral roles in public and private financings as well as M&A activities. Additionally, he has served as the co-chair of the San Diego Telecom Council Wireless Infrastructure Group and as a member of the Board of Reviewers for the San Diego-based Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology, funded by the Department of Defense.

Amir leads Fintech and Insurtech investing at AV8 and has been one of the earliest investors in the Insurtech space. Amir has been an entrepreneur, operator and investor with over 15 years of experience, working with early and mid-stage companies on financing, partnerships and strategic growth initiatives.

Meet Alasdair Mann, the driving force behind Alementary, where videos spark excitement about emerging technologies and the brilliant minds behind them. With over 100 million views per month, Alasdair's expertise spans engineering, data science, and product development. Transitioning to video content creation in 2021, he dedicated himself to producing daily videos, overcoming challenges to achieve remarkable success. His content skyrocketed from thousands to millions of views in May 2022, propelling brands to unprecedented visibility. Alasdair's impact extends far and wide, from helping startups reach 60 million people in three videos to aiding venture capitalists and media companies in reaching millions more. Through innovation and determination, Alasdair continues to shape the landscape of tech marketing, empowering brands to connect with audiences and thrive in the digital age.

Ilya Strebulaev is the foremost academic expert on venture capital. He is the founder of the Venture Capital Initiative and David S. Lobel Professor of Private Equity and Professor of Finance at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where he teaches a popular class on venture capital. Ilya’s research has been widely published in leading academic journals and featured by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Bloomberg and the Harvard Business Review. He frequently leads executive sessions for senior business and government leaders around the world and has consulted for companies and investors on venture industry trends and corporate innovation. In 2023, he was named a Top Voice on LinkedIn.

Vivien is a Partner at Pear. Vivien focuses on investing in health: human and planet health. She leads Pear’s Female Founder Circles program supporting the next generation of female technical founders and runs a 14 week program twice a year.