Venture With Mo

On this week's podcast, we're joined by Jeff Farrah General Counsel at the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) where he advocates before Congress, the White House and agencies for pro-entrepreneurship policies and leads in-house legal matters for the association, including management of the NVCA Model Legal Documents.

Jeff shares a wealth of knowledge on proposed changes to acquisitions, the effects on the startup ecosystem and immigration policy. We also cover a whole host of topics including:

• The journey from Capitol Hill to Venture Capital

Successful advocate for entrepreneurship as General Counsel at the National Venture Capital Association. Jeff has been featured in publications like the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and TechCrunch on topics such as foreign investment, immigration, antitrust, and how public policy impacts startups. Jeff regularly speak at conferences, present to investors, and counsel investors and companies on policy strategy and regulatory compliance.

Previously, Jeff served as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation where he advised Chairman Thune (now Senate Minority Whip) on telecommunications, technology, and Internet policy. Jeff also served as General Counsel and a policy adviser to U.S. Senator Scott Brown.

Before Senate service, Jeff was an attorney at a leading Washington, DC law firm for international trade matters. His private sector legal experience includes international trade investigations (antidumping/countervailing duty), administrative reviews, and sunset reviews in market and non-market economy cases. He has also counselled businesses on World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement, NAFTA Binational Panel Reviews, customs matters, and appeals before the U.S. Court of International Trade.

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) empowers the next generation of American companies that will fuel the economy of tomorrow. As the voice of the U.S. venture capital and startup community, NVCA advocates for public policy that supports the American entrepreneurial ecosystem. Serving the venture community as the preeminent trade association, NVCA arms the venture community for success, serving as the leading resource for venture capital data, practical education, peer-led initiatives, and networking.

• NVCA (National Venture Capital Association): https://nvca.org/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-farrah-5343853/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammedjalil/

We have a fascinating conversation with Craig Dixon co-founder and general partner of Accelerating Asia. Craig has spent the last decade within the startup ecosystem in South East Asia as both an entrepreneur and now as a venture investor. In this episode, we cover a whole host of topics including:

• The journey from entrepreneur to fund manager

Craig Dixon is the Co-Founder, Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) and Program Director for Accelerating Asia, which provides innovation consulting for organizations looking to engage with startups, runs Singapore’s only independent startup accelerator program and manages the associated venture capital firm Accelerating Asia Ventures.

Previously, Craig was the EiR and Program Manager for the muru-D Singapore startup accelerator. Craig arrived in Singapore in 2013 after his startup, Zumata received funding from Wavemakers Partners, the National Research Foundation and 500 Durians.

He is also an Angel investor, speaker and blogger on startup topics. Craig has been involved in over 50 investment rounds in startups as either a founder, institutional investor or Angel investor. He has a passion for building a more efficient startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia, focusing on standardization of investment terms and fairness between startup founders and investors.

Prior to beginning a career in startups, Craig lost his way for a time and spent 8 years as a banker and getting his MBA from the University of Maryland and HKUST.

Accelerating Asia is an accelerator VC that runs programs for early-stage startups and investors. Licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Accelerating Asia’s early-stage VC fund focuses on pre-Series A startups with untapped potential that are 6-18 months away from institutional funding. Accelerating Asia invests up to US$250,000 in pre-Series A startups, and the current portfolio covers over ten countries in Southeast and South Asia.

While most angel investors and startup programs in the region focused on ideation-minimum viable product stage startups, and venture funds focused on solid product-market fit, startups with a robust product at early stages of customer traction are often overlooked. That is where Accelerating Asia comes in. Our accelerator and venture capital model is designed to support pre-Series A startups to fast track growth and drive success, unlocking the potential in them.

At the core of the work we do is the guiding belief that entrepreneurs are one of humanity’s greatest catalysts for positive change. Currently, applications for Accelerating Asia Cohort 5 will close on 30 June 2021.

• Accelerating Asia : https://acceleratingasia.com/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigbristoldixon

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammedjalil/

Today is a very special episode on female founders and the Latin American market. We're joined by Claire Díaz-Ortiz investor, seasoned author and partner at Magma Partners and head of Brava. Claire and I have an absolutely fascinating conversation where we discuss:

• Angel investing and a look back at Claire's first check

Claire Díaz-Ortiz is an investor & bestselling author who was an early employee at Twitter. Wired magazine once called her "The Woman Who Got the Pope on Twitter" and she was also named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company.

She is currently an investing partner at Magma Partners, Latin America's leading pre-seed VC fund, and leads Brava, Magma's initiative to invest in female founders in Latin America. She is also an angel investor in all geographies. Claire was an early employee at Twitter, where she was first hired to lead corporate social innovation.

Magma Partners is a seed-stage venture capital firm with offices in Latin America and California. Magma specializes in finding the best technology startups with technology and/or sales team in Latin America, but whose primary market is the United States. Since 2014, they have invested in 32 companies with teams all across Latin America.

• Magma Partners: https://magmapartners.com/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairediazortiz/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammedjalil/

In today's episode, we have Magnus Grimeland CEO and founder of Antler Global. Antler is a global early-stage venture capital firm that invests in technology companies. In the last 2 years, Antler has made over 200 portfolio company investments across 30 industries and has opened offices across six continents and most major entrepreneurial hubs.

In the show we discuss:

• The United World Colleges and the start of an entrepreneurial journey

Magnus Grimeland is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Antler (www.antler.co), a global VC enabling and investing in the world's most exceptional people. He leads a global team across 5 continents and 13 locations with the mission to fundamentally improve the world by supporting founders, who are building the defining companies of tomorrow. Antler has invested in, and helped build over 220+ portfolio companies worldwide and established the world’s largest early-stage investment platform, with an unparalleled global network of entrepreneurial leaders and advisors.

Prior to Antler, Magnus co-founded ZALORA.com, Asia’s largest fashion e-commerce company. He served as COO and Managing Director of Zalora after it was acquired by Global Fashion Group (GFG) and expanded it across 26 countries.

Magnus is an alumnus of Harvard University and McKinsey & Company. He was a Junior Partner at McKinsey & Co and worked in North America, Europe and Asia in the global telecommunications, media and tech industries. He served as a Navy Seal with the Royal Norwegian Navy Special Operations.

Antler is a global early-stage venture capital firm that invests in the defining technology companies of tomorrow. In the last 2 years Antler has made over 200 portfolio company investments across 30 industries and has opened offices across six continents and most major entrepreneurial hubs

The founders from their portfolio represent over 70 nationalities and 40% of those startups are led by female entrepreneurs. Several of these early-stage startups have since secured follow-on investment by top-tier VCs.

Antler enables exceptional people to build impactful technology startups by building complementary co-founder teams, supporting the teams with deep business model validation and providing a global platform for scaling their startups.

Antler provides funding from day one to support founders building businesses that will positively impact local, national and global economies.

• Antler Global: https://www.antler.co/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/magnusgrimeland/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammedjalil/

We're back with part 2 of our first look at the intersection between food, agriculture and venture investing with Carter Williams CEO and Managing Partner of iSelectFund. iSelect connects investors with innovative companies that are fixing our food and health systems while opening up access to investment opportunities that are making a real impact on the future of our world.

Carter has an extensive career spanning engineering, entrepreneurship and venture capital.

In today's show we discuss:

• Synthetic proteins and protein fabs

Carter Williams has spent his entire career working on innovation. First as a young engineer at McDonnell Douglas, next in his leadership roles at Boeing managing R&D and starting Boeing Ventures, and later as a successful entrepreneur and venture investor. Throughout his career, he has directly managed investments of more than $600 million in early-stage ventures and corporate research, resulting in several billion dollars of new product revenues. As part of Boeing Phantom Works, Carter led Boeing’s technology planning process, involving all aspects of internal and external technology development and manufacturing research. This eventually led to his role in founding and managing Boeing Ventures. After Boeing, he was President of Gridlogix, initially a small struggling 4 person startup that grew over 3 years, selling successfully to Johnson Controls in October 2008. Prior to leading iSelect, Carter served as Senior Managing Director at Progress Partners, an energy and technology investment banking firm, and was a Managing Partner at Open Innovation Ventures and a Director at Clayton Capital Partners. Carter is the past President and Founder of the MIT Corporate Venturing Consortium and Co-founder of the MIT Entrepreneurship Society. He has an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

iSelectfund is an early-stage venture firm that invests in companies that are addressing critical global issues, in large markets, and with financially attractive business models. We are based in St. Louis but we take a national view, with a regional focus outside the coasts and on companies making an impact. To date, iSelect has invested in more than 25 portfolio companies across the country, in markets including food & agriculture, healthcare, resource efficiency and B2B software, in partnership with some of the largest and most successful venture investors in the industry.

• iSelectfund: https://www.iselectfund.com/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carter/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammedjalil/

Today we have part 1 of our first look at the intersection between food, agriculture and venture investing with Carter Williams CEO and Managing Partner of iSelectFund. iSelect connects investors with innovative companies that are fixing our food and health systems while opening up access to investment opportunities that are making a real impact on the future of our world.

Carter has an extensive career spanning engineering, entrepreneurship and venture capital.

In today's show we discuss:

• Deconstructing "Innovation is deflationary", what does it mean?

Carter Williams has spent his entire career working on innovation. First as a young engineer at McDonnell Douglas, next in his leadership roles at Boeing managing R&D and starting Boeing Ventures, and later as a successful entrepreneur and venture investor. Through his career, he has directly managed investments of more than $600 million in early-stage ventures and corporate research, resulting in several billion dollars of new product revenues. As part of Boeing Phantom Works, Carter led Boeing’s technology planning process, involving all aspects of internal and external technology development and manufacturing research. This eventually led to his role in founding and managing Boeing Ventures. After Boeing, he was President of Gridlogix, initially a small struggling 4 person startup that grew over 3 years, selling successfully to Johnson Controls in October 2008. Prior to leading iSelect, Carter served as Senior Managing Director at Progress Partners, an energy and technology investment banking firm, and was a Managing Partner at Open Innovation Ventures and a Director at Clayton Capital Partners. Carter is the past President and Founder of the MIT Corporate Venturing Consortium and Co-founder of the MIT Entrepreneurship Society. He has an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

iSelectfund is an early-stage venture firm that invests in companies that are addressing critical global issues, in large markets, and with financially attractive business models. We are based in St. Louis but we take a national view, with a regional focus outside the coasts and in companies making an impact. To date, iSelect has invested in more than 25 portfolio companies across the country, in markets including food & agriculture, healthcare, resource efficiency and B2B software, in partnership with some of the largest and most successful venture investors in the industry.

• iSelectfund: https://www.iselectfund.com/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carter/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammedjalil/

This week we have a special episode on the Japanese venture and startup ecosystem. We're joined by Masahiko Honma General Partner and CoFounder of Incubate Fund, the best known and largest seed and early-stage investor in Japan.

Incubate Fund has made over 140 with 13 exits and 19 IPOs from companies like Sansan, Medley, Gamewith and iSpace.

In today's show we discuss:

• Venture capital vs corporate venture capital

Masahiko started his investment carrier at JAFCO in helping Silicon valley and Israel tech startups access into Japan market, then worked for Accenture’s venture capital arm and corporate venture capital under Mitsubishi Corporation. In 2007, he founded Core People Partners, angel fund specializing in the incubation of internet businesses, and made about 10x returns. He co-founded Incubate Fund in 2010, and has been making active investment in Japan as well as directing Asia investment operations in South East Asian market and India.

He was Graduated from Keio University Faculty of Business and Commerce.

Incubate Fund is a venture capital specialised in investing in startups in the seed stages. Since the establishment of the Incubate Capital Partners in 1999, we manage the fund worth ¥44.4 billion($440million) and invested in over 300 startups through our related fund. As Incubate Fund, since the establishment of 1st fund in 2010, we have invested ¥34 billion($340million) in seed startup, including more than 120 companies through our related fund in the last 5 years making us one of the biggest investors of the seed/early-stage startups in Japan.

• Incubate Fund: http://incubatefund.com/en/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/masahikohonma/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammedjalil/

We're back with a special look at Venture & Startup ecosystem in India and joining us is Rajesh Raju Managing Director at Kalaari Capital.

Kalaari Capital has made over 90 investments across three funds leading to about 15 successful exits from companies like Myntra, MedPlus and Snapdeal.

Rajesh has been venture investing in India for over 15 years, and has seen it all, on today's show we discuss:

• Venture capitalist and social media

Rajesh is a pioneer in investing in direct-to-consumer companies in India. His investment interests span consumer categories in retail, education and mobile. Rajesh returned from the US in 2006, drawn by the immense potential that India presents for entrepreneurs in reshaping the country. He has been a part of the startup ecosystem ever since.

In a career spanning over 20 years, Rajesh has had a broad set of experiences in the technology industry across product development, sales, M&A, equity research and private equity. He currently serves on the boards of several companies. Rajesh has an MBA (Hons) from the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, a Master’s in engineering from Marquette University and Bachelor’s in Engineering from BITS, Pilani.

Kalaari Capital is an India focused venture capital firm that manages $650M funds with a strong advisory team in Bangalore. Kalaari Capital invests in early-stage, technology-oriented companies in India.

• Kalaari Capital: https://www.kalaari.com/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrraju/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammedjalil/