Vinod Khosla is a renowned entrepreneur, investor, and technologist. He co-founded Daisy Systems, which went public in 1986. Subsequently, he co-founded Sun Microsystems with his Stanford classmates. After leaving Sun, he became a VC at Kleiner Perkins, where he led investments in Google, Amazon, Nexgen, and many more. Khosla also incubated Juniper Networks, achieving one of the largest venture returns ever – a $3M investment yielding $7B (2500x).
In 2004, Khosla founded Khosla Ventures to invest in science-based experimental technologies with both profit potential and social impact. His portfolio includes Instacart, DoorDash, Square, Stripe, and Affirm. Notably, he wrote the first VC check for OpenAI in 2019, during a period when the company was "almost impossible to diligence" due to its corporate structure.
Currently, he is actively incubating and investing in AI categories that promise to positively impact humanity.
David Clark, CIO at VenCap, brings over 30 years of experience in fund and public company investing, backing top VC funds across the US, Europe, China, and India. His data-driven approach, analyzing 400+ funds and 15,000+ portfolio companies, revealed that 50% of VC investments don't return capital. Clark emphasizes understanding power laws, selecting proven managers, and navigating market cycles. He advocates for counter-cyclical investing and paying premium terms for exceptional fund performance. With insights on market contractions and opportunities, Clark's expertise in venture capital dynamics makes him a respected voice in the industry.
Graham Pingree is a Partner at Cendana Capital, a fund of funds specializing in early-stage VC investments globally. With over 15 years in the venture capital industry, Pingree's career spans roles at Cambridge Associates and Horsley Bridge Partners. He's known for his expertise in seed-stage investing and evaluating first-time fund managers. Pingree's approach emphasizes founder-market fit and partnership dynamics. He's particularly passionate about the potential of small, focused seed funds for generating high alpha returns. Recognized as one of the most helpful LPs in the business, Pingree brings valuable insights on market trends, including the rise of rolling funds and challenges in the LP community.
Akshay Kothari is an serial entrepreneur, investor, and product leader. He co-founded Pulse, a mobile news app, at Stanford, which LinkedIn acquired in 2013. At LinkedIn, Akshay rose to Country Manager and Head of India. He's an active angel investor, having backed numerous startups including Notion. Interestingly, a regular catch-up with Notion's founders evolved into a deep discussion, leading to Kothari joining as COO in 2018. At Notion, he's been instrumental in the company's rapid growth, and with ambitious goals, Notion aims to become "the next Microsoft".
Karthik Reddy is a co-founder and managing partner at Blume Ventures, one of India's top early-stage VC firms. With a passion for supporting startups in tech, fintech, and consumer sectors, he takes a hands-on approach to help entrepreneurs scale their businesses and navigate the Indian startup ecosystem.
Rahul Chowdhri is a partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, an early-stage, technology-focused venture capital firm based out of Bangalore. As an investor at Stellaris, Rahul focuses on Consumer Tech, Commerce, Edtech and Recruitment sectors. His current investments include Mamaearth, Zouk, Nestasia, Rigi, Circuit House, Cirkla, and 91Squarefeet.
Rahul believes that Indian consumers and businesses deserve much better than what they currently receive in the market, and that’s one of the primary reasons he’s on the lookout for entrepreneurs who can genuinely impact their customers’ lives.
Prior to Stellaris, Rahul was at Helion where he invested in consumer tech companies like Bigbasket, Livspace, Simplilearn, Toppr, and ID Fresh, to name a few. Before he settled on investing, Rahul had stints in product management and consulting roles at Microsoft, MarketRx Inc, and i2 Technologies. He started his career in consulting with The Boston Consulting Group. Rahul holds an MBA degree from IIM Calcutta and a B. Tech. from IIT Kanpur.
Xinyi Tow is a deep tech investor and ecosystem builder focused on solving global challenges. She transitioned from investment banking to pursue the potential of transformative technologies. Tow founded two deep tech-focused entities: a boutique investment firm and an APAC innovation ecosystem-builder. Currently, she leads Twynam's decarbonization venture strategy for Asia and runs an impact-first deep-tech venture studio (in stealth). Tow leverages her expertise to connect corporations and accelerators with innovative startups. Her work emphasizes the intersection of technology, sustainability, and social impact in the venture capital landscape.
Priya, Founder and General Partner at Theia Ventures, brings 17 years of experience across finance, policy, and venture investing in US, UK, and Indian markets. As an early investor in India's climate tech ecosystem, she built the Indian Fund arm of Yunus Social Business (YSB), backing companies like S4S Technologies (Earthshot Prize Winner 2023), Rangsutra, and Virohan. Prior to founding Theia, she spearheaded strategy and capital raising at Simpa Networks, a venture-backed cleantech company, after roles at Bloomberg LP and Asia House.
As Director at Sustainability Mafia, one of India's largest climate founder coalitions, she shapes climate tech innovation through advisory roles with think tanks, university labs, and accelerator programs. Her influence extends to board positions at the University of Cambridge's Alumni Advisory Council and Brown University's Young India Leadership Council.
Winter Mead is the Founder and Managing Member of the investment firm Coolwater Capital, which exclusively focuses on emerging managers and technology investments. Coolwater is an academy for training, building and scaling emerging managers, a curated community of VC investors and early-stage investment specialists, and an investment firm. Coolwater has helped launch over 175 emerging managers, establishing strong ties and trust with these managers, who form the foundation of the Coolwater community. Winter is also the author of "How To Raise A Venture Capital Fund". Prior to Coolwater, he played a key role in an evergreen investment fund at SAP, co-founded the LP transparency movement called #OpenLP, and served on the committee for the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), which sets the standards for the private equity industry. Winter's extensive experience includes private equity and venture capital roles in San Francisco, institutional fund investments, direct technology investments, and angel investing. He also served as junior faculty at Stanford Graduate School of Business, holding degrees from the University of Oxford and Harvard University, and now resides in Utah with his family, passionately solving business challenges.
Arjun Rao is the Founding Partner at Speciale Invest, a Chennai-based micro VC firm specializing in early-stage investments in deep technology sectors. With a portfolio of nearly 40 companies, Arjun focuses on AI, biotechnology, climate tech, and aerospace, managing over $70 million in assets since 2017.
Rajul Garg is the Founder and Managing Partner of Leo Capital, a top early-stage VC firm focused on tech investments in India, Southeast Asia, and the US. With 25+ years in the startup ecosystem, he co-founded Pine Labs and GlobalLogic and has made over 30 angel investments, supporting transformative startups like Meesho and 1mg.
Nicole DeTommaso is a Principal at Harlem Capital, focused on investing in diverse entrepreneurs. Passionate about inclusivity in venture capital, she runs the VC Demystified blog, sharing practical insights and advice to empower aspiring investors and entrepreneurs while providing transparency in the VC world.
Cory Bolotsky is the Head of Platform and Community at Underscore VC, where he enhances value for portfolio companies through his extensive entrepreneurial background. Previously, he was Director of Global Operations at MassChallenge and co-founded MassChallenge Israel, focusing on fostering vibrant startup communities.
Sathya Nellore Sampat is a builder at heart with a passion for supporting founders in their 0-to-1 journey. In 2016, he launched a product accelerator in the US to help entrepreneurs bring their MVPs to market. By 2018, he founded a startup focused on assisting SMBs and mid-market companies with data modernization, scaling the company to $3M in revenue by 2020 and securing investment from MongoDB.
In 2021, Sathya co-founded BoldCap, a venture fund dedicated to backing Indian founders creating global software products. Through his diverse initiatives, Sathya continues to empower founders and drive innovation in the tech ecosystem.
Anubhav Srivastava is the Founder and CEO of Tactyc, a platform that simplifies financial planning for venture capital firms, especially those in the $10M-$20M range. With a background in investment banking and an MBA from The Wharton School, he is dedicated to empowering emerging fund managers.
Evan Walden is the CEO and Co-Founder of Getro, a platform that enhances recruitment by connecting companies with talented professionals. Previously, he was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Unreasonable Group, supporting startup growth. With experience in startups and venture capital, Evan is a key contributor to the tech ecosystem.
Gautham Sivaramakrishnan, part of the Platforms team at Blume Ventures, drives the Market Networks & Capital Networks functions. He works closely with Enterprises, CVCs, Funds & Financial Institutions to accelerate the GTM, Strategic partnerships & Capital needs, for the Blume portfolio companies. Prior to Blume, Gautham has had stints with Deloitte, Infosys & Microsoft, where he drove Open Innovation, getting startups to build with, sell to or sell through the enterprises.
Jivraj Singh Sachar is the founder of the podcast Indian Silicon Valley, where he interviews prominent founders, sharing insights from over 40 unicorns in the Indian startup ecosystem. As an angel investor, he has curated a syndicate that invested over $1 million in eight startups, fostering innovation in the community.