Smart Venture Podcast

Lauren Kolodny is a Founding Partner of Acrew Capital. Lauren leads the fintech thesis area at Acrew. She has made investments in companies including Chime, Clara, Divvy, Gusto, Klar, Papaya, Pie, & Plaid. Prior to co-founding Acrew, Lauren was a partner at Aspect Ventures. Previously, Lauren worked in product marketing at Google, where she led a number of launches for Workspace, including Google Drive.   You can learn more about:    How AI is Transforming the Future of Financial Services The Evolution of Payments Technology Cross-Border Financial Solutions in a Global Economy   #FintechFuture #VCInsights #AIBanking #StartupGrowth #DigitalFinance ===================== 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.   Follow my other podcast Venture with Grace on:  Apple: https://bit.ly/4bTCwpD Youtube: https://bit.ly/3uXthnv Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2izE5iSowQhKH2wwshpnCC    

Seyonne Kang is a Partner at StepStone Group. As of September 30, 2024, StepStone was responsible for approximately $682 billion of total capital, including $176 billion of assets under management. She is a member of the private equity team, focusing on venture capital and growth equity investments. Prior to StepStone, Ms. Kang was a partner with Greenspring Associates, a venture capital and growth equity investment firm that merged with StepStone in 2021. Before that, she spent seven years in investment management with a focus on private capital. Before moving into investment management, Ms. Kang spent about a decade on Wall Street in institutional equities where she served in a variety of functions, including software stock research and distribution of IPOs, follow-on offerings and convertible financings. Ms. Kang earned an AB with honors from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley.    You can learn more about:  Evaluation framework for first-time fund managers How emerging managers can build credibility with institutional LPs Advice on building long-term LP relationships from scratch #VentureCapital #EmergingManagers #FundRaising #StepStone ===================== 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.   Follow my other podcast Venture with Grace on:  Apple: https://bit.ly/4bTCwpD Youtube: https://bit.ly/3uXthnv Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2izE5iSowQhKH2wwshpnCC    

JuE Wong is the former President & CEO/ Executive Board Director of Olaplex Inc. (Nasdaq: OLPX). Prior to Olaplex, she was the Global CEO/ Executive Board Director of Moroccanoil, the President of Elizabeth Arden, and an Independent Board Director of The Red Door by Elizabeth Arden. Other notable companies she has served as a leader include Murad and Perricone MD, among others.   You can learn more about:    How to Be the CEO of an Iconic Cosmetic Brand The Career Journey of a Public Company CEO How to Lead a Hyper-Growth Company and Turn Around a Company   #BeautyCEO #CorporateLeadership #WomenInBusiness #HyperGrowth #BusinessTurnaround #OlaplexAlum ===================== 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.   🚀 This episode is brought to you by LG NOVA. 🚀   Get ready to ignite your passion for innovation at the 4th Annual InnoFest, happening at the iconic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on September 25th and 26th! This two-day event, brought to you by LG NOVA, is your chance to dive into the future with industry leaders and cutting-edge startups shaping HealthTech, AI, CleanTech, Life Sciences, Smart Life, Mobility, and more.   And here's something extra special—I'll be hosting a panel at InnoFest, guiding a dynamic discussion on the future of AI and the workforce. Join me, along with other thought leaders, as we explore the trends and technologies driving innovation and positive change.   Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to be part of the conversation and help create a brighter, more innovative tomorrow. Register today at innofest.lgnova.com  and be part of the movement at InnoFest 2024!

Jeetu Patel is Cisco's Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer. He combines a bold vision, steeped in product design and development expertise, operational rigor, and innate market understanding to create high growth businesses. He is relentlessly focused on building world class products that solve Cisco customers' biggest problems – bringing the power of the Cisco portfolio together to connect and protect every aspect of their organization in the era of AI. Previously he was Cisco's Executive Vice President and General Manager of Security and Collaboration where he led the strategy and development for these businesses and held P&L responsibility for the multibillion-dollar portfolio. In this role, Jeetu led with his creative vision and intense focus on innovation and swift execution. Together with his team, he transformed and positioned our Security and Collaboration portfolios for success and growth. In both areas, he reinvigorated organic innovation, championed key inorganic investments, and drove simplification across these portfolios with a fanatical focus on design and user experience. Prior to joining Cisco in 2020, Jeetu was the Chief Product Officer (CPO) and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Box, a role he pioneered. He led the company's product and platform strategy, setting the company's long-term vision and roadmap for cloud content management in the enterprise. He transformed Box from a single product application to a multi-product platform used by 100K customers representing 69% of the Fortune 500. The discipline, quality standards, performance metrics, and stability Jeetu instilled fueled the platform's growth – nearly quadrupling revenues to $700M+. Box's growth scaled to reach over 60M users with over 50% of customers using multiple products. He also created the Box Platform business unit where he led product strategy, marketing and developer relations – driving products from incubation stage to mature offerings. Before joining Box, Jeetu was General Manager and Chief Executive of EMC's newly acquired Syncplicity business unit, a cloud service for Enterprise File Sync Sharing (EFSS) and collaboration. One of the first SaaS-based solutions offered by EMC, Jeetu spearheaded the company's acquisition. He created a world class leadership team, secured some of the market's largest customers and led the group to become one of the fastest growing EFSS companies in a highly competitive market. Other key roles at EMC included CMO for the Information Intelligence Group and Chief Strategy Officer, where he drove the organic and inorganic strategy for the division's cloud and mobile growth. He currently serves on the boards of JLL, an American commercial real estate services company, and Equinix, the world's digital infrastructure company™.   You can learn more about:  1. Building World-Class Products 2. Leadership and Vision 3. Impact of AI   #Security #Cisco #VCpodcast #SaaS #TechLeadership ===================== 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. 🚀 This episode is brought to you by LG NOVA. 🚀   Get ready to ignite your passion for innovation at the 4th Annual InnoFest, happening at the iconic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on September 25th and 26th! This two-day event, brought to you by LG NOVA, is your chance to dive into the future with industry leaders and cutting-edge startups shaping HealthTech, AI, CleanTech, Life Sciences, Smart Life, Mobility, and more.   And here's something extra special—I'll be hosting a panel at InnoFest, guiding a dynamic discussion on the future of AI and the workforce. Join me, along with other thought leaders, as we explore the trends and technologies driving innovation and positive change.   Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to be part of the conversation and help create a brighter, more innovative tomorrow. Register today at innofest.lgnova.com  and be part of the movement at InnoFest 2024!    

Adam Coccari is the Managing Director of Intuit Ventures, Intuit's Venture Capital team responsible for overseeing Intuit's investment in startups around the world. Prior to Intuit, Adam spent 8 years at Microsoft where he was most recently a Partner at M12 – Microsoft's Venture Fund.   You can learn more about:    1. The future of AI in financial services 2. Trends in B2B SaaS and SMB-focused technologies 3. AI-driven innovation strategy   #VentureCapital #FinTech #AI #IntuitAssist #StartupInvesting #Innovation #SaaS ===================== 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. 🚀 This episode is brought to you by LG NOVA. 🚀   Get ready to ignite your passion for innovation at the 4th Annual InnoFest, happening at the iconic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on September 25th and 26th! This two-day event, brought to you by LG NOVA, is your chance to dive into the future with industry leaders and cutting-edge startups shaping HealthTech, AI, CleanTech, Life Sciences, Smart Life, Mobility, and more.   And here's something extra special—I'll be hosting a panel at InnoFest, guiding a dynamic discussion on the future of AI and the workforce. Join me, along with other thought leaders, as we explore the trends and technologies driving innovation and positive change.   Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to be part of the conversation and help create a brighter, more innovative tomorrow. Register today at innofest.lgnova.com  and be part of the movement at InnoFest 2024!

Sponsor spotlight: Welcome to the Smart Venture Podcast's sponsor spotlight, where we highlight the companies making our show possible. We're thrilled to feature LG Nova.  Sokwoo Rhee is Corporate Executive Vice President for Innovation at LG Electronics and Head of LG NOVA, LG Electronics' Silicon Valley-based innovation center. He leads LG Electronics' global innovation projects, new business creation, strategic partnerships, and ecosystem development. Prior to joining LG, Sokwoo served as Associate Director for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Innovation at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce, covering innovation programs for Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Cities. He managed the Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC), a U.S. federal government program to develop a global ecosystem of major business and technology stakeholders to create replicable and scalable IoT/smart city projects. Sokwoo previously served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow on CPS, a program by the White House. During his tenure, he co-led the SmartAmerica Challenge, which brought together IoT technologies and organizations across the nation to demonstrate how they can collaborate to create technology-based projects with a focus on socio-economic benefits. Prior to joining the U.S, government, Sokwoo was a co-founder and CTO of Millennial Net, Inc., one of the first organizations to successfully commercialize low-power wireless mesh/sensor networks and IoT technologies from academia. He also worked on wireless medical sensors as a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His work and achievements have been widely recognized and he has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the MIT Technology Review's "Top Innovators under 35." Dr. Rhee received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.   Topics: • Transforming Smart Life and Mobility • Measuring innovation impact • AI and the future of work   #InnoFest2024 #LGNova #AIFuture #SmartCities #FrontlineInnovation   ____________ 🚀 This episode is brought to you by LG NOVA. 🚀 Get ready to ignite your passion for innovation at the 4th Annual InnoFest, happening at the iconic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on September 25th and 26th! This two-day event, brought to you by LG NOVA, is your chance to dive into the future with industry leaders and cutting-edge startups shaping HealthTech, AI, CleanTech, Life Sciences, Smart Life, Mobility, and more. And here's something extra special—I'll be hosting a panel at InnoFest, guiding a dynamic discussion on the future of AI and the workforce. Join me, along with other thought leaders, as we explore the trends and technologies driving innovation and positive change.   Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to be part of the conversation and help create a brighter, more innovative tomorrow. Register today at innofest.lgnova.com and be part of the movement at InnoFest 2024!   ===================== 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.

Mark Rostick is a Vice President & Senior Managing Director located in Raleigh, NC. He is a voting member of Intel Capital's investment committee. He joined Intel Capital in 1999. Mark also co-manages our Cloud domain investment activities and portfolio. He has deep investment experience in cloud applications, infrastructure hardware and software, as well as AI/ML. As a member of Intel Capital's Investment Committee, he is responsible for approving investments proposed by Intel Capital investors, as well as managing the group's personnel and operations. Mark currently serves as a director or observer on the boards of Beep, RunPod, Hypersonic, Immuta, Lilt, MinIO, Opaque Systems, Tetrate, and Verta. Prior to Intel, Mark worked as a practicing attorney and in banking.   You can learn more about:   How to invest in the top AI/ML companies How to build a successful career in corporate venture The evolving landscape of enterprise software investments   #IntelCapital #VentureCapital #TechInvestment #CloudComputing #AI #ML   ===================== 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.   🚀 This episode is brought to you by LG NOVA. 🚀   Get ready to ignite your passion for innovation at the 4th Annual InnoFest, happening at the iconic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on September 25th and 26th! This two-day event, brought to you by LG NOVA, is your chance to dive into the future with industry leaders and cutting-edge startups shaping HealthTech, AI, CleanTech, Life Sciences, Smart Life, Mobility, and more.   And here's something extra special—I'll be hosting a panel at InnoFest, guiding a dynamic discussion on the future of AI and the workforce. Join me, along with other thought leaders, as we explore the trends and technologies driving innovation and positive change.   Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to be part of the conversation and help create a brighter, more innovative tomorrow. Register today at innofest.lgnova.com  and be part of the movement at InnoFest 2024!

Puneet Agarwal brings a strong mix of operational and investment experience to his partner role at True. He began his career as a product manager at CrossWorlds Software, an early startup focused on software integration, which was sold to IBM. He then spent time in technology investment banking at J.P. Morgan and later in venture capital at the Mayfield Fund, where he invested in early stage technology companies. Puneet spent four years at BEA Systems in various product management and marketing roles in which he initiated and ran BEA's RFID initiative. Following BEA, he joined Geodesic Information Systems, a mobile messaging company, where he filled the role of vice president of product management. As part of his work, he moved to India for several months. He joined the True team in 2008. Puneet holds a bachelor's degree and master's degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University, where he was a Mayfield Fellow.    You can learn more about: Trends and Opportunities in Early-Stage Investing 2. Due diligence on early-stage companies 3. Evaluating Founding Teams    ===================== 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.

Ian Sigalow is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Greycroft. He has over 20 years of experience in seed-to-growth venture capital, investing in and supporting innovative companies across multiple sectors, including fintech, consumer marketplaces, enterprise software, healthcare, insurance, and media.   You can learn more about:   How to build an iconic VC fund How to hire and train the best investing talent How to identify, attract, and pick the best companies to invest in ===================== 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.

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.