Webinar
Yoshino Ventures: Intro to the Fund
Watch this presentation about Yoshino Ventures, Alumni Ventures’ fund for University of Washington alumni and friends of the community. The discussion is led by Yoshino Ventures Managing Partner Ray Wu.
During this session, we discussed:
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Post-Webinar Summary
In a webinar, Mark Edwards, Chief Investment Officer at Alumni Ventures, and Professor Ilia Reev of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, discussed venture capital and Reev’s new book, “The Venture Mindset”. Edwards highlighted the importance of venture capital, stating that it has demonstrated superior performance over time compared to public equity markets. He also noted that venture capital is largely uncorrelated with public market equity securities, making it an attractive investment option. Reev discussed the principles of venture capital decision-making, emphasizing the importance of a “prepared mind” and the ability to make contrarian decisions. He also highlighted the significance of evaluating management teams, stating that charisma and resilience are key traits to look for in founders.
- HomeThe goal and structure of the fund
- HomeThe value of the Alumni Ventures’ model
- HomeSome examples of current portfolio companies
- HomeThe benefits of diversifying into venture capital
- HomeThe minimum requirements needed to invest in the fund
* You must be accredited to invest in venture capital. Important disclosure information can be found at avg-funds.com/disclosures.
About your presenters
Ray is a seasoned venture capitalist with over 20 years of investing experience across a wide range of industries and geographies. Before joining Alumni Ventures, Ray was a partner and adviser at several global venture funds focusing on investment opportunities across the U.S. and Asia Pacific. Earlier, he spent more than 10 years in the corporate venture space: He worked at HP — where he served as the managing director for the tech giant’s venture arm, responsible for startup technology evaluation, new business incubation, VC relationships, and minority investments — and earlier at Cisco Systems, holding several senior positions leading investment, M&A, internal incubation, and global consulting. Previously, Ray was a managing partner of a leading Internet consulting firm working with Fortune 1000 companies across North America. He earned a dual MBA degree from the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University.
Sophia dived into the exciting world of Crypto in 2017 when she joined Galaxy Digital’s advisory team, supporting a portfolio of blockchain startup clients with fund-raising, investor relations, and ICO preparation. She continued building her crypto deal flow and book of investor contacts during her tenure at Huobi US and Crypto.com’s exchange, working with institutional clients such as crypto hedge funds, high frequency traders on market-making, and volume trading initiatives. Sophia comes from a background of business development and corporate development, having worked with CXOs and Entrepreneurs on their financing and business strategies. She’s a mentor with Yale’s Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking, as well as an active participant in startup communities such as Techstars, 500 Startups, and Plug and Play. She holds a BBA from Simon Fraser University, an MBA from University of British Columbia, and an MAM from Yale School of Management.