Venture Capital

Get 1:1 fundraising advice and feedback from founders and investors.

Joe Coyne

Joe Coyne

General Partner – Studio VC, Venture Capitalist
Studio VC
Bain Capital

Joe Coyne is a Venture Capitalist focused on helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses from day one to exit. Joe’s experience spans Venture Capital, Private Equity and Investment Banking, having started his career on Wall Street and transitioned to finding his passion for investing at B...read more

$125 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Max Samuel

Max Samuel

Partner – Snö Ventures, Venture Capitalist
SNÖ
Thiel Capital

Max Samuel is a venture capitalist and lawyer. He has formerly worked at Thiel Capital (Peter Thiel’s investment office), Wilson Sonsini and Credit Suisse, and attended Yale University, Penn Law School and Wharton. Max is passionate about mentoring both startup founders and people looking ...read more

$175 / 30 mins

Available on November 2

Roy Chung

Roy Chung

Co-founder – Apollo.io, SaaS Expert
Apollo
Y Combinator

Roy Chung is the co-founder and former COO of Apollo.io, a $1.6B unicorn sales automation startup backed by Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, and Bain Capital, among others. Roy is also a General Partner at JoyFund and LP in multiple VC funds like Pioneer, GTM, and LionHeart. Before founding ...read more

$425 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Sam Hodges

Sam Hodges

Founder – Vouch, InsurTech Expert
Vouch
Y Combinator

Sam Hodges is the co-founder and CEO of Vouch, a venture-backed commercial insurance business focused on serving the needs of high-growth companies. Previously, Sam served as co-founder and U.S. Managing Director for Funding Circle, a leading global lending platform for small businesses, w...read more

$350 / 30 mins

Available next Wednesday

Dave Anderson

Dave Anderson

Partner – Beat Ventures, Venture Capitalist
Beat Ventures
Toyota Ventures

David Anderson is the founding partner of Beat Ventures, an early-stage venture fund that invests in startups reshaping the future of work. Prior to this, he was an investor at Toyota Ventures, and the co-founder of Bamboo, Detroit’s first co-working space for entrepreneurs. He holds an MB...read more

$125 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Edvard Engesaeth

Edvard Engesaeth

Co-founder – Nurx, Y Combinator Alum
NURX.
Union Square Ventures

Dr. Edvard "Eddie" Engeseath, MD is the Co-founder of telehealth startup Nurx, angel investor, startup advisor, and a former family physician. He founded Nurx to make prescription birth control more accessible. The company has since grown into a full-service telehealth startup in the presc...read more

$425 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Colin Rogister

Colin Rogister

Partner – Beat Ventures, Venture Capitalist
Beat Ventures
Maven Ventures

Colin Rogister is the founding partner of Beat Ventures, an early-stage venture fund that invests in startups reshaping the future of work. Prior to Beat Ventures, Colin was an investor at Maven Ventures and served as a technology advisor in the Obama White House’s National Economic Counci...read more

$225 / 30 mins

Available on Thursday

Amir Tarighat

Amir Tarighat

Co-founder & CEO – Agency, Y Combinator Alum
Agency
Y Combinator

Amir Tarighat is the co-founder and CEO of Agency, an enterprise cybersecurity startup backed by Y Combinator (W22). He is a software developer and cybersecurity expert who enjoys advising founders on early-stage sales, GTM, and fundraising. Amir graduated from Harvard University with a de...read more

$175 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Amit Garg

Amit Garg

Partner – Tau Ventures, Venture Capitalist
Tau Ventures
Google

Amit Garg's career in technology spans over 20+ years in Silicon Valley. As a venture capitalist he has focused on seed-stage applied AI investments in digital health, automation and enterprises. Some of his key successes are nuTonomy (seed, sold for $450M) at Samsung NEXT Ventures and Mis...read more

$300 / 30 mins

Available on October 13

T Zhu

T Zhu

Co-founder & CEO – Tellus, Fintech & Proptech Expert
Tellus
Zazzle

T Zhu is the co-founder of Tellus, a smart savings platform powered by real estate backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Alumni Ventures and Decent Capital. He previously founded and scaled a number of companies, including Sodacan, a social consumer mobile app startup that released Sip, an anonym...read more

$125 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Anada Lakra

Anada Lakra

Founder & CEO – BoldVoice, Y Combinator Alum
Boldvoice
Y Combinator

Anada Lakra is the co-founder and CEO of BoldVoice, a Y Combinator-backed startup that provides accent training to non-native English speakers. Anada previously worked as a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co. and as a product manager at Peloton. She graduated with honors from Harvard Bus...read more

$175 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Ryan Mendoza

Ryan Mendoza

Partner – Scrum Ventures, Venture Capitalist
Scrum Ventures
Miles

Ryan Mendoza is a Partner at Scrum Ventures, a Japanese fund investing in US startups. Previously, Ryan worked at a university accelerator called PCI Ventures, where he was in charge of spinning out companies based on technology developed at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to that, h...read more

$125 / 30 mins

Available on Friday

Wil Eyi

Wil Eyi

Co-founder & CEO – Toolbox,
Toolbox
Y Combinator

Wil Eyi is the CEO and co-founder of Toolbox, a Y Combinator-backed startup building a vertical Fintech platform. The company has raised $18M in debt and equity. Prior to founding Toolbox, Wil worked in private equity at Walburg Pincus and as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Wil hold...read more

$125 / 30 mins

Available on Saturday

Jacob Jaber

Jacob Jaber

Co-founder – Philz Coffee, Investor and Forbes 30 Under 30
Philz Coffee
TPG

Jacob Jaber is the Co-Founder & Chairman of Philz Coffee. As CEO for nearly two decades, Jacob grew Philz from the original coffee shop in San Francisco's Mission District to more than 70 locations across the country. Jacob has raised more than $100 million in funding from investors. Jacob...read more

$425 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Sascha Eder

Sascha Eder

Founder & CEO – NewtonX, Ex-McKinsey Consultant
NewtonX
McKinsey & Company

Sascha Eder is the founder and CEO of NewtonX, a B2B enterprise research startup that has raised $40M+ in venture capital. Prior to NewtonX, Sascha was a management consultant spending time at both McKinsey & Co. and the Boston Consulting Group, as well as as a financial analyst at P&G. He...read more

$250 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Mahsa Rostami

Mahsa Rostami

Founder & CEO – Revero, AI Engineer
Revero
Andreessen Horowitz

Mahsa Rostami is the founder and CEO of Revero, a digital health startup backed by a16z and Goodwater Capital. Her personal health transformation inspired her to found Revero. Prior to founding Revero, Mahsa worked as an AI engineer in Silicon Valley, specializing in the development of AI ...read more

$125 / 30 mins

Available on November 2

Bill Capsalis

Bill Capsalis

Board Member - Naturally Boulder, F&B Expert
Naturally Boulder
Foundermade

Bill Capsalis is a recognized expert in healthy lifestyles and go-to-market strategies in the natural product industry. He was previously the CEO of Haystack Mountain Creamery - an artisanal goat cheese company and saw the company through a sale in early 2021. Today he is the Executive Dir...read more

$125 / 30 mins

Available on Friday

Sasha Tan

Sasha Tan

Founder – C.riously, Retail & Ecommerce Expert
C.Riously
500 Startups

Sasha Tan is the founder of C.riously, a company that makes nutritious health snacks. She previously founded Favful (a personalized beauty care platform), which was backed by Segnel Ventures, Gobi Partners, and 500 Global before it was acquired by iMedia in 2022. She is a serial entreprene...read more

$125 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Rune Hauge

Rune Hauge

CEO – Mentorcam, Y Combinator Alum
Mentorcam
Y Combinator

Rune Hauge is the co-founder and CEO of Mentorcam (YC S21), angel investor, and startup advisor. Before co-founding Mentorcam, Rune founded three different startups with one successful exit as a founder. He has raised millions of dollars in venture capital from top-tier Silicon Valley VCs ...read more

$125 / 30 mins

Available next Tuesday

Ryan McManus

Ryan McManus

CEO – SHARE Mobility, Mobility Expert
SHARE Mobility
NCT Ventures

Ryan McManus is the co-founder and CEO of SHARE Mobility, a transportation-as-a-service subscription for cities and businesses. Prior to founding SHARE Mobility, Ryan worked as the Marketing Director for Kern International, an enterprise-grade logistics and office equipment supplier with a...read more

$100 / 30 mins

Available on November 2

Lorenzo Thione

Lorenzo Thione

Managing Director – Gaingels, Angel Investor
Gaingels
Microsoft

I am a venture investor, operator and expert in Artificial Intelligence and Managing Partner at Gaingels, one of the most active investing networks fostering social change in venture. I am a founder and operator first, having co-founded Powerset, a pioneering AI company that developed one...read more

$225 / 30 mins

Available on October 13

Alec Lee

Alec Lee

Co-founder & CEO – Endless West, F&B Expert
Endless West
Extem

Alec Lee is the co-founder and CEO of Endless West, a beverage startup that creates its own unique blend of wines and spirits using scientific production methods. The whiskey has won 14 awards, and the company has raised more than $100 million in funding from IndieBio, SOSV, Horizon Ventur...read more

$225 / 30 mins

Available on Thursday

Alexandra Zatarain

Alexandra Zatarain

Co-founder – Eight Sleep, Y Combinator Alum
Eight Sleep
Y Combinator

Alexandra Zatarain is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Brand and Marketing at Eight Sleep, the world's first sleep fitness company. Eight Sleep solves sleep's most pressing issues through innovation and cutting-edge technology. The Pod, its best-selling product, has a cult-like followi...read more

$350 / 30 mins

Available on Friday

Billy Bosch

Billy Bosch

Founder – ICONIC Protein, CPG Marketing Expert
Iconic
Whole Foods

William (Billy) Bosch is a consumer products entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience launching products, scaling into retail and e-commerce, and raising money. He is most known for founding ICONIC – one of the largest natural protein supplement brands in the United States. Starting w...read more

$250 / 30 mins

Available on Thursday

Bryan Wilcox

Bryan Wilcox

Co-founder & CTO – Tovala, Y Combinator Alum
Tovala
Y Combinator

Bryan Wilcox is a co-founder and the former CTO of Tovala, a food-tech company that saves people time with a smart oven and paired meal service. Tovala has raised $70M in venture funding from Y Combinator, Comcast Ventures, Interplay, Origin Ventures and Left Lane Capital. Prior to Tovala,...read more

$125 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Carl Carell

Carl Carell

Co-founder & CRO – GetAccept, Y Combinator Alum
GetAccept
Y Combinator

Carl Carell is the Co-founder and CRO of GetAccept, an all-in-one digital sales room platform helps salespeople win more B2B deals. GetAccept has raised more than $30M in venture funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Y Combinator, Amino Capital and DN Capital. Carl has co-founded several...read more

$225 / 30 mins

Available tomorrow

Lisa Curtis

Lisa Curtis

Founder & CEO – Kuli Kuli, Forbes 30 Under 30
Kuli Kuli
Forbes

Lisa Curtis is the founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli, the leading brand pioneering the superfood moringa in the US market. She began working on Kuli Kuli while in the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa. As a volunteer in her village’s health center, she gained an understanding of nutritional cha...read more

$175 / 30 mins

Available on Friday

Robin Daniels

Robin Daniels

CMO - WeWork, Matterport, Growth and GTM Expert
WeWork
Matterport

Robin is a three-time CMO with more than 20 years of experience in marketing and growth leadership roles at companies like Salesforce, Box, LinkedIn, Matterport, and WeWork. He's done 3 IPOs, several acquisitions, and led companies through hyper-growth to become household names. Robin now ...read more

$425 / 30 mins

Available on Thursday

What Do Venture Capitalists Do?

A venture capitalist funds early-stage companies in exchange for equity. VCs evaluate potential investment opportunities based on a wide range of factors, including the size of the market opportunity, the reliability of the business model, and perhaps most importantly, the strength of the founding team. After investing, many venture capitalists also take an active role in helping founders grow their companies. Every VC’s ultimate goal is to achieve a positive return on investment for each startup they invest in — preferably a very large one.

What are the roles at a VC Firm?

There are three main roles within a VC firm:

Partners

Partners, sometimes called venture partners in VC contexts, are senior venture capitalists who manage the firm’s investment portfolio and often work directly with portfolio companies to help them grow successfully. Partners are also responsible for raising funds for the VC firm from institutional investors, and are heavily involved in identifying and evaluating new investment opportunities. Partners often have a niche area of interest, such as specific industry or location in which they prefer to invest. 

Partners can either be general partners — who take on an active role in helping to manage the firm — or limited partners — who take on a more passive day-to-day role, but still may contribute to portfolio decisions to protect their investments.

Principals

Principals are mid-level investors who work with partners to identify and evaluate potential investment opportunities. They also help to negotiate acquisitions and exits with portfolio companies. Principals often sit on the VC firm’s board, and are responsible for making sure the firm continues to operate smoothly in general. Usually, principals are working toward becoming partners — a promotion which is earned based on the returns a principal generates for the firm with the investment deals they make.

Associates

Associates are lower-level members of the VC firm who typically come from backgrounds in finance or business consulting. They are not directly involved in making key portfolio decisions, but they play an important role in analyzing business models, market trends, and other factors that help partners and principals make informed investment decisions. Associates may also provide similar analysis services to portfolio companies to help them grow more efficiently.

What Can a Venture Funding Mentor Do for You?

A VC mentor can use their experience in the venture capital world to support your startup in numerous ways, from helping you develop your pitch to providing guidance as you identify the right VC firms for fundraising. For example, a VC mentor can help you determine which VC firms or angel investors you should approach based on their areas of focus. A venture capital mentor can also be an indispensable resource as you prepare for the process of due diligence and negotiating terms with investors.

Beyond helping you navigate investment deals with VC firms, a VC mentor can also offer advice as you handle internal startup decisions. One of the most common internal points of contention early in the life of a company is how to split equity among co-founders. A VC mentor provided through Mentorcam can help you navigate initial financial hurdles like these so your team and company remain strong.

Related areas of interest: Fundraising