Fred is the Chief Innovation and Partnerships officer at Caltech where he oversees the Tech Transfer office and recently set up two new funds : The Caltech Fund and the Wilson and Hill fund.
LA Pre-Seed Investors
Jackie Fast — Sandbox Studios
I learned so much about working with celebrities from Jackie Fast at Sandbox Studios :
* Celebrities are not doing this for impact. It is for the money
* George Cloney’s $1B payday from Casamigoes caught everyone’s attention
* It’s not only about choosing the right celebrity, it’s also about having the right team around them
* Celebrities are so eager to work with startups, they are resorting to DMs
* Celebrities and startup collaboration is going to explode
Greg Kubin — PsyMed Ventures
Greg Kubin — PsyMed Ventures
Brad Zions — Pitbull Ventures
Should we be pouring massive amounts of time and money into web3 or is it just technology looking for a use case?
Pitbull Ventures founder Brad Zions is also the producer of Kissing Jessica Stein and the co-founder of Lemonade restaurants. He tells us why movies and restaurants are bad investments and why, in his opinion, web3 is even worse.
Will Bumpus — Concrete Rose
Will Bumpus from Concrete Rose joins us today. Concrete Rose has grown quickly and is now leading rounds with $1-2M checks to support a virtuous cycle of wealth and opportunity for underrepresented communities of color.
Will tells us about his own focus on sustainability and where that came from in his life. He also shares why he and his partners may (hopefully) be part of a growing trend of VCs pledging a percent of their carry (50%!) to give back to nonprofits.
Kyle Lui — Bling Capital
Another great example of top Silicon Valley talent moving to LA! Kyle Lui was a partner at multi-billion dollar DCM until he left to join Ben Ling at Bling Capital. He shares thoughts on how a small fund can still build best in class playbooks and...
Paige Craig — Outlander VC
Paige Craig shares his amazing story of sneaking into Iraq dressed as a CNN reporter, how he built a private military from scratch inside Baghdad and then how he parlayed that exit into an incredible investing career that includes Wish, Scale, Gusto, AngelList and many others.
Karan Wadhera — Casa Verde
Karan Wadhera — Casa Verde
Matilda Sung– Ludis Capital
Ludis Capital founder Matilda Sung is investing $500k - 1M at the intersection of sports media and technology. She explains how the NFL compares its social media efforts to those of other leagues, how sports betting is different in the US than in other countries...
Ed Wilson — Impulsum Ventures
One of everyone’s favorites, Ed Wilson, joins to talk to about Impulsum Ventures, how they’ve built a venture firm alongside a 30-person dev shop and his sunny approach to life.
Joanne Wilson — Gotham Gal
The Gotham Gal herself, Joanne Wilson, tells us that department stores are dead, but gives us a glimpse into the future and her own upcoming cannabis store that will pair your cannabis with your needs, mood and even the food you’re serving that night.
We also cover the state of VC today and much more.
Cody Simms — MCJ Collective
Earth’s population has doubled in Cody’s lifetime. 96% of mammals on earth are now humans and livestock. China emits more greenhouse gases than all other countries combined.
This and much more from Cody at MCJ Collective.
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