PitchBook Analyst Insights for Emerging, Diverse, and Impact Managers

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On September 24, 2021, General Partner of Born Global Ventures, Dr. Sunny Zhang was joined by Rebecca Springer, PhD and Hilary Wiek, members of the PitchBook institutional research team, for a virtual event. Rebecca and Hilary delivered their invaluable insights for Emerging, Diverse and Impact Managers, and the key topics discussed were:

  • Current VC fundraising trends 
  • Fundraising advice for emerging managers and how to build an effective pitch
  • Options on seeding and anchoring
  • Considerations for diverse managers
  • Sustainable Investing and tagging impact funds

Dr. Rebecca Springer is a Private Equity Analyst at PitchBook. She leads the team’s healthcare coverage and contributes to PitchBook’s quarterly PE and M&A market updates. Rebecca’s insights have been cited in publications including Institutional Investor and Buyouts, and she has published several peer-reviewed academic papers. She has earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a master’s from the University of Cambridge, and a doctorate from the University of Oxford.

Hilary Wiek, CFA, CAIA is the Lead Analyst for Fund Strategies and Performance at PitchBook. She also heads up PitchBook’s coverage of the ESG/Impact Investing space. With over 20 years of experience in asset owner, manager and advisory roles, Hilary was previously the Director of Investments at Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations, where she handled portfolio management, impact/ESG, investment diligence and monitoring, and investment operations.

A massive thank you to our Event Partners, PitchBook Data, business angel Minority association – baMa, First Bight Ventures, Global Energy Mentors (GEM), Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, Sutton Capital, The Cannon Community, Women in AI USA and Born Global Global for their unconditional support. 

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Circle Time: Share and Ask

Being a founder comes with lots of challenges; whether you’re at the “idea on a napkin” stage or ready to exit, there are so many decisions to make! On September 17, 2021, Born Global startup evangelist Amanda Moya hosted a safe and intimate session on, “Circle Time: Share and Ask” AKA “This is NOT a Pitch Competition” for founders and funders to share what they’re focused on and ask for the support they needed to make the next big step. Our inclusive community is committed to connecting innovators from ALL backgrounds so that we can help each other solve our biggest problems.

Amanda is the Member Experience Manager at The Cannon Community, who ensures members are able to connect with the people and resources they need in order for their companies to thrive. Prior to joining the Cannon, Amanda was the Program Manager of Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship (WCE) at the University of Houston, the No. 1 undergraduate entrepreneurship program in the United States. She has helped numerous aspiring entrepreneurs pursue their dreams through this distinguished program by creating a quality experiential learning atmosphere. Amanda is also a successful entrepreneur herself, running her family tutoring business Aspire Advancement Center.


We thank our event partners, Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, Global Energy Mentors (GEM), Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, The Cannon Community, Women in AI USA and Born Global Global for their continued support.

Please join our Slack space and sign up for our Newsletter to learn more about Born Global events and connect with amazing members of our community!

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How to Grow a Career in Venture Capital and Private Equity

On September 10, 2021, we were joined by Joel Palathinkal, PhD, CEO of Sutton Capital for our Born Global event where he talked about how to grow a career in Venture Capital and Private Equity, regardless of one’s current profession or previous background. The event was hosted by the General Partner of Born Global Ventures, Dr. Sunny Zhang.

Joel has been doing incredible work to democratise access to VC and PE for more diverse investors. He is a seasoned investor and entrepreneur affiliated with a global network of Single-Family Offices, High Net Worth Investors, Endowments, and Venture Capitalists. Joel also serves as an LP & mentor to emerging fund managers. Early in Joel’s career, he ran technology product innovation in Fintech, Artificial Intelligence, & for the Dept. of Defense. He completed his PhD in Modeling & Simulation while he was building flight simulators for the NAVY.

A massive thank you to our event partners, business angel Minority association – baMa,  First Bight Ventures, Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, Global Energy Mentors (GEM), Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, The Cannon Community, and Born Global Global for their unconditional support.

Watch the replay here.

Please join our Slack space and sign up for our Newsletter to learn more about Born Global events and connect with amazing members of our community!

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What’s Wrong with Venture Capital?

On September 3, 2021, Founder and CEO of AngelSpan and The Legacy Funds, Joe Milam and  Managing Director of Silicon Valley Data Capital, Lara Druyan joined us for our Born Global event to talk through the realistic situation of what is wrong with venture capital. The event was hosted by the General Partner of Born Global Ventures, Dr. Sunny Zhang. Some of the topics covered in the event were:

  • Why hasn’t the industry that prides itself on funding innovation not innovated itself
  • The misaligned incentives between GPs and LPs and their implications
  • Looking to public markets and applying its best governance practices to the private industry
  • Why do we need to think of VC as an “asset class” vs an “access class”

With a background in financial analysis, portfolio design and management, financial markets, and angel investing, Joe is now applying his 29 years of working as a securities analyst/money manager/philanthropy consultant to address the inefficiencies in the entrepreneurial funding ecosystem. Joe is addressing the chronic ‘information gap’ typical of early-stage companies by delivering the best-in-class Investor Relations and delivering the first institutionally rigorous solution for allocating capital to the venture asset class – regardless of the investment thesis.

Before joining her current position, Lara was the Head of Innovation for Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) where she built a team to drive and accelerate bank-wide digital transformation.  Previously, Lara also served as a Venture Partner or Advisor to several funds and as a Venture Advisor to SRI International where she helped them conceive of, launch, and incubate new ventures. In addition to her stellar leadership experience, Lara also has an exemplary record of nonprofit service focused on closing gender gaps and lowering barriers to career advancement. 

We would like to thank our event partners, The Cannon Community, First Bight Ventures, Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce,  Global Energy Mentors (GEM),  Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, Women in AI USA, and Born Global Global for their kind support. 

Watch the replay here.

Please join our Slack space and sign up for our Newsletter to learn more about Born Global events and connect with amazing members of our community!

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