Stanford VC Unlocked: Silicon Valley

About

The entrepreneurship center known as the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) is situated within Stanford's School of Engineering. This renowned program, founded in 1996 by Professor Tom Byers and collaborators, is housed in the Department of Management Science and Engineering. It comprises faculty and PhD students, forming a leading global research initiative in entrepreneurship. The center's primary focus is to expedite high-technology entrepreneurship research and education, catering specifically to engineers and scientists on a global scale.

VC Unlocked: Silicon Valley is an invite-only investor training initiative for emerging leaders aspiring to shape the future of the venture capital industry. This program is led by Stanford University faculty Michael Lepech, Mike Lyons, Trevor Loy, Pedram Mokrian, and 500 Startups' Managing Partners Christine Tsai and Bedy Yang.

Boasting over a decade of experience, 500 Global generously shares its playbook to empower venture capitalists and angel investors, instilling the confidence required for informed investment decisions.

The program is facilitated by Stanford University faculty and leaders from 500 Global. These sessions are designed to be live and interactive, blending theoretical knowledge with real-world simulated exercises. This approach aids investors in refining and optimizing their investment strategies.

In 2019, exploring the venture capital landscape made me realize that fundraising and networking played pivotal roles in advancing mobile projects and bringing forth unicorns. This realization inspired the creation of LA Fund, an agile accelerator and VC fund introducing the HaaS model (Hospitality Tech as a Service). LAF nurtures, accelerates, and expeditiously scales tech startups within its expansive ecosystem. The enterprise swiftly established an extensive network, fostering collaborations with notable entities such as the University of Las Vegas, 500 Startups, the American Nightlife Association, Blackfire Innovation, Intel, and Questex. Additionally, this journey allowed me to participate in the Stanford VC Unlocked program jointly organized by Stanford University and 500 Startups, the world's largest early-stage VC, where I successfully obtained my VC certificate.