Topher Conway is a Co-Managing Partner of SV Angel, one of Silicon Valley's leading seed funds with investments in the likes of Facebook, AirBnB, Twitter, Dropbox and many more. At SV Angel, Topher works particularly close with Gusto, Github, Lookout and many more incredible companies. He was included in Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 in 2015. Prior to SV Angel, he worked at EQAL, Inc. At EQAL, he worked with the Business Development and Sales teams and lead efforts in creating new business opportunities. Prior to EQAL, he held positions at eCost and a 2004 summer internship in Google's Direct Sales Organization. He is also a member of the UCLA VC Fund, helping foster entrepreneurship at the University.
In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Topher made his way into the wonderful world of VC and came to be Managing Partner @ SV Angel?
2.) How has the rise of the pre-seed market affected Topher's access to deals? How has Topher reacted to the creation of this new market segment with their new fund size?
3.) How does Topher evaluate grit within founders? Do Topher and SV prefer serial or first-time founders? How does Topher and SV approach startup pivots? Where is the line between stubbornness and vision?
4.) To what extent does Topher focus on valuation and ownership? Why does he believe that it is not important at this stage? What is his determinant to see whether it will be a problem?
5.) To what extent has Topher witnessed the Series A Crunch? Where does he see gaps in the investment landscape? Why does Topher not have a problem with bridge rounds?
Items Mentioned In Today’s Show:
Topher’s Fave Book: The Score Takes Care Of Itself
Topher's Most Recent Investment: BetterUp
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