Webinar
Invest in the Future with Emmet Street Ventures
Join our on-demand presentation to learn about Emmet Street Ventures. This is an excellent opportunity to meet the team and hear about their approach to investing in private-stage companies. This presentation will be led by Managing Partner Chris Sklarin.
See video policy below.
Post Webinar Summary
Chris Sklarin, Managing Partner at Emmett Street and Fowler Street Ventures (part of Alumni Ventures), introduced a webinar overviewing the two venture funds. He emphasized their focus on helping accredited investors succeed in venture investing. The funds, Emmett Street and Fowler Street, aim to create wealth for University of Virginia and Georgia Tech alumni by building diversified portfolios of venture-backed companies. Chris outlined their strategy of supporting these communities through investment opportunities, education, and networking. He was joined by colleagues Meera and Darshan, who shared their backgrounds in consulting, tech, and finance, highlighting their experience in venture capital. They also discussed several portfolio companies, showcasing their diversified approach and collaboration with top-tier venture firms.
During this session, we will cover:
- HomeThe goal and structure of the fund
- HomeEmmet Street and Alumni Ventures approach to investing
- HomeSome examples of current portfolio companies
- HomeThe benefits of diversifying into venture capital
- HomeThe minimum requirements needed to invest in the fund
Note: You must be accredited to invest in venture capital. Important disclosure information can be found at av-funds.com/disclosures.
About your presenters
Overview
Chris Sklarin is Managing Partner of the Castor Fund at Alumni Ventures, where for over seven years he has led investments in transformative technology companies redefining how we compute, communicate, and cure. He has deployed more than $120 million across all stages—from seed to growth—building Castor Ventures and expanding the portfolio to over 150 companies. The Castor portfolio features industry leaders such as Algorand, Boldin, Capital RX, Enable, Groq, Ocient, Qedma, RapidSOS, Synchron, and Unlearn AI, each tackling high-impact problems with ambitious solutions.
With over 20 years in venture capital and more than a decade in product development and sales engineering, Chris has also held venture roles focused on enterprise and mobile investments, served as Director of Business Development at a biomedical venture accelerator and an early-stage firm, and sourced seed-stage deals at JumpStart, a nationally recognized venture development organization in Cleveland. Chris holds an SB in Electrical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
Funds actively worked on
- Castor Ventures
- Syndications
Investment Areas of Focus:
Chris targets companies at the forefront of software, AI, data infrastructure, and connectivity, backing teams that are not just innovating but reengineering the physical and digital infrastructure powering the modern world. He believes the next generation of breakthrough companies will emerge from foundational shifts in technology and is committed to supporting the leaders driving that transformation.
A core component of Chris’s strategy is leveraging the powerful innovation engine of the MIT ecosystem. As an MIT alumnus, he taps this network to source compelling investment opportunities and connect with top-tier investors. Chris’s investment approach is informed by his early career as a software and sales engineer, with technical expertise in databases, telecom systems, and software architecture. This hands-on background sharpens his diligence and ability to assess technical complexity and market viability.
Senior Partner
Darrin is an investment professional with an extensive background in financial services and B2B. Throughout his 25 year career, he has worked with individual investors, investment advisors and their clients, and institutional (foundations and endowments) clients, with various investment vehicles including mutual funds, separately managed accounts, socially responsible portfolios, and alternative investments. He earned a BA in Economics & Public Management from UMaine and an MBA from Boston College.
Principal, Emmet Street
Darshan has over a decade of experience serving as an early-stage investor and financial services professional. Prior to Alumni Ventures, Darshan was the Head of Investments at H/L Ventures for the firm’s venture studio, H/L Studio, and growth funds, CityRock Venture Partners. Darshan specialized in early-stage opportunities across sectors, including Fintech, Healthcare, Energy Infrastructure, and enterprise SaaS. Darshan led the firm’s multi-faceted investment strategy and provided advisory services to entrepreneurs on go-to-market, growth strategy, and business development. Prior to joining H/L Ventures, Darshan was an MBA Associate at Scout Ventures, focusing on seed-stage investments in dual-use frontier technologies. Before transitioning to Venture Capital, Darshan worked in Deutsche Bank’s Sales & Trading practice, serving as a Relationship Manager to some of the world’s leading asset managers, pension funds, and insurance companies. At Deutsche Bank, Darshan helped clients optimize their portfolio alpha through equity and debt lending strategies. Darshan holds his MBA from Georgetown University and his B.S. in Finance from Rutgers University.
Meera has 10 years of experience serving as an investor and consultant to technology startups and enterprises. Prior to Alumni Ventures, Meera was a Manager at Deloitte Consulting where she led strategy teams that advised the world’s largest technology companies. Some of her projects include optimizing a $1T global social media company’s data center operations, leading the global rebrand of a telecom provider’s cloud offerings, and building a national healthcare exchange. She led sales proposals to help a semiconductor company shift to a subscription business model and enhance AR/VR capabilities of a social media company. At Apple, Meera helped launch Apple Arcade, preparing investment materials for Tim Cook to support the acquisition of multi-million dollar games. She has also worked with several early stage venture funds focused on media, consumer technology, and health/wellness technology sectors. She has an MBA in Finance from Wharton and a BS in Management Science from SMU.