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What Is Venture Capital?

Masterclass Shorts from Alumni Ventures

Masterclass Shorts: What Is Venture Capital?
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Alumni Ventures

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Discover how venture capital fuels innovation and economic growth by backing groundbreaking companies from their earliest stages.

What is Venture Capital?

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Dive into the transformative world of venture capital with this engaging video, revealing how early investments have fueled iconic companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon. Uncover the basics of venture capital, its role as a powerful economic driver, and its potential to shape the future. Watch now to see how venture investing creates opportunities and drives innovation

Watch Time ~3 minutes

Featuring

Laura Rippy
Laura Rippy
Managing Partner, Alumni Ventures Board Member

Laura Rippy is a Managing Partner and Board Member at Alumni Ventures. She runs the Harvard-focused fund (The Yard Ventures), the Dartmouth-focused fund (Green D Ventures), the Women's Fund at Alumni Ventures, and our US Strategic Tech fund. Alumni Ventures is "America's Largest Venture Firm for Individuals" with $1.5B raised, and 1500 portfolio companies. AV is one of the top 3 most active venture capital firms globally, per Pitchbook 2018-24. Previously, Laura was a serial CEO, Chairman, Board Member, Advisor, and Executive in high-technology companies including Microsoft. Business Insider ranked Laura in the Best Early Stage Investors of 2024 and 2025. Laura Rippy holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB in Government from Dartmouth College.

Luke Antal
Luke Antal
Co-Founder & Chief Community Officer

Luke is a Co-Founder and the Chief Community Officer of Alumni Ventures and an experienced startup and tech executive with a focus on marketing, sales operations, and customer experience.

Michael Collins
Michael Collins
CEO, Alumni Ventures

Mike has been involved in almost every facet of venturing, from angel investing to venture capital, new business and product launches, and innovation consulting. He is the CEO of Alumni Ventures and launched AV’s first alumni fund, Green D Ventures, where he oversaw the portfolio as Managing Partner and is now Managing Partner Emeritus. Mike is a serial entrepreneur who has started multiple companies, including Kid Galaxy, Big Idea Group (partially owned by WPP), and RDM. He began his career at VC firm TA Associates. He holds an undergraduate degree in Engineering Science from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

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Alumni Ventures

Alumni Ventures is a network-powered VC firm that helps accredited individuals invest in venture capital.

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