Your Window Into the Innovation Economy

Jack Statza, Senior Principal at Alumni Ventures, and Investor Bryan Liu led a candid look at where venture capital is actually deploying inside the next generation of financial infrastructure — the marketplaces, identity layers, and digital asset rails being built today that most investors haven’t yet put on their radar.

Join Mike Peri, Partner at Alumni Ventures, and Senior Principal Keaton Nankivil for a masterclass on how Arbor Street Ventures evaluates and invests in standout companies — featuring real examples from notable portfolio companies emerging from the University of Michigan ecosystem and beyond.

Join Mike Peri, Partner at Alumni Ventures, and Senior Principal Keaton Nankivil for a masterclass on how Lakeshore Ventures evaluates and invests in standout companies — featuring real examples from notable portfolio companies emerging from the University of Chicago ecosystem and beyond.

Mike Peri, Partner at Alumni Ventures’ Purple Arch Ventures, and Senior Principal Keaton Nankivil led a masterclass on how Purple Arch Ventures evaluates and invests in standout companies — featuring real examples from notable portfolio companies emerging from the Northwestern University ecosystem and beyond.

Rob Adams, Managing Partner of Alumni Ventures’ Ring Ventures, opened the doors on the next vintage of Ring Ventures — walking Texas A&M-connected investors through how to get in early on a diversified, network-powered venture portfolio built around the Aggie community.

Laura Rippy, Managing Partner of Alumni Ventures’ Women’s Fund, alongside Senior Partner Stacey Tsai, Senior Principals Meera Oak and Sophia Zhao, Principal Evy Chen, and Senior Associate Charlotte Jenkins, led a final opportunity to learn about the Women’s Fund before it closed — and hear directly from the team on the thesis, the portfolio, and where they see the highest-conviction opportunities forming next.

Mark Edwards, Chief Investment Officer at Alumni Ventures, and Andy Ervin led a masterclass on how experienced venture investors actually evaluate a deal — the frameworks, signals, and red flags that separate the opportunities worth backing from the ones that look better on paper than they perform in practice.

Laura Rippy, Managing Partner of Alumni Ventures’ Yard Ventures, alongside Senior Principal Luca Giani, Principal Drew Wandzilak, Senior Partner Stacey Tsai, and Senior Associate Charlotte Jenkins led a live masterclass on how the team evaluates, selects, and invests in venture deals.

Drew Wandzilak, Principal of Alumni Ventures’ U.S. Strategic Tech Fund, walked through how the venture opportunity in energy and strategic minerals connects to a broader investment thesis on U.S. strategic technology — and why these sectors are increasingly viewed as the foundation of national security, AI infrastructure, and the next industrial cycle.

Mike Collins, CEO of Alumni Ventures, joined The Lean Startup author Eric Ries and KingsCrowd CEO Chris Lustrino to explore what it takes to build and back companies that last — and where the biggest opportunities and risks in venture lie ahead.