Afore Capital @ Yale: Nathan Yu Fireside Chat + Exclusive Pitch Competition

​Meet Nathan Yu (Principal Investor @ SF-based Afore Capital) during his exclusive Yale campus visit!

​About

​Getting a VC to hear your pitch (or even just meet one) usually takes a referral chain, a dozen cold emails, and a lot of luck. Thanks to Afore Capital and their belief in Yale as a hub for potential billion-dollar startups, it will take a two-minute Luma application and a walk across campus for you.

​Afore Capital is one of the largest dedicated pre-seed funds in the world. They write first checks ($500K to $2M) to founders who are pre-product, pre-traction, and often pre-idea. Nathan Yu, an investor at Afore, is visiting Yale for a day to hear what you're building and who you are.

​The idea behind the event is quite simple... after Nathan speaks about his experience investing in top founders, what he looks for in student founders, and his path from big tech to startups (and a brief Q/A), there will be a round of Lighting Pitches where 10-15 people will get three minutes to pitch Afore Capital.

​*Due to limited capacity, we can only accomodate around 10-15 pitches, so make sure to mark that you wish to lighting-pitch Afore Capital on the Luma application when you register. We'll send you an email in advance if we can fit you in.

​There's no deck required (in fact, it will not be shown, as there is no time). You can either pitch an existing idea, a brand new one you come up with on the spot (and if he's interested in you as a potential founder... we'll make sure he has your email).

​You can pitch a company, a prototype, a repo, or an idea you can’t stop thinking about. Nathan responds live: what landed, what he’d push on, what a pre-seed investor actually hears when you talk. One pitch gets named the Afore pick of the night.

​Even if you don’t pitch, you’ll hear 15 top Yale peers do it and watch how a VC reacts in real time. You'll also have access to Nathan during the open time after the pitches to ask him questions, learn more about Afore Capital, and potentially meet your co-founder?

​Schedule

​4:30pm: Doors open + food
4:45pm: Nathan Yu Fireside Chat: how Afore backs people before there’s anything to diligence, his path from big tech to startups, and what makes him lean in on a student founder. There will be an open Q&A as well.
5:20pm: Pitches. 3 minutes each, live feedback.
6:15pm: Networking time!

​Who should come

​Builders and people interested in tech (freshmen through seniors). You can be from any major: Software, hardware, bio, climate, anything. You do not need a company, a cofounder, revenue, or a plan. Or even an idea or knowing if you want to do startups or not. If you have made something, or are about to, you belong in this room.

​Trust us: getting to speak to VCs is hard to come by! Don't pass up on this opportunity.

​Pitch slots

​Check the box in the application and give us a one-liner about your idea (you don't need to end up pitching that one, we just want to gain a sense for how big you can dream).

​Slots are limited and we confirm by a few days before the event. There will not be a chance to present slides, and there is a strict 3 minute limit.

​Apply

​Space is limited, so admission is by application. It will take <2 min to fill out! Confirmations are rolling :). We will try to get as many people access to Afore Capital as we can.

​Hosted by Filippo Fonseca ‘28, AforeVC Campus Scout and Head of Development @ Yale AI.
Questions: filippo.fonseca@yale.edu

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​#sf #startups #ai #aforecapital #vc #yale