BGA Speaker Series: Equity Allocation and VC Valuation with Will Glaser

​BGA presents a speaker series for deep tech founders and builders.

The Berkeley Gateway Accelerator Speaker Series puts experienced operators and investors in a small room with the people building what’s next. Every session is invite-only and capped at 20 people, so there is real room for questions, honest conversation, and one-on-one time with the speaker. It’s built for founders, builders, and aspiring entrepreneurs working on deep tech.

This session: Equity allocation and VC valuation

Speaker: Will Glaser
Will co-founded Pandora in his living room, ran technology, product, and operations for its first five years, and invented the core machine-learning technology behind the Music Genome Project. Pandora went on to an NYSE IPO and a $3.5B acquisition. More recently he founded and led Grabango, an AI computer vision company for checkout-free retail that reached a $365M valuation. He has authored 132 patents, and he started his career as an engineer building hardware and display technology.

Will has spent most of his career at the intersection of deep tech and business. His talk on equity allocation is one that people still ask him about years later, and it has never been recorded. He has lived the hiring, equity, and valuation decisions he’ll walk you through, and he’s built companies from a living room to a public listing.

If you’re a first-time founder, this is a rare chance to understand how your cap table works before the decisions are made, from someone who has seen it play out.

Who should attend: Founders, builders, and aspiring entrepreneurs working on deep tech. Space is limited to 20, so please request to join and we’ll confirm your spot.

About the Berkeley Gateway Accelerator
BGA is a deep tech accelerator and fund in Berkeley, California, that turns breakthrough science into world-changing companies. Our founder-centric, five-month commercialization program includes funding, housing, and office space. Founders work with an embedded team of entrepreneurs in residence, UC Berkeley faculty and students, and outside experts, with warm introductions to VCs. We’ve evaluated 120+ technologies and made two dozen early-stage investments, including modular robotics, solid-state power electronics, and quantum AI hardware.

Building a deep tech company? Apply to the next BGA cohort here