(Virtual) EchoHer investor talk #1: Inside the VC Decision: Founder signals, Governance and Growth
Join us for a candid conversation with Bryce about what happens inside the VC decision-making process. We’ll explore the signals investors look for in founders, how governance and decision-making shape company growth, what founders often misunderstand about venture capital, and what separates promising startups from category leaders.
Speakers:
Bryce Gilleland is Co-General Partner of the California Innovation Fund, which backs deep tech companies coming out of the University of California ecosystem. He was previously CEO of a number one ranked hedge fund in 2020, managing $600M in assets with 846% returns, and has spent more than 20 years working across energy, policy, blockchain and finance. He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Businessand an economics degree from UC Irvine. He co-leads the fund with Dr. Kurt Beyer, who has taught entrepreneurship at Berkeley for more than 15 years
Neeraj Singh is an M&A advisor and founder of B2GC, an advisory practice helping founders build acquisition-ready companies through stronger governance, decision-making infrastructure, leadership alignment, and board readiness.
His work focuses on the human infrastructure behind company growth: how founders and teams make decisions under pressure, reduce founder dependence, and build organizations that are more investable and easier for future buyers to trust.
Host
EchoHer is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women and non-binary founders and funders by increasing their representation and success in entrepreneurship. We foster a supportive ecosystem that drives meaningful change and creates impactful opportunities through monthly events, co-working opportunities, curated networking sessions, pitch nights, and insightful panel discussions.
Apply to the EchoHer Founder Fellowship, a non-dilutive program supporting women and non-binary founders with funding, practical resources, founder education, and access to the EchoHer ecosystem.
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EchoHer members also receive access to selected workshops, event recordings, founder resources, and community programming.
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