Inside the VC Mind: What Investors Look For in Early-Stage Founders, with Valentine Murzinkou (Founding Partner, Stealth VC)
Inside the VC Mindset is a fireside chat series that takes you behind the scenes of how investors think. Each session brings in a VC to talk about how they source deals, evaluate startups, and decide what gets funded, so founders can walk into their next raise knowing what's on the other side of the table.
Our Guest: Valentine Murzinkou
Valentine Murzinkou is a Founding Partner of a new venture capital firm launched in 2026 and currently in stealth mode. He spent over three years at Freesearch Ventures, starting as an Investment Analyst and rising to Associate, where he sourced and evaluated early-stage startups across the region. Before that, he was an Investment Analyst at RBF Ventures, building his foundation in venture investing.
In this candid conversation, Valentine will share how he approaches deal sourcing and evaluation, what he learned from years inside the startup ecosystem, and why he decided to build his own firm. Expect honest takeaways on what investors look for in early-stage founders, followed by audience Q&A.
Who Should Attend
Founders currently raising their first institutional round, or planning to raise in the future.
You'll leave this session with a clearer view, first-hand of:
How investors source and evaluate deals from the inside
What stands out (and what gets passed on) in early-stage founders
What it takes to go from analyst to building a fund from scratch
About the Host
Vector 3 Ventures Corporation is an advisory firm for early-stage founders raising institutional capital.