Scaling Up, Getting Liquid: The Evolving Role of Late Stage VC & Growth Equity
Late Stage VC and Growth Equity investments are receiving a lot of attention intoday’s market. VCs, entrepreneurs, and LPs are riding the wave of explosive growth in social media, cloud computing, mobile, and big data. Eye popping valuations for late stage and growth-stage companies have left many wondering whether we are, in fact, in a bubble. In light of these conditions, panelists will explore and discuss the latest trends in late stage VC and growth equity investing.
Moderator
Jared Grusd '06 - Adjunct Professor, Columbia Business School; Head of Corporate Development and General Counsel, Spotify
Jared has served as a senior executive at three of the world's most innovative companies: Spotify, AOL, and Google. He is the current Head of Corporate Development and General Counsel of Spotify, the former Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer of AOL, and a former member of the executive team responsible for Google's multi-billion dollar advertising business in the Americas. Between these companies, he has led various global functions, including, corporate strategy, corporate development, business development, business affairs, legal, public policy, and investor relations. He was recently named by Business Insider to the Silicon Alley 100, a list of the 100 "coolest" people in NY tech, and by Fortune/CNN Money as one of "five of tech's most powerful lawyers."
Jared is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Finance & Economics at Columbia Business School specializing in the Internet industry. He is a mentor at TechStars and a board member and advisor to several promising venture-backed start-ups, including Shake. Jared serves on the EU Media Futures Forum, a think tank set up by the European Commission to improve the media industry in Europe.
Jared spent the early part of his career specializing in technology and corporate transactions as Assistant General Counsel of Capgemini North America and as an Associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. He received a MBA from Columbia Business School, a JD, with Honors, from the University of Chicago Law School, and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.
Panelists
Jordan Bettman - Principal, Bain Capital Ventures
Jordan joined Bain Capital Ventures in 2008. Since that time, Jordan has worked on both early-stage and growth-equity investments in a variety of industries, including data services, marketing services, financial services and technology, and digital media. He has also worked closely with numerous portfolio companies on senior level recruiting, strategic planning, business development, and company exits. Prior to joining Bain Capital Ventures, Jordan was an associate consultant at Bain & Company, focusing on a number of strategic and operational issues for clients across a handful of sectors. He also worked in Bain & Company’s Private Equity Group, performing diligence on multi-billion dollar companies.
Jordan received a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University – GO BIG RED – and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Outside of work, Jordan enjoys outdoor sports, especially skiing and golf. Additionally, Jordan is a member of the Social Investment Council of Echoing Green, a Board Member of the Boston MS Gala, and a part owner of a restaurant. He and his wife, Lauren, now reside on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Eric Garcia - Founder and Managing Partner, Harvest Growth Capital
Eric Garcia is the Founder of Harvest Growth Capital LLC, a venture capital firm that specializes in making investments in innovative, high growth companies. Harvest Growth Capital has successfully executed numerous private transactions across a variety of high-growth companies. Many of these transactions provided liquidity to private company shareholders and require discretion, therefore the investment portfolio is not publicly disclosed.
Prior to founding HGC, Mr. Garcia was an investment professional with Austin Ventures, where he focused on growth equity investments in technology-enabled companies and helped lead new investments in several late-stage companies, including CreditCards.com (acquired by BankRate, NYSE: RATE), All Star Directories and Tyrell.
Prior to joining Austin Ventures, Mr. Garcia was an investment professional at Technology Crossover Ventures in Palo Alto, CA. At TCV, Mr. Garcia focused on late-stage technology and information services companies and helped lead investments in NexTag (acquired by Providence Equity), Redback Networks (NASDAQ: RBAK, later acquired by Ericsson, NASDAQ: ERIC), RiskMetrics Group (NYSE: RMG, later acquired by MSCI, NYSE: MSCI), SolArc (acquired by OpenLink), BeVocal (acquired by Nuance Communications, NASDAQ: NUAN), HomeGain (acquired by Classified Ventures), Whitepages.com and Fiberlink Communications.
Previously, Mr. Garcia was a founding member of Hostcentric, Inc., where he worked in various roles within finance, business development, and strategy. Hostcentric was acquired by Web.com Group, NASDAQ: WWWW. Prior to Hostcentric, Mr. Garcia was an analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group at Merrill Lynch where he worked with companies in the Internet, hardware equipment, and services sectors on a variety of strategic advisory assignments and M&A transactions. Mr. Garcia received a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University.
Anton Levy `03 - Managing Director, General Atlantic
Anton J. Levy is a Managing Director at General Atlantic, where he has worked since 1998. Mr. Levy works in General Atlantic's New York City office where he heads General Atlantic's global Internet and Technology practice and serves on the firm's Executive Committee. Mr. Levy has worked closely with many of General Atlantic's portfolio companies and is a director of several portfolio companies including Affinion Group, Gilt Groupe, Klarna, Red Ventures and Web.com, and manages a number of the firm's other investments in the internet, marketing services and media areas. He formerly served on the boards of AKQA, Dice Holdings, MercadoLibre and Zantaz Corporation. Prior to joining General Atlantic, Mr. Levy was an investment banker with Morgan Stanley & Co. where he worked with the firm's technology clients.
Mr. Levy is involved in a number of educational and non-profit organizations including serving on the board of directors of WNYC (New York Public Radio), University of Virginia's Endowment (UVIMCO) and Streetwise Partners, where he serves as Vice Chairman. Mr. Levy received a B.S. from the University of Virginia, with degrees in Finance and Computer Science, and his M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business, graduating both with highest honors.
Deven Parekh - Managing Director, Insight Venture Partners
Deven serves on the Board of Directors of Publicolor (which he chaired from 2007-2012), a not-for-profit organization that helps bring private sector financing to inner-city public school infrastructure. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the National Academy. Founded in 1825, the National Academy is the only institution of its kind that integrates a museum, art school, and an honorary association of artists and architects dedicated to creating and preserving a living history of American Art. Deven is currently a member of the Advisory Board of US Export-Import Bank and of the Technical Advisory Board of the Federal Communications Commission.
Deven Parekh is a managing director and partner at Insight Venture Partners, a leading private equity firm with over $3 billion under management that focuses on global software, technology-enabled services and Internet companies. At Insight, Parekh's primary focus is Internet services and application software businesses. He serves on the boards of Chegg, Drillinginfo, eCommerce Industries, eVestment Alliance, Hayneedle, Newegg.com, Seevast and Syncsort. Parekh also represents the firm's interests in 360Buy, Buddy Media, Kony Solutions, Tumblr and Twitter. Deven serves as chairman of Publicolor, a not-for-profit organization that helps bring private-sector financing to inner-city public school infrastructure. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the Technical Advisory Board of the Federal Communications Commission. He earned a B.S. in economics with a concentration in finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania..