Venture Capital Coaches, Events, and Resources

Natalie is a VC investor who built her career at Tier 1 firms through networking, not recruiters. As a Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, she invested across all stages. Previously, she worked at Y Combinator as their first junior investor and was Head of Binance Ventures. Now, she advises and invests independently through Ringside Ventures. Earlier in her career, Natalie worked in tech M&A at Qatalyst Partners, admissions at Y Combinator, and growth equity at Accel-KKR.

Welcome to my profile! With over two decades of experience in the venture capital and entrepreneurial landscape, I bring a wealth of knowledge to aspiring venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. As a former Partner at Comventures and Associate at USVP, I have a deep understanding of what it takes to succeed in the competitive world of venture capital. My journey includes leading companies as CEO, such as Hip Digital Media and Endless, where I honed my skills in scaling businesses and driving innovation. I graduated from Stanford Graduate School of Business as an Arjay Miller Scholar, a testament to my dedication and expertise. Whether you're looking to break into venture capital or grow your startup, I'm here to guide you every step of the way. Let's connect and chart your path to success!

With extensive experience at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the most renowned venture capital firms, I bring a unique blend of expertise in recruiting and coaching. During my tenure as a principal recruiter and heading a team for internal recruiting, I honed my ability to identify top-tier talent across diverse industries and roles, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and culture. This hands-on experience has equipped me with deep insights into strategic talent acquisition, workforce planning, and the nuances of building high-performing teams. My background also includes navigating complex hiring landscapes in competitive markets, which has strengthened my ability to coach others on optimizing their recruitment strategies. Beyond my technical recruiting skills, I have actively embraced a coaching mindset to elevate the recruitment process. By leveraging tools like open-ended questions and scaling techniques, I’ve helped candidates uncover their motivations and potential, fostering meaningful connections that go beyond transactional hiring. My approach aligns candidates with organizational values while emphasizing adaptability and long-term growth—a methodology proven to enhance productivity and retention. This combination of strategic expertise and personalized coaching ensures that I can effectively guide clients in achieving their recruitment and career development goals.

Landed jobs and internships at top funds like Norwest, Floodgate, and Summit Partners. Have coached fellow students on breaking into the industry. Worked in the space for 2 years, ultimately pursued a full-time job operating due to fund economics at the junior levels. Can speak to breaking in but also thinking about building a long-term career in the space. I now work with emerging fund managers on fund launch strategy, and angel invest in ~5-10 companies a year.

Operator and investor with experience across Google Ventures, CapitalG, Honeywell M&A, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs. I’ve evaluated 25+ early-stage deals, supported diligence on $400M in transactions, and helped raise capital and build financial discipline at an autonomous trucking startup. I coach with a structured, no-nonsense approach focused on sourcing, diligence, investment thesis development, and financial modeling, backed by VC programs like Breaking Into Venture and Venture University and a deep network across founders, operators, and VCs.

Welcome to my profile! With a rich background as an Investor in Silicon Valley and extensive experience in strategic partnerships and business development, I bring a unique perspective to venture capital coaching. As the Director of Okta Ventures, I honed my skills in identifying and supporting cutting-edge technologies, and now I leverage that expertise to guide aspiring VCs. I've coached many individuals, helping them navigate the complexities of the venture capital landscape. Whether you're looking to break into VC or advance your career, I'm here to provide personalized guidance and support. Let's connect and chart your path to success in the venture capital world!

Multiple years experience working with B2B Founders/founding teams (including multiple investments made via a personal syndicate). Happy to share more about the broader VC industry, including changing trends, valuation, diligence and key analysis when evaluating a earlier stage company. Given I have a big network in the space (and well plugged into the scene in Austin/Chicago/Charlotte), happy to refer you to others high quality contacts the space that can also help. Look forward to working together!

- Interned at M25 VC during MBA - Leveraged internship at FJ Labs during MBA into FT role - Have led / supported over 50 private markets transactions at FJ Labs - Head our India investment practice - Wrote about Opportunity Fund best practices & why diversification works in venture

With extensive experience in venture capital and corporate development, I'm here to help you navigate the competitive world of venture capital. As a former Partner at CRV and Investor at Greylock, I've been involved in investments in groundbreaking companies like Niantic, Coinbase, and Mercury. I'm currently a Scout for Sequoia and Head of Corporate Development at Mercury.

I’m one of the youngest impact investors working in the industry today—and I broke into the industry without an MBA or a finance background. I started my career in government and nonprofits, so I know exactly what it takes to navigate an unconventional path into VC and build credibility from day one. Over the past five years, I’ve: -Been named Twice to ImpactAlpha’s Top 10 Voices in impact investing -Lectured at Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Chicago on sustainable finance -Launched a health-tech startup on stage with Chelsea Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative - Served on a City of Chicago committee convening the region’s LP community, hosting breakfasts with 30+ institutional investors -Built a monthly “AI for VC Ops” working group with more than 200 investor signups -Helped launch the world’s first foundation dedicated to refugee entrepreneurs, serving as a founding investment committee member I coach aspiring impact investors because I’ve lived the nontraditional path myself—and I can help you break in, stand out, and build a mission-driven career, even if you don’t come from a traditional background.