How to get funded now: A venture capital roundtable hosted by Van Jones | Summit 2025
About Reid
- Founded LinkedIn
- Hosts Masters of Scale
- Founded Manas AI, a drug discovery company
About Stacy
- Founder & Managing Partner of Cherryrock Capital, $172M fund for underrepresented founders (2025)
- Former CEO of TaskRabbit; led successful acquisition by IKEA
- Over 20 years' experience scaling tech businesses, incl. global ops at Google
- Board member at leading companies like HP and Nordstrom
- Co-founder of SoftBank Opportunity Fund; champion for diversity in tech funding
About Van
- CNN commentator and Emmy Award winner
- Led pivotal work for US criminal justice reform, incl. FIRST STEP Act
- Founded REFORM Alliance, Dream.Org, Color of Change, and more
- Special Advisor for Green Jobs under Obama Administration
- 3-time New York Times bestselling author
About Aileen
- Founder & Managing Partner of Cowboy Ventures, a prominent early-stage VC firm.
- Coined the term "unicorn" for $1B+ startups in venture capital (2013).
- Named to the TIME 100 and regularly appears on the Forbes Midas List.
- Over 20 years of experience investing in B2B & consumer tech startups.
| 27:45
Reid Hoffman, Stacy Brown-Philpot, and Aileen Lee are three of the most successful, legendary leaders and investors in Silicon Valley. (The term “unicorn” for a startup valued at a billion dollars? Well, Aileen coined that.) This power trio sat down with journalist Van Jones live onstage at the 2025 Masters of Scale Summit, October 8 in San Francisco, to share candid snapshots of the investor’s mindset during this time of rapid change. Learn why VCs have dramatically shifted the way they invest in entrepreneurs this year, how companies can stand out in the crowded AI space, their personal green lights or red flags, and how players on all sides can adapt.
Related Episode
How to get funded now
Masters of Scale’s Reid Hoffman
Cherryrock Capital’s Stacy Brown-Philpot
CNN’s Van Jones
Cowboy Ventures’ Aileen Lee
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Masters of Scale’s Reid Hoffman
Cherryrock Capital’s Stacy Brown-Philpot
CNN’s Van Jones
Cowboy Ventures’ Aileen Lee