Skip to Content

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.

Show Host
Host, Rapid Response
See Full Bio
RR_BobSafian_colorcutout
See Full Bio
Entrepreneur, Masters of Scale
See Full Bio
MoS_ReidHoffman2025_colorcutout
See Full Bio
Host & Political contributor, CNN
See Full Bio
RR_VanJones_colorcutout
See Full Bio
summit
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
Go to Episode
to Listen to
Masters of Scale’s Reid Hoffman
Cherryrock Capital’s Stacy Brown-Philpot
CNN’s Van Jones
Cowboy Ventures’ Aileen Lee