Ilse Calderon is Senior Associate at OVO Fund, a $35M seed stage venture capital fund in San Francisco. In this episode, we discuss her background, how she got into tech, how investors view startups, which companies should raise VC money, diversity in startups, and more.

We also talk about how to build relationships with venture capitalists, including what matters when you're getting your company off the ground. If you are pre-product or pre-launch, reach out to Ilse and pitch your idea! She also mentions the industries and business models that interest her the most.

LINKS

• Ilse Calderon LinkedIn
• OVO Fund Website

PODCAST

• Safa Mahzari
• Patreon
• Alluxo Website

TERMS

• Hypercultural Latinx = second-generation consumers who are 100% Hispanic and 100% American
• VC = venture capital 
• PE = private equity
• LP = limited partners
• SMB = small and medium businesses 
• CEO = chief executive officer
• CPG = consumer packaged goods
• GTM = go to market
• FDA = U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• FinTech = financial technology

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 - Episode intro
• 1:14 - Ilse's background
• 11:33 - Her introduction to startups
• 16:53 - What is OVO Fund?
• 20:18 - Investing across different sectors
• 24:54 - Product, market, or team?
• 31:48 - Startups that start as research projects
• 36:32 - Is there too much funding in some areas?
• 43:31 - Which areas are underfunded?
• 49:15 - How should founders network with VCs?
• 55:03 - The right founder for the right startup
• 1:00:09 - Ilse's question for Safa
• 1:04:09 - Wrap up and final thoughts