The Top Young Investors of Venture Capital

Venture capital is an exciting area of investment. Investors in venture capital target young, promising companies they believe will grow into booming businesses. However, it may surprise you to learn that not all venture capitalists are seasoned experts in business and making investments. Some of the top investors are quite young, in their 20s or early 30s. Despite their young age, these investors are making a splash in the industry, attracting the attention of experts such as Henner Diekmann of Diekmann Associates. 

Here are some of the top young investors of venture capital:

Sam Altman

President of Y Combinator, Sam Altman is just 32 years old. The investor co-founded and sold his own start-up company, Loopt, which was closed down in 2012. He then moved to Y Combinator, where he has led the way in choosing the best start-ups to invest in. He has also invested on his own, backing companies such as Airbnb, Pinterest and Dropbox. He is interested in backing projects that have the power to change the world, such as nuclear energy.

Caitlin Strandberg

At age 28, Caitlin is already the vice president of an important venture capital firm, FirstMark. A graduate of Cornell, she began the school’s multimedia powerhouse called Slope Media. She went on to work at three different start-ups before heading to Harvard Business School for her MBA.

Stephanie Weiner

Stephanie Weiner was featured in Forbes’s 30 under 30 list in 2015 at the age of 22. Now 24, Stephanie has continued her path as an influential young venture capitalist. Stephanie began her life as an entrepreneur in middle school, when she started her own website. She went on to co-found Dorm Room Fund, a student-to-student investment company at the University of Pennsylvania, before working at Bain Capital Ventures.

Alex Banayan

At the young age of 19, Alex became a venture capitalist at Aslop Louie Partners in Silicon Valley. He had begun investing as a teen before he was hired in California by another young venture capitalist. Now 24 years old, Alex is a keynote speaker and author. He has spoken for prestigious organisations such as Apple, Nike, IBM, Harvard and Dell. 

Lu Zhang

One of this year’s 30 under 30 Forbes venture capitalists, Lu Zhang runs her own successful venture capital firm at the age of 28. She began her first company while studying as a graduate student at Stanford. Her first company was based on a new device for detecting diabetes. The company was later sold for over $10 million. The bright materials science and engineering grad from China went on to work at Fenox Venture Capital.  After her experience there, she decided to begin her own company, NewGen Capital.

Blake Byers

At the age of 32, Blake Byers is a partner at GV. With a doctorate in bioengineering and undergraduate degrees in biomedical engineering and economics, Blake makes the perfect investor in life science and digital companies. He also has experience investing on his own and beginning his own companies.

These impressive young people are helping to shape the future by selecting the start-up companies that will receive funds to move forward. As you can see, a few of these ambitious venture capitalists have decided to go solo by creating their own investment firm or simply through private investments. The other thing to note about these individuals is their expertise in a diversity of areas. While some are scientists with expertise in health, others are media experts, technology buffs and authors. While each has found their calling in venture capital, they all have other passions and areas of expertise that have helped inform their decision making and path up to this point.

Young venture capitalists provide fresh perspectives to their firms and also connections. Many young venture capitalists are recent graduates with access to the hum of what’s happening on college campuses, giving insight into the latest ideas for new companies and technologies. 

Those who are interested in venture capital should certainly keep an eye on the trends and special spark brought to the industry by the youngest venture capital investors. The good news is that young investors are also bringing more diversity to an industry typically associated with older, white males. The fresh perspective provided by the many women and people representing diverse backgrounds in the youngest generation of venture capitalists makes for a promising future. 

The youngest venture capital investors keep coming and making an entrance each year. You can learn more about them by keeping up to date with the latest Forbes 30 under 30 list and reading the latest industry news.

Start-Ups are Flourishing in Britain

Joris Magenti is a French national who grew up in Spain not far from the border between the two countries. After working for the United Nations, Magenti went on to earn a business degree from Oxford University. When he decided to build a technology start-up around his new dating app, DatePlay, London was the obvious location. According to Magenti it ‘takes weeks’ to build a business in Spain, while in Britain ‘you can register the company online’. Magenti and his partner, Vana Koutsomitis founded their company in 2015 and a public Beta launch of the new app, which designs a dating profile around gaming, is expected this year.

The UK government provides unprecedented support for new businesses, from financial assistance to advice on legal structure and low cost office space. Additionally, there are international law firms like Diekmann Associates, founded by Henner Diekmann, which provide guidance on company set-up, structuring and contracts. The plethora of resources has made Britain - and especially London - a hotbed of new technology start-ups, many headed by EU nationals like Magenti.



Britain’s Tech Sector

As mentioned in the last post, SVB’s Start-up Outlook Report found a favourable attitude among British businesses seven months after the initial Brexit vote. According to Phil Cox, president of SVB’s UK branch, ‘Businesses are seeing more opportunity than fear, which can only be a good thing’. However, there’s lingering concern about how many foreign workers and entrepreneurs will remain when Britain leaves the EU.

Currently, the tech sector accounts for 16 percent of the UK’s domestic output and about 10 percent of the country’s jobs. According to the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), a group which represents tech and digital start-ups, these numbers are likely to grow. A recent survey found the UK would need an extra 2 million digital workers by 2020 to fuel the current level of expansion in this sector.

Coadec estimates that about two-thirds of the average tech company’s workforce is made up of British nationals, while foreign workers account for the other third. Brexit will generate more opportunities for qualified British workers, but it could also create a talent shortage as education levels jump to meet the increased demand. Coadec has already recommended a special expedited visa for skilled foreign workers in the digital sector to help companies maintain current levels of expansion over the next few years.  

Brexit Repercussions

It remains to be seen whether leaving the EU will hurt Britain’s digital economy, but as yet the signs are hopeful. Start-ups are concerned, but the majority don’t plan to move elsewhere, given the many benefits that come with operation inside Britain. A plethora of job opportunities could make space for a new, digitally skilled British workforce, which would be an advantage over the long term.