Blend:Talks is Chicago:Blend’s flagship event, where graduates of our VC Fellowship program take the stage to share bold, thought-provoking insights on the latest trends impacting venture capital.
Join us on Wednesday, June 24 as our VC Fellows present their research and perspectives to a room full of investors and industry leaders, marking the exciting culmination of their journey. This is a unique opportunity to connect, learn and celebrate the rising stars shaping the future of VC.
Since 2022, the Chicago:Blend Venture Fellowship has helped more than 80 professionals launch their careers in VC, with 90% of venture-seeking alums securing a VC role post-program.
Proceeds from this event benefit Chicago:Blend, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization creating a more inclusive venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
AGENDA
Blend:Talks — Run of Show
3:00p — Doors Open
3:30p — Blend:Talks by Chicago:Blend VC Fellows
🧬 Life Sciences, Biotech & Longevity
Chansorena Pok (Velocity Catalyst) – The Next Decade of Biotech: What Endures Beyond the Hype
Using RNA therapeutics as a case study to explore where durable value accrues in biotech — and where capital is still being misallocated.Natalia Matiuto (Vamos Ventures) – Biohacking or Breakthrough? Signal and Noise in the Longevity Space
Separating GLP-1s, peptide therapies, and longevity supplements from red-light rabbit holes — a framework for investors navigating consumer health and biotech convergence.
🤖 AI, Deal Intelligence & the Future of VC Practice
Amanda Brooke (2Flo Ventures) – Pitch Deck Forensics: How to Spot Fake AI
A PhD-level lens on AI/ML claims that don't hold up at scale — accuracy metrics, training data, benchmarks — helping investors distinguish real technical work from narrative.Wendy Yang Thompson (Capita3) – The AI-Augmented Investor: Deal Screening in the Age of Automation
How investors are layering AI into early-stage evaluation — what works, what doesn't, and what the frontier of AI-assisted outbound and inbound screening actually looks like.
🌍 Global Capital, Water & Climate
Alejandro (Alex) Estevez Villegas (Velocity Catalyst) – The Proximity Bias Problem: Why US VC Systematically Misses Non-US Founders
A practitioner's framework for international deal flow — drawing on experience across Europe, Latin America, and East Asia to challenge assumptions about where the best early-stage companies are being built.Jonathan Goodell (Fictive Fund) – The Capital Stack for Water: Why VC Is Leaving a Critical Sector Underfunded
Mapping the full water tech investment landscape — sectors, stakeholders, and a practical framework for allocators who haven't yet engaged one of climate's most underleveraged categories.Nishit Shukla (Earth Foundry) – Adaptation & Resilience Tech: The Climate Opportunity Investors Keep Overlooking
Where momentum is building in climate adaptation, which sectors have underappreciated upside, and what practitioner-level insight looks like in this emerging allocation.
⚖️ Structure, Governance & the Deal Beyond the Deal
Agnes Simamora (Cleveland Avenue) – IP as Investment Infrastructure: What VCs Don't Know About Patent Strategy
How firms evaluate intellectual property during diligence — and how dormant, undermonetized IP can be a source of differentiated value creation.Delaney Monahan (Capitalize VC) – Who's Really in Charge? VC-Founder Dynamics, Governance & Leadership Transitions
An honest look at the tension between investors and founders around terms, board control, and leadership transitions — and what good governance actually looks like through the startup lifecycle.
5:00p — Cocktail Reception
7:00p — Event Ends