Let's Grab Coffee Podcast

Episode 160 of the Let's Grab Coffee Podcast with Shawn Ellis, Managing Partner of Distributed Ventures, is in the books ☕ Distributed Ventures is a Chicago & New York based $100M fund focused on investing in early-stage healthcare, insurtech, and fintech opportunities. We discuss Shawn's journey from investment banking, strategy, and consulting to his transition into venture capital. He shares valuable lessons on breaking into #venturecapital, tips for fostering meaningful relationships, and insights on building a corporate venture capital fund. We explore his experience deploying $100M in the future of risk, what makes founders stand-out, and strategies for dealing with pressure and handling burnout. We also talk about why Shawn is bullish on #Chicago and his personal/professional outlook for 2025. Lots of gems in this episode and it really was a lot of fun. Thanks to Shawn for his continued leadership in the VC space and being a great human all-around. Links in the comment section to listen to the full episode. Enjoy!

It was great to sit down with George Khalife and discuss the founding of Energy Capital Ventures. In 2020, when we started the firm, our mission was to support the #naturalgas industry of toady, become the industry of tomorrow. The impact of future-proofing the industry so that it can continue to provide clean, safe, reliable, cost-effective #energy is what drove our founding and continues to drive us today. We champion #greenmolecules #innovation to enable the industry to continue its critical role providing #energysecurity and #energyreliability. As we evolve to our next iteration, reach out if you believe the same. We'd love to partner.

Samara Mejia Hernandez launched Chingona Ventures in 2019, raising $6M, and just two years ago, she raised $52M for Fund II as a sole Latina GP. We talked about her inspiring journey—growing up in Mexico, immigrating to the U.S., and watching her parents work tirelessly to acclimate and provide a better life. Samara shared her path from earning an engineering degree to starting her career at Goldman Sachs, and eventually transitioning into venture capital. An MBA from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management helped her find her stride in venture and connect with key figures in the investor community. In our conversation, we delved into what it takes to raise a fund, manage the stresses and pressures of being a GP, and balance these responsibilities while raising a family. Samara spoke about maintaining authenticity, creating a mold when you don't fit into one, and the importance of being resourceful and scrappy—qualities she looks for in founders today. Chingona is slang for "badass woman," in Spanish and Samara embodies that spirit through and through. This episode is a must-listen! 🎧 The full conversation can be found on: YouTube: https://shorturl.at/m42NX All Audio Platforms: https://shorturl.at/M4bka #podcast #venturecapital #startups #investor #entrepreneurship

I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Sykes during the EMBA program at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management. Andrew, commonly spotted wearing a purple suit, built one of South Africa’s largest healthcare consulting companies over 30 years. He is a seasoned salesperson, entrepreneur, speaker, and behavior change expert. Also an aspiring poet. A bunch of my friends in the cohort raved about his course at Kellogg called Entrepreneurial Selling, which I was sad to miss. To make up for not taking it, I had Andrew on the Let's Grab Coffee Podcast. We discussed how to be a magnetic person, building trust, the power of asking thoughtful questions, storytelling, getting past common fears like public speaking, and much more. The full conversation can be found on: YouTube: https://shorturl.at/y8myM All Audio Platforms: https://shorturl.at/vBptl #podcast #kellogg #sales #entrepreneur

My birthday month, the long weekend in Canada, the global heat wave, and half of 2024 is finally over. We're back with another digest of George Khalife's -----> Let's Grab Coffee Podcast! I also had the luxury of meeting George in person, which was #goodtimes! Here's a 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 I gained from each phenomenal guest I listened to in June 2024: 🧠 Dr. Chris Stout says "𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘺." When it comes to mental health, we should approach it with the same empathy as we do with physical health. Just like cancer, people facing mental health issues such as depression and anxiety need our understanding and compassion. 💡 Alex Iceman says that in special ops forces, character trumps skills. They prefer individuals with great personalities who might have average performance over highly skilled individuals with poor personalities. This principle is gold in any team-building scenario. 𝐒𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃-𝐁𝐚𝐠! ⏰ Sam Bakhtiar tells us to 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 or a pilot. The thing is, being on your A Game ensures you are ready to protect those you love, when you're not, they are more likely to suffer. 📅 Danny Read gives a pro tip for not getting lost in a never-ending to-do list, instead choose a focus for the day and organize your workdays by themes! Whether it's follow-up day or planning day, 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦 rather than getting lost in specific tasks. 👑 Casanova Brooks reminds us to "Be the Lord of your lane" and remember, "𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮." Find what comes easy to you but is hard for others and go 200% in on that thing. 🚶♂️ Marc Randolph (𝘤𝘰-𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘹) says that Leaders navigate ambiguity by taking steps forward even without knowing what's around the corner. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, no matter what. 💻 Colin Egglesfield believes that our brain is a supercomputer. And that the questions we ask ourselves dictate the answers we get. When having internal dialogue, 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 that propel you forward, not limiting ones that hold you back.   🚀 Here's to your continuous learning and growth - 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐚'𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡! #PodcastReflections #MentalHealthMatters #MasterYourCraft #TimeManagement #SalesStrategies #SubconsciousMind #Entrepreneurship #LinkedInLearning

I recently sat down with Victor Pascucci III, Co-Founder and Managing General Partner at Energy Capital Ventures, to uncover the story behind their pioneering $61M fund. This unique venture is steering the natural gas industry toward a sustainable future through ESG-focused digital transformation. Vic's venture capital journey began at Lightbank and USAA, where he managed investment programs that helped scale companies like Coinbase, Sprout Social, Hatch Loyalty, etc. With over $750 million in venture capital transactions in his repertoire, Vic now focuses on leveraging strategic partnerships to innovate and drive the natural gas sector forward. Dive into our conversation on the Let's Grab Coffee Podcast and learn how Vic's strategic vision is making a significant impact in energy. His story is a masterclass in leadership and innovation in the rapidly evolving world of sustainable energy. #venturecapital #sustainability #ESG #energyinnovation #leadership

"I was so insecure coming back because my whole world had turned around, and I didn't know...[I thought] maybe I just can't cut it anymore." ☝️ Allison Whalen on how she felt when she returned to work after her first child was born. She joined joined George Khalife on the Let's Grab Coffee Podcast to share the challenges she faced with parental leave and how it led her to build Parentaly to support employees through this transition. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/ePfBaENT #femalefounders #workingmoms #career

💡 Thinking about becoming an investor? Check out this podcast episode with Chicago:Blend board member Gale Wilkinson, founding managing partner at VITALIZE Venture Capital, about inclusive investing with TMX Group's George Khalife. 📺 WATCH 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMT_aqmy