Webinar
Bascom Ventures: The Art of Evaluating a Deal
Watch an on-demand presentation hosted by the Bascom Ventures team. In this session, you’ll discover how to evaluate a deal, walk through the process our investment team uses to invest in promising startups and learn how you, too, can invest in startups like this through Bascom Ventures.
See video policy below.
POST WEBINAR SUMMARY
Greg Baker, managing partner at Bascom Ventures, and Keaton Nankivil, Senior Principal, discuss their backgrounds and experiences in venture capital. They discuss the importance of understanding deal dynamics, the influence of lead partners, and the significance of tracking a company over multiple years. They also highlight the importance of strategic investors and the role of venture capital in supporting startups. They encourage entrepreneurs to reach out to them directly for investment opportunities.
Bascom Ventures is Alumni Ventures’ fund for University of Wisconsin alumni and friends of the community.
During this session, we discussed:
- HomeDetermining if a prospective deal fits in with your overall diversification goals
- HomeUnderstanding the time horizon of venture investments
- HomePerforming due diligence and reviewing the typical types of materials available in a deal
- HomeWeighing some of the challenges, key risks, and how to factor into the ultimate decision
- HomeTracking companies after investment and the purpose of portfolio monitoring
- HomeMore details about the Bascom Ventures
About Alumni Ventures
Top 20 VC Investors in North America (2024)
#1 Most Active Venture Firm in the U.S. (2023)
#1 Most Active Venture Firm in the U.S. (2022)
World's Most Innovative Companies (2022)
Note: You must be accredited to invest in venture capital. Important disclosure information can be found at av-funds.com/disclosures.
About your presenter
Overview:
Greg began as a Managing Partner with Alumni Ventures in 2017, where he has helped lead more than 100 investments across a wide range of sectors. He is the Founder of Bascom Ventures and also manages Towerview Ventures, Alumni Ventures’ Duke-focused fund, the Foundation Fund, and the CIO Select Fund. His portfolio includes innovative companies such as Axiom Space, SHINE Medical, American Gene Technologies, Juvena Therapeutics, Centaur Health Holdings, Canela Media, and Matchwell.
At Alumni Ventures, Greg has been a generalist investor, but his passion lies in infrastructure—investing in the tools and platforms that will enable and support the next generation of transformative industries, particularly in energy. He is especially interested in how foundational technologies create ripple effects that unlock growth across healthcare, frontier tech, and industrial innovation.
Prior to joining Alumni Ventures, Greg built a successful career as a senior executive across the electrical products, packaging, and chemical industries, with expertise spanning corporate leadership, business development, startups, M&A, and strategic growth. He began his career as a Design Engineer at Texas Instruments before pursuing his MBA at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
Funds actively worked on:
- Bascom Ventures
- Towerview Ventures
- Foundation Fund
- CIO Select Fund
Investment Lens:
Greg’s passion lies in infrastructure—tools and platforms that enable and support the next generation of transformative industries, particularly in energy. He is particularly interested in how foundational technologies create ripple effects that drive growth across:
- Healthcare
- Frontier technologies
- Industrial innovation
Representative investments include:
- Axiom Space (pioneering the commercial space industry)
- Juvena Therapeutics (unlocking regenerative medicines)
- Canela Media (leading digital media company serving Latino audiences)
Learn How To Invest In Companies In This Sector With Alumni Ventures: