Webinar
Masterclass Live! Venture Capital 101
Watch an on-demand Venture Capital 101 presentation covering key documents, stages, and the basic principles of venture capital investing. The presentation is open to all alumni and friends of Cornell and is led by Triphammer Ventures’ Managing Partner Brian Keil
See video policy below.
Post Webinar Summary
Brian Keil and Wesley Yiu hosted an informational webinar to discuss the basics of venture capital and provide insights into the venture capital industry. They outlined how venture capital funds operate, focusing on investing in private, pre-IPO companies with high growth potential. The speakers emphasized the importance of innovation in technology, products, and business models, highlighting that successful investments can yield significant returns, although a majority of startups may not succeed. They also detailed Triphammer’s unique approach as a co-investor, leveraging relationships with leading venture capital firms and the Cornell community to access high-quality deal flow. The presentation covered the venture capital lifecycle, including sourcing, evaluating, and managing investments, and touched on current investment themes such as AI and healthcare.
Triphammer Ventures is Alumni Ventures’ fund for Cornell alumni and friends of the community.
During this session, we will discuss:
- HomeThe stages of venture capital
- HomeKey aspects of investing (theme-building, sourcing, and winning deals, etc.)
- HomeImportant documents involved in investing
- HomeExamples of what to look for when evaluating deals
Note: You must be accredited to invest in venture capital. Important disclosure information can be found at av-funds.com/disclosures.
About your presenters
Brian is a seasoned venture capitalist with over 20 years of investing experience across a range of industries. Before joining Alumni Ventures, Brian was the Managing Director for New York Ventures, the venture capital arm of the State of New York. Prior to that, he was VP of Strategy & Corporate Development at Arbitron (now Nielsen Audio) and a Managing Director at the Peacock Fund, the venture capital arm of NBC Universal. Before joining the Peacock Fund, Brian worked at GE Capital and Bain & Co. Brian holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School and a BS in Industrial Engineering from The University of Southern California.
Wesley brings a cross-disciplinary approach to venture investing, grounded in a deep curiosity for how advanced technologies can reshape legacy industries. His work focuses on the convergence of vertical software, AI, and automation—areas where domain expertise meets technical innovation to unlock entirely new business models. At Alumni Ventures, Wesley is a Partner, where he leads investments at the intersection of deep tech and sector-specific applications. He is particularly interested in companies developing AI-native software and robotics platforms that drive efficiency and transformation in complex industries. His sector focus includes healthcare, legal, manufacturing, logistics, and financial services, where purpose-built solutions are often required to deliver impact.
Funds actively worked on:
- Triphammer Ventures
Investment Areas of Focus:
Wesley’s investment thesis centers on the power of verticalized AI—software and automation tools designed for high-value, high-complexity sectors. He gravitates toward founders who embed technical insight into sector-specific challenges, creating products with durable competitive advantages and scalable market fit. Beyond software, Wesley is also passionate about robotics and the future of human-machine collaboration, exploring opportunities in autonomous systems, industrial robotics, and next-gen interfaces.
His recent investments reflect this dual thesis: OfferFit, a machine learning platform optimizing customer engagement; Iambic Therapeutics, an AI-driven drug discovery company; Wander, a vertically integrated smart home hospitality platform; Glacier, a robotics company tackling recycling and waste automation; and Arc, which streamlines financial operations for startups. These companies demonstrate Wesley’s conviction that the next wave of transformative innovation will come from deeply integrated, intelligent systems tailored to the needs of specific industries.