Webinar
Alumni Ventures' Women in VC Panel
Over 80% of the industry is male, and 65% of firms have no female partners or GPs. This is despite the fact that teams that are diverse by gender and/or ethnicity have 30% higher multiples on invested capital when their companies are acquired or go public.
In this 45-minute conversation, some of Alumni Ventures’ female investment professionals will discuss the opportunities and challenges for women in VC — as investors and as entrepreneurs.
Topics will range from our path into VC, what it’s like to be a female in a male-dominated industry, investing in female-founded startups, and some positive initiatives for greater diversity in the venture industry.
About your presenters
Before joining the Basecamp Fund, Catherine was a successful entrepreneur, product manager, and software engineer. She was Director of Product at NEA-backed DataVisor, an enterprise company offering an unsupervised machine learning fraud solution. Prior to that, she co-founded the retail analytics company Fancy That (acquired by Palantir in 2015). While at Stanford, she built an online platform used by thousands of students and instructors to streamline grading. Catherine graduated from Stanford with a BS and MS in Computer Science, focusing on AI.
Lacey is director of investments on the investment team at Grinnell College, a nationally top-ranked liberal arts college. She was previously a Managing Partner at Green D, where she was responsible for investment due diligence and sourcing, with a focus on digital health, enterprise software, and impact investing. Prior to that, Lacey was an investment associate at CareGroup Investment Office, an associate at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and an analyst in the Securities Division of Goldman Sachs. She earned a bachelor’s in history from Middlebury College and an MBA from Tuck. Lacey was cited by Chief Investment Officer Magazine for its “40 under 40” recognition.
Overview:
Laura Rippy is a Managing Partner and Board Member at Alumni Ventures. She runs the Harvard-focused fund (The Yard Ventures), the Dartmouth-focused fund (Green D Ventures), the Women’s Fund at Alumni Ventures, and helps our US Strategic Tech fund. Alumni Ventures is “America’s Largest Venture Firm for Individuals” with $1.5B raised, and 1500 portfolio companies. AV is one of the top 3 most active venture capital firms globally, per Pitchbook 2018-24.
Previously, Laura was a serial CEO, Chairman, Board Member, Advisor, and Executive in high-technology companies including Microsoft. Business Insider ranked Laura in the Best Early Stage Investors of 2024 and 2025.
Laura Rippy holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB in Government from Dartmouth College.
Funds Actively Worked On:
- Yard Ventures
- Green D Ventures
- Women’s Fund
- US Strategic Tech Fund
Investment Lens:
Laura’s investing areas at AV leverage her operating experience in consumer internet, enterprise software, and novel technology innovations. She is inspired by founders aiming to build “N of 1” companies, ideally with IP or other moats. Business Insider ranked Rippy in the Top 100 Early Stage Investors of 2024 and 2025, and #1 in the Top Female Seed Investors of 2025.
Jasmi’s career has covered several stages of the investment lifecycle. Previously, she worked at Healthios, an advisory firm focused on growth equity and venture capital backed companies. Earlier, she worked for Sterling Partners, serving as an Operating Executive within their healthcare portfolio. Jasmi has also held positions at The Carlyle Group, The MasterCard Foundation, and Deloitte Consulting. She began her career in investment banking at Credit Suisse. Jasmi holds a BBA (Honors) from Schulich School of Business, York University, and a MBA (Dean’s List) from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.