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2Flo Ventures: Investing in Chicago

Hosted by Ibraheem Alinur
 
 
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Chicago, Illinois
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About Event

2Flo Ventures is excited to be facilitating a conversation on investing in Chicago!

Join us at the Cooley office space in Chicago for some community building, compelling conversations, and light hors d'oeuvres. The goal of this event is to build community among investors and highlight individuals and movements seeking to diversify and connect the industry.


Agenda:
6:30 pm Community Building
7:00 pm Fireside Chat
7:30 pm Q&A
7:45 - 8:30 pm Community Building + Activities

You will hear from our wonderful panelists in a moderated discussion by Ibraheem Alinur.

We are excited to welcome:

Nicole J Walker:
Nicole is a Healthcare Innovator & Connector, Board Director, Family-Senior Care advocate, and a former Managing Partner with Arboretum Ventures, Baird Capital, and Abbott Biotech Ventures.

Originally trained as an engineer at Stanford University, Nicole has a career evenly weighted between operating roles and venture investing. She started her career with ACS/Guidant as a process development intern and advanced through multiple R&D and management roles until her final position as Head of Marketing, Asia-Pac, based in Hong Kong. Then moving on to Abbott, Nicole led strategic market activities for Abbott’s OUS discrete glucose monitoring and continuous glucose monitoring brands, with a final role as the Founding Director of the Abbott Biotech Ventures team.

Nicole is passionate about health tech investing and working with entrepreneurs to transform the delivery of healthcare by focusing on innovations at the intersection of biology & technology.

Joey Mak:
Joey Mak is the CEO of Chicago:Blend, a 501c3 nonprofit organization committed to improving equity in the region’s venture capital industry, which in 2023 earned the National Venture Capital Association’s DEI Impact Award. Joey has worked in community and economic development for nearly two decades, including as the head of programs for the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and Director of Innovation & Economic Development for the University of Illinois System. 

From 2018-23, Joey served on the board of directors for the Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA), a social services agency supporting low-income immigrants and new arrivals, and in 2019, was recognized on the Notable LGBTQ Executives list by Crain’s Chicago Business. 

A Chicago native and the son of Cambodian refugees, Joey proudly resides in the city's Uptown community.

Christine Concepción:
Christine is a seasoned venture capitalist and startup professional. Prior to joining Fifth Star Funds, she was a managing director at gener8tor, and a principal at VU Venture Partners, where she maintains a venture partnership. Christine has been investing and expertly guiding startups into successful exits for several years. ALPFA in partnership with Goldman Sachs named Christine as one of 50 Latinas to Watch in Business for 2022. Christine’s career also includes founding and building a FinTech gaming platform for Gen Z, and she holds the distinction of being one of fewer than 100 Latina entrepreneurs ever to raise more than seven figures in capital. Christine’s prior experience includes a background in consulting and investment banking. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School with a focus on entrepreneurship and a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Media Studies with a minor in Economics, Magna Cum Laude.

Christine is a NYC native complete with accent, lives with her dachshund Bia and has had her online content view more than 100 million times globally. She is most known for traveling across the country with her soul dog, Athena. When Christine isn’t democratizing venture capital for marginalized founders, she enjoys reading, festivals, and wellness related activities.


Paul Burton:
Paul Burton is the General Partner of 2Flo Ventures, a startup studio and fund leading inclusive innovation in health equity. We invest and build companies in digital health and biotechnology.

Since December 2018, Paul has been the CEO of Akan Biosciences, a biotech start-up developing regenerative medicinal therapeutics. Through Burton Advisory, he also advises early-stage biotech as well as some digital healthcare companies such as Temprian Therapeutics, Schedule1, Cancer IQ, Care Advisors and 4D Healthware.

Previously, he was the CEO of ResQ Pharma, Inc. from July 2015 through December 2018. Similarly, he co-founded Vivacelle Bio, Inc. and was employed as its CFO and a member of its Board of Directors (BOD) from 2012 through 2015.

Paul started his professional career after law and business school (UIUC) as an investment banking associate at Salomon Brothers (now Citigroup Corporate & Investment Bank) in New York. Prior to grad school he served as a United States Regular Army Commissioned Officer (Infantry). While an undergraduate student Paul worked as a lab assistant at UIC’s Medical School Pharmacology Department, earning three co-authorships for research published in peer-reviewed journals.

We are excited to have you join us and welcome you to our community!