Venture Capital: How Smart Money Shapes Tomorrow's Companies

​Join us for a journey into the world of venture capital, where we'll explore how this powerful investment vehicle has shaped modern innovation and created some of the world's most valuable companies.

​You'll learn about the fundamental structures of VC funds, understand the roles of different stakeholders from Limited Partners to General Partners, and gain insights into the risk-return dynamics that drive investment decisions. Whether you're an aspiring investor, entrepreneur, or industry professional, this session will provide you with essential knowledge about venture capital's impact on the startup ecosystem and the critical factors that make VC funds successful.

​About your hosts:

​Carmen Palafox brings over two decades of finance expertise to her role as Founder and Managing Partner at 2045 Ventures, where she leads investments in early-stage technology startups across climatetech, fintech, health tech, enterprise SaaS, and consumer sectors.

​Carmen previously served as Vice President at Dimensional Fund Advisors, scaling their global investment operations. She now shares her expertise as an Adjunct Professor at USC Marshall, teaching venture capital.

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​After 20 years leading sales orgs for tech & media’s largest global brands, Kim Stonehouse embarked on a journey to invest in women-led companies.  Today she manages a growing portfolio of venture funds and early-stage investments as Founder of Decade Venture.

​In prior roles at Meta and Google, Kim has delivered record 10 digit ARR, scaled international partnerships and supported traditional industries through digital and mobile transformation.  She was awarded ‘40 under 40’ and ‘Top 100 Women’ honors for her work.