The EVCA leadership is dedicated to building community across and empowering the next generation of venture capitalists through an array of activities—from hosting events, knowledge sharing, and connecting others. This EVCA Leadership Spotlight Series is intended to help the broader community get to know what's going on behind the scenes at the EVCA, as well as highlight the valuable contributions of those individuals who make the EVCA possible. Accordingly, it's a great privilege for us to announce this EVCA Leadership Spotlight on our very own EVCA Mobility Vertical Co-Lead, Brian Wei of BMW i Ventures.
Carl Choi is a senior principal at Alumni Ventures, where he focuses on various sectors including climate, AI, digital health, B2B software and Future of Work across all stages. Previously, Carl led strategic initiatives as a director of corporate strategy at Upwork, drove inorganic growth through M&As at Riverbed Technology, and spent time at J.P. Morgan in San Francisco. Hailing from Canada, Carl holds a double degree in Math and Business from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, respectively, and an MBA from UC Berkeley. Outside of work, Carl is an avid soccer player and a strategic board game geek.
EVCA: Could you explain more about what you do in your role as an Impact Vertical Lead at EVCA?
Carl: I am a co-lead of one of the new initiatives at the EVCA Impact Program. We partner with awesome impact-focused organizations such as Epic Foundation and Village Capital, with more partners on the horizon. Our objective is to link EVCA members with mission-driven organizations that are committed to making a meaningful difference in the world, magnifying their influence. I encourage anyone interested to reach out to me and Greg at Blumberg Capital to learn more!
EVCA: What made you interested in taking a leadership role at EVCA?
Carl: In both my professional journey and personal experiences, I've been supported by many generous folks. I'm sure many EVCA members feel the same way. Leveraging our everyday work and skills, I am confident that we can make a huge difference through the partnerships we are building. I'm excited to be a small part of these meaningful connections that will have a butterfly effect down the road.
EVCA: What is your most contrarian view on an existing or emerging technology trend?
Carl: I believe in the cyclical nature of different sectors within venture capital. As a generalist, one big advantage is to be able to examine various sectors. Despite the cleantech 1.0 bust, I'm more optimistic about climate tech sector this time around due to several factors including higher urgency from government / investors / general public, technological advances and lessons learned from the cleantech 1.0 as well as maturing ecosystem and more robust climate capital stack. I'm particularly encouraged by very smart and mission-driven people trying to solve extremely hard problems. However, I also acknowledge that progress may be more gradual than expected with the daunting data outlined in IPCC reports, we may hit another trough in the space. Having said that, I'm a natural optimist and I firmly believe that we'll eventually figure things out so that not everyone has to move to Mars!
Interested in taking on an EVCA leadership role? The EVCA leadership is dedicated to empowering the next generation of VCs through an array of activities—running 40+ channels on from hosting events, knowledge sharing, and connecting others. If interested in pursuing an EVCA leadership role, click here.
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