Dipalo Ventures

We’re thrilled to introduce our stellar lineup of lecturers for the I𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺, kicking off 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟳𝘁𝗵! These incredible industry leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs are ready to share their expertise and guide you on your journey toward becoming a confident angel investor. 🚀 💡 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀: 🔹 Phaedria Marie St. Hilaire – DEIB Consultant, Executive Coach, Angel at Ada Ventures 🔹 😃 David Fogel Fogel – Co-founder of Alma Angels & Bramble | Fractional CCO/COO 🔹 Erica Wenger 🏕️ Wenger – GP at Park Rangers Capital 🏕️ | Entrepreneur & Community Builder 🔹 Zoe Peden – Partner at Ananda Impact Ventures | Tech Entrepreneur 🔹 Guillaume CAPELLE – Social Entrepreneur & Impact Investor | Founder of SINGA 🔹 Thierry Vandewalle – Founding Partner at Wind Capital 🔹 Rafiq Ahmed – Product Innovator | Founder | VC at Dipalo Ventures 🔹 Geri Kirilova – Partner at Laconia 🔹 Jessie Gaston – Partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP | International Corporate Tax Expert 🔹 Claus T. Hansen – CEO & General Partner at Dream House Venture 🔹 Carmel Rafaeli – Founding Partner at The Table | Climate-Positive Investor 🔹 Suzanne Mills – Business Leader | Investor | Advisor 🔹 Moojan Asghari – Our Founder and Visionary Leader 🎓 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 12-𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩. 👉 Apply via the link in the comments. ⏳ Don’t miss this chance to start your journey and make a real impact in 2025! 🚀

As the holiday season approaches, it's a time to reflect and celebrate! 🥂 Last night, hearing #Cohort6 #BlendTalks reminded me of how inspiring each cohort has been. It's been an incredible journey from where we started to where we are now—and the exciting future ahead. I can't believe it's already been two years since I joined this community! Shoutout to Joey Mak, Salvador Dueñas, and all the alums of Chicago:Blend for creating a welcoming and unique space for every new fellow who joins. We celebrated Zenblen 's first holiday party in their new office, toasting their incredible achievements this year and welcoming new team members. The evening also featured a fun rivalry between Nik Rokop and Rafiq Ahmed over who has known Tom the longest—a mystery only Tom (Xinyuan) Zhang himself can confirm! 😅 You can get your smoothie fix, including our new Apple Pie flavor, at #RushHospital, #NorthwesternResearchCenter, and the University of Chicago Library. Here's to growth, connection, and the exciting paths ahead! 🎉✨ Dipalo Ventures Seyi Fasoranti, PhD Shai Basys Alexis Joo Oleg Grachev Niharika H. Nilofar K. Laura Gladfelter

🤯🤯🤯 Sound ON 🔊 when LLMs assist w/ your 4K spatial computer screens 🥹... posting Curator demo to Youtube soon. 🚀 4K per eye @ 186grams & portable. Visor is in its own league!! 🙌🏽

Sharing some photos from Web Summit 2024, albeit a bit late – the post-summit workload was intense! This is my third year attending, and each time it feels like stepping into the future of innovation and entrepreneurship. This year, the event offered unique insights into emerging trends in technology and venture capital, making it more exciting than ever. One of the key themes was the surge of AI-driven solutions across industries, not just in traditional tech spaces but in healthcare, climate tech, and education. Venture capital conversations highlighted a noticeable shift towards impact investing, with a strong focus on sustainability and inclusivity. It’s clear that VCs are increasingly interested in founders solving global challenges, which was reflected in the inspiring projects showcased. The schedule was as intense as always – from early mornings filled with talks and panels to late nights packed with networking and 3–4 side events every evening. The energy was electric, with people from every corner of the globe bringing fresh ideas and innovative perspectives. One couldn’t help but feel the momentum of change in the air. What makes Web Summit stand out for me isn’t just the cutting-edge content but the personal connections. This year, I met founders and VCs whose conversations extended beyond the event, touching on long-term collaboration and growth. It’s these meaningful interactions that make Web Summit not just a tech event but a transformative experience that stays with you well beyond the closing day. Rafiq Ahmed Dipalo Ventures Oscar Farres Masha Moisseyeva Bernhard Friedl

November meant many conversations on what happens in climate tech investments in the new US Administration. Here's a recap from select conversations in Lisbon at Web Summit and here in Chicago at last week's Dipalo Ventures Climate Tech Happy Hour. Some pictures from the events. And to the humans involved, thank you and until next time! Gustavo Caiuby Guimarães Joaquim Luiz Gomes Oscar Farres Bruno Meireles de Sousa Emet Zeitz Renato Braz Pedro Coutinho Anna S. Matthew Scherba Barbara Brudenell-Bruce Mark Deuitch Jonathan Elliott Memet Yazici Anastasia Radziwill Sérgio Ribeiro Ashley Martis Anastasia Loureiro André Almeida Santos Barbara Santos Vasco Luis José de Mello Tiago Marques Filipe Reina Fernandes Marina Borissova Bernhard Friedl Xaver Matt Elizabeth F. Masha Moisseyeva Estefanía Calvo Joel López de la Fuente Viktoria Drozdz Victoria Castell Alex Lambert Monika Razdan Happy Thanksgiving to All!

🌟 Thank You for Joining Us! 🌟 Thank you to everyone who joined the "Climate Tech Happy Hour with Dipalo Ventures"! For those we missed—there’s always next time. 😊 Special shout-out to Rafiq Ahmed from Dipalo Ventures and Alex Lambert from mHUB for an amazing fireside chat on “Post-Election Landscape." Our amazing founders: 🚀 Jordan DeVries, CryoCellar 🍀 Robert Kennedy, Aeternal Upcycling 🔋 Chris Nicholas, Låkril Technologies We are grateful to our sponsors, CSC Leasing, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, #SigmaGlobal, Bombay Eats, and media partner #MINTCreativeStudios (Nana Kofi Minta Addadzi-Koom), for their support! Here’s a glimpse of the event—see you at the next one! Look out for our second post with more insights and details on what the team is up to. We can't wait to see you at the next one! Yankun Guo Ross Niemi Tom (Xinyuan) Zhang SUNIL ARORA Mindy Angel Mike Sundermeier Nik Rokop Alec Houpt #ClimateTech #DipaloVentures #Sustainability

✨ Meet Rafiq Ahmed 🎓💼 Lecturer of our Impact Angel Investing Program Founder | Managing Director | Serial Entrepreneur Rafiq is the Founder and Managing Director of Dipalo Ventures. With over 30 years of experience, he's a serial entrepreneur and investor with a focus on #climate, industrial, manufacturing, and medical devices sectors. 🚀Highlights: ✅ Angel investment portfolio: 29.23% IRR and 2.33x MOIC with 1 unicorn and 5 exits. ✅ Co-founded Demibooks, an interactive storytelling platform, and successfully exited to EDC (Nasdaq: EDUC). ✅ Limited Partner in multiple Venture Capital Funds. ✅ Former roles include Motorola Mobility (a Lenovo Company), Publicis Sapient, Fannie Mae, and PwC. 🎓 Education: 📚 MBA and graduate work in Computer Science from Virginia Tech. 📚 BS in Electrical Engineering from West Virginia Wesleyan College. 🌟 Passion: Rafiq Ahmed is dedicated to advancing innovation and creating impactful solutions through entrepreneurship and investments. 🌍 Fun Fact: His angel investment strategy has delivered remarkable results, including backing a unicorn and multiple successful exits!

💡 Passionate about climate? Come join us on November 20, 2024 as we invite you Climate Tech Happy Hour with Dipalo Ventures. This is your chance to connect with industry leaders, explore the latest climate innovation, and discuss the post-election landscape and its impact on the climate industry. Expect: ✨ Fireside chat on the post-election landscape with Rafiq Ahmed and Alex Lambert ✨ Pitches from exciting startups ✨ Networking with the climate tech ecosystem 🔗 Register Now: https://lu.ma/sg21whcf Thanks to our amazing sponsors, CSC Leasing, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, #SigmaGlobal, Bombay Eats, and #MintCreativeStudios, for making this event possible. Let’s connect, collaborate, and drive change together! 🌱💚 Mindy Angel Yankun Guo Prabhjot Singh Ali Dewjee Nana Kofi Minta Addadzi-Koom Robert Kennedy Jordan DeVries

Last week, our Analyst Aaditi Tamhankar judged a preliminary round of the VCIC (Venture Capital Investment Competition) at the Kaplan Institute alongside Alex Lambert, Ellie Bahrmasel, Jason Jacobsohn, Keru Omad, and Monika Razdan, as part of the IPRO Genisys class at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Thank you to Nik Rokop and Niharika H. for organizing the event and to everyone who participated!

🌍 Don’t miss our Climate Tech Happy Hour: Year-End Edition! 🌍 Join us at Dipalo Ventures as we wrap up the year with the climate-focused community, connecting with industry leaders, climate innovators, and investors driving change. Thanks to CSC Leasing, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, SIGMA Global, and Bombay Eats for making it possible! 🔗 Limited spots—register now: https://lu.ma/sg21whcf 📅 Date: Nov 20, 2024 ⏰ Time: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CT 📍 Location: Dinsmore & Shohl LLP #ClimateTech #DipaloVentures #Networking #Sustainability #ChicagoEvents