Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks with Bobby Franklin, the President and CEO of the National Venture Capital Association (@nvca) and Board Chair of Venture Forward. Since 2013, Bobby Franklin has led the venture community’s preeminent trade association focused on empowering the next generation of transformative American companies. As president and CEO of NVCA, he champions public policy that supports the American entrepreneurial ecosystem, making NVCA the dominant voice of the U.S startup ecosystem.
In 2020, Franklin led the launch of Venture Forward, NVCA’s connected organization which drives the industry’s human capital by promoting a strong, diverse, and inclusive venture community that will fuel the economy of tomorrow. Through its VC University program, Venture Forward has educated more than 1500 aspiring and early career VCs, many from historically underrepresented communities.
In 2022, he started hosting NVCA’s first-ever podcast called Venture Capitol. The show provides listeners a unique look at public policy through the eyes of America’s venture capitalists who are investing in the high growth companies of tomorrow. The podcast brings together VCs, policymakers, and policy influencers to discuss and debate issues that impact our nation’s economic future.
Prior to joining NVCA, Franklin spent ten years at CTIA, representing the entire wireless industry. Before CTIA, he served as Vice President, Federal Government Affairs and head of Alltel’s Washington, D.C. office. Franklin began his professional career with eight years of experience on Capitol Hill working for Senator David Pryor (D-AR). Franklin earned his B.S.B.A. in Finance and Banking from the University of Arkansas. He and his wife, Julia, have three young adults and reside in Arlington, VA.
Website: https://nvca.org/
Venture Forward website: https://nvca.org/venture-forward/
Venture Capitol Podcast: https://nvca.org/podcast/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bfranklindc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nvca
Show Notes:
0:00 NVCA: lobbyists for the entrepreneurial ecosystem
0:55 Recent policy trends and updates affecting the VC/startup ecosystem and the potential impact they’ll have
5:22 NVCA membership as a resource for keeping up with VC policy changes
6:30 How NVCA determines which policies to prioritize and the balance between playing offensively and defensively in policymaking
8:06 Where NVCA is currently focusing their energy and what changes Bobby wants to see in the industry
13:30 How Venture Forward is diversifying the industry by democratizing access to information and education about being a VC
17:25 The 2022 VC Human Capital Survey as the definitive resource on VC demographics
18:14 Bobby’s thoughts on the LP-GP dynamic and the long game nature of the industry
21:37 The challenge of policy-makers’ disconnect from the VC industry
24:24 Bobby’s observations from a decade in VC policy
27:54 What can be done to advance the industry beyond the JOBS Act
30:59 Industry trends Bobby is excited about
32:43 Why you need to pay attention to and engage with VC policy-making
More about the show:
The Vitalize Podcast, a show by Vitalize Venture Capital (a seed-stage venture capital firm and pre-seed 400+ member angel community open to everyone), dives deep into the world of startup investing and the future of work.
Hosted by Justin Gordon, the Director of Marketing at Vitalize Venture Capital, The Vitalize Podcast includes two main series.
The Angel Investing series features interviews with a variety of angel investors and VCs around the world. The goal? To help develop the next generation of amazing investors.
The Future of Work series takes a look at the founders and investors shaping the new world of work, including insights from our team here at Vitalize Venture Capital.
More about us:
VITALIZE Venture Capital was formed in 2017 as a $16M seed-stage venture fund and now includes both a fund as well as an angel investing community investing in the future of work. VITALIZE has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
The VITALIZE Team:
Gale - https://twitter.com/galeforceVC
Caroline - https://twitter.com/carolinecasson_
Justin - https://twitter.com/justingordon212
Larissa - https://twitter.com/LarissaInsogna
Vick - https://twitter.com/vahram_sf
VITALIZE Angels, our angel investing community open to everyone:
https://vitalizeangels.com/
