The IQ Brew: VC Industry Professionals
The IQ Brew is a networking and educational series featuring short presentations from entrepreneurs, small businesses and subject-matter experts. The goal of The IQ® Brew is to share lessons learned and to have the Richardson business community hear about the successes and challenges faced while starting and growing a business. Come join us for conversation every 2nd Thursday of the month!
On Thursday, February 9, The IQ® Brew will feature Trey Bowles with Techstars, Lauren Tyra with Green Park & Golf Ventures, and Jeff Williams with Interlock Ventures. This event will be moderated by George Brody with the University of Texas at Dallas.
Join a trio of VC industry professionals – representing pre-seed through Series B – for their outlook on the tech venture capital landscape for the next 18 months. You won’t want to miss what will surely be one of the more insightful, interactive, and entertaining discussions of the new year!
Agenda
8:30am – Networking
9:00am – Opening Remarks
9:05am – Introductions
9:15am – IQ Speakers
9:45am – Q&A
Bios:
Jeff Williams
Jeff has more than 25 years of management, operational and investing experience, including over 17 years of investing in early and late-stage companies. Collectively, Jeff has managed, sold, and invested in over $1 billion worth of companies over two decades.
Additionally, he sits on boards at The University of Texas at Dallas and Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business Venture Fund where he is a frequent lecturer and guest speaker on topics related to venture capital and entrepreneurship.
Trey Bowles Bio
Managing Director, Techstars
Physical Health Fort Worth
Trey Bowles is a serial entrepreneur, ecosystem builder, and educator. Bowles is currently the Managing Director for Techstars in the Physical Health Fort Worth Accelerator. This program is a partnership between Techstars and City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, and UNT Health Science Center. Bowles was cofounder and President of InnoCity Partners LLC, a smart cities consulting and project management firm focused on providing counsel to organizations across the public and private sectors to design, plan and implement smart cities programs. Bowles most recently was appointed by Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson to co-chair the Task Force on Innovation and Entrepreneurship focused around helping determine what the city of Dallas can do to attract, support and retain startup companies in the area. Trey cofounded and is now Chairman Emeritus of the Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC), a 501c3 non-profit organization created for entrepreneurs to learn how to start, build and grow businesses through training, education, mentorship, promotion, and capital investment. As Co-Founder and CEO, Trey led strategy, vision, and the overall planning and development efforts for the DEC. Trey also worked closely as the DEC CEO to engage executives, mentors and other valuable experts within the Dallas community and across the country to maintain a strong and robust resource offering for DEC startups/members).
Dr. Lauren Tyra, Chief Scientific Officer, Green Park & Golf Ventures
Dr. Lauren Tyra is a scientist, venture capitalist, and Plano ISD School Board Trustee. After graduating from Plano East, Dr. Tyra attended the University of North Texas, where she double majored in Biology and German. She subsequently earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she was heavily involved in student leadership, led science fair outreach, and was a National Science Foundation Fellow. Dr. Tyra is a published scientific author, with publications in the Journal of Cell Biology, eLife and Developmental Cell. She is now the chief scientific officer of a local venture capital firm that specializes in healthcare and life science startups. Her firm has over 65 active life science, healthcare, and technology companies, and she serves as a board director or observer for multiple startups.
George Brody
Brody holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He also earned master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of New Brunswick, Canada. He is a member of the advisory council for the Jindal School of Management at The University of Texas at Dallas, a Charter Member of TiE and serves on the Board of Directors of TiE Dallas. In addition to being an avid angel investor, George is also the Chair of a vibrant Angel investor group called the TiE Dallas Angels.