The TechMedia club hosted the Venture Capital Coffee Series, which was warmly received by the HBS student community. Held in Aldrich after the Kabaddi tournament on Friday evening, initial fears of a low turnout were overturned when 54 RCs and ECs turned up for the event.
The co-speakers of the evening were Michael A. Greeley and Henry B. Nguyen.
Michael founded IDG Ventures in Boston in 2001 and is a General Partner focused on information technology, healthcare and medical technology investments. Among a range of general investment themes, Michael is currently focused on opportunities involving technology-enabled business services, the convergence of healthcare and IT, and technologies that address the physical security and homeland defense markets. Michael received a BA with honors in Chemistry from Williams College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Henry currently serves as the Managing General Partner of IDG Ventures Vietnam. Prior to joining IDG Ventures, Henry was the Managing Director in Asia for VITC, a U.S. telecommunications company specializing in IP services and technology. During his time at VITC, the company grew from start-up to over $30M in revenue annually. Hoang was an undergraduate at Harvard University where he attended as a Harvard National Scholar. He graduated Magna cum Laude in 1995 with a B.A. in Classics. After Harvard, Hoang earned his M.D. and M.B.A. from Northwestern University Medical School and the Kellogg School of Management.
In informal talk with students, Michael and Henry informed the student that IDG Ventures is a global network of venture capital funds with approximately $2 billion under management and a portfolio of over 220 companies built over the last 15 years. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of six independent partnerships managing funds in North America and Asia. With partnerships in Boston, San Francisco, India, Korea and multiple locations throughout China and Vietnam, the IDG Ventures network offers the international perspective and the local market expertise to help companies grow from start-ups to global success stories.
They also commented on future growth plans and the difficulty of operating funds in uncertain political climates where security of capital and intellectual property is not often guaranteed.
In talks with students, Henry commented on how IDG, Vietnam is for now engaged in nation building, with investments in traditional business like Media and Infrastructure, as none have existed before.
IDG venture capitalizes on the first mover with local knowledge advantage in developing economies, delivering superior returns for its investors.
After the hour long talk, students talked at length with Michael and Henry, hungry for more information. The TechMedia club will be hosting a chain series with various Partners of IDG Ventures through next term.
