Susan Mason, Managing Partner of Aligned Partners Venture Services will present the Department of Computer Science seminar, with a talk entitled, "Fund raising in Silicon Valley - tip and things to avoid".  

This talk will provide insight to start-ups and entrepreneurs on the typical issues that start-ups face when raising venture capital or angel funding.   Discussion will include an introduction to fund raising, an overview of venture capital or angel investing including motivations on their respective business models and a practical assortment of tips and things to avoid when pitching investors.

Susan has 28 years of operating, management, and venture capital experience. Prior to co-founding Aligned Partners in 2011, she spent 15 years with ONSET Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm with $1 billion under management located in Menlo Park, California. Susan has specialized in investing in the information technology area, specifically communications and security. As an investor and board member, Susan has played a pivotal role in the development of companies including Securent, Alteon, Gadzoox, SilverTail Systems, Actineon, and many others.