Podcast appearances and mentions of clara brenner

An ill-fated business school fashion show led to a venture capital fund with $215 million AUM. The duo met in 2010 at the MIT Sloan School of Management and soon after became research partners investigating why VCs were shunning startups in highly regulated spaces even though AirBnB and Uber were starting to reach venture scale very quickly. Tech-enabled startups impacting how we live in the real world were new (back then). Their research sparked Tumml in 2012, an early-stage accelerator, and culminated with the Urban Innovation Fund I in 2016. Now on their third fund with $215M in AUM and multiple exits, including CodeSpark Academy (acquired by BEGiN) and Electriphi (acquired by Ford). In this episode, Clara and Julie share how they lean into regulated spaces, take advantage of macro trends, and uniquely focus on the relationship between cofounders when investing—lessons from their own highly effective partnership.Clara and Julie invest $500K to $3M into pre-seed and seed startups that make cities more livable, sustainable, and economically viable. This urban thesis covers sectors like climate tech, financial services, transportation, fintech, education, proptech, and future of work.Highlights: Clara and Julie had a hypothesis that urban tech was not only going to take off, but that it was also worthy of VC capital, contrary to what some of the top VCs thought at the time. Sometimes, the role of an investor is to support other investors just as much as the founders. Clara and Julie explain the importance of being the investor who steps up and gains consensus among the other LPs when disputes or dilemmas arise. The opportunity to invest in Electriphi, an electric vehicle fleet management software company, led to an acquisition that returned most of their second fund – all because they were brave enough to bet on the macro trends and tailwinds. Matching up founders with opposite skill sets might work out, but Clara and Julie would much rather find people who truly mesh on deeper levels. (00:00) - FIFU 13 - Julie Lein & Clara Brenner (03:22) - A new kind of VC: The Urban Innovation Fund (11:16) - Opposites attract? Optimizing for cofounder-cofounde fit (18:42) - What are Julie and Clara's whys? (23:43) - Lessons from the first check: They won't all be unicorns (33:23) - Lessons from the worst investment: The only failure is giving up (39:01) - The bear hug: Avoiding the bystander effect and getting other investors on board (44:37) - Lessons from the best investment: Catching Electriphi and the regulatory tailwinds (49:26) - Sensing change: The power of investing in a not-hot space (51:08) - What's next: Looking ahead to the next 5 years of investing (58:03) - Becoming a better investor: What's the secret? (01:04:20) - Pattern matching: What it is and what it isn't to Julie and Clara (01:10:51) - Speed round

This is the story of Clara Brenner, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of the Urban Innovation Fund. In this episode, we discuss: - Clara's journey from real estate development to venture capitalist - Her mission-led focus on solving interesting community challenges - How she co-founded the Urban Innovation fund to invest in startups that are shaping the future of cities, providing capital and support to startups tackling some of the toughest urban challenges - Working with her best friend - Connection not Perfection Please enjoy this interview with the exceptional, Clara Brenner. Thanks for listening,

Listen now (36 min) | Working with special interest strategic LP's, building companies that face regulatory hurdles, and LPAC's. Get on the email list at ventureunlocked.substack.com

John Helm, Managing Director and Founder of RET Ventures, joins Matt for this week's episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate. RET Ventures is the first industry-backed early-stage venture fund focused on helping build cutting-edge real estate technology companies for the multifamily and single-family rental industries. John is our third guest from the proptech space (we previously featured Clara Brenner from the Urban Innovation Fund and Brad Greiwe from Fifth Wall). RET Ventures' business model is differentiated in both its focus on the rental space and that all of their investors are owner-operators, creating a virtuous cycle between clients, customers, and investors. In the episode, John and Matt talk about the impact of technology on the rental housing business, the benefits of tenure and deep relationships in a relationship-oriented business, and John's fascinating career journey.John also sits on the boards of Smart Rent, GiGstreem, Fernish, Moved, Lexicon, Sight Plan, Funnel and Opiniion. Prior to founding RET Ventures, John was a Venture Partner with DN Capital in Munich, Germany, ran and successfully exited two venture-backed real estate tech startups, was CFO of Marcus & Millichap, and a consultant at McKinsey & Company.

Clara is co-founder and Managing Partner of the Urban Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in the future of cities.

Disruptors in real estate, particularly in the PropTech sector, are topics that Matt has tackled on several Leading Voices in Real Estate episodes, including with guests like Clara Brenner, the co-heads of Lyric, Jamie Hodari, and Chip Conley. He expands on this conversation with Brad Greiwe, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Fifth Wall, the largest venture capital fund focused on the global real estate industry and property technology. Still in his 30s, Brad already has substantial career achievements (including co-founding Invitation Homes) and has created a VC fund that is differentiated from others. For instance, half of Fifth Wall's billion-dollar VC funds come from investors inside of the industry. Additionally, the company consults with real estate clients on how to get ahead of the curve in terms of technology and innovation to drive a more sustainable performance. Brad's entrepreneurial spirit and gravitas demonstrate how he is establishing leadership for the next generation and is at the forefront of the convergence of technology and the built environment.A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Brad's grew up in a real estate family, with his dad working for a multifamily developer. He was recruited to play football at Harvard, and while Brad wasn't quite NFL caliber, he capitalized on sports to propel his education. While at Harvard, Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook, and many of his friends went towards that side of the tech industry, Brad decided after graduation to move in a different direction initially.Brad started his career in investment banking at UBS in the real estate, lodging, and leisure group, where he tallied over $33 billion of M&A advisory work and $1 billion of debt and equity financing, including the sale of Hilton Hotels to The Blackstone Group for $26 billion—the largest hotel privatization in history. He then worked in real estate private equity at Tishman Speyer and Starwood Capital, where he executed over $30 billion of acquisitions, debt financing, and development projects.Prior to starting Fifth Wall, Brad co-founded Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH), a multi-billion dollar owner and operator of single-family rental properties originally backed by The Blackstone Group. As CTO, he positioned Invitation Homes as the dominant technology-forward brand in the single-family rental category, developing a proprietary technology stack to support the valuation, acquisition, rehabilitation, leasing, and professional management of over 80,000 homes in 17 major markets, serving 120,000 residents across the U.S.

The post E993: Superhuman CEO Rahul Vohra shares the formula for his Product-Market Fit Engine; Future of Angel Investing w/Jeff Clavier (Uncork), Ben Ling (Bling), Clara Brenner (Urban Innovation Fund); plus LAUNCH Scale Partner Talk w/Help Scout VP of Sales Tim Thyne appeared first on This Week In Startups.

The post E993: Superhuman CEO Rahul Vohra shares the formula for his Product-Market Fit Engine; Future of Angel Investing w/Jeff Clavier (Uncork), Ben Ling (Bling), Clara Brenner (Urban Innovation Fund); plus LAUNCH Scale Partner Talk w/Help Scout VP of Sales Tim Thyne appeared first on This Week In Startups.

Clara Brenner is co-founder and Managing Partner of the Urban Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm she established to invest in the future of cities. She had a vision to empower entrepreneurs keen to solve urban problems, and so with business partner Julie Lein, she is helping grow tomorrow’s most valued companies. The UIF provides seed capital and regulatory support to social entrepreneurs looking to create solutions to tough urban challenges, such as transportation, work force, housing in the built environment and education, amongst others. Clara’s journey began in Washington DC where the two biggest industries are government and real estate, and whilst she has no desire to get involved with GovTech just yet, she did enjoy working in real estate, cutting her teeth at Fundrise, a social impact company. From there Clara went on to co-found Tumml, a startup hub for urban tech before establishing the Urban Innovation Fund, which closed a $24.5m seed stage fund last June. And now, with a diverse portfolio of companies under their wing, Urban Innovation fund is set to dramatically change the urban landscape. Join us as we chat with Clara about: Her motivation to begin her hero's journey, from Washington DC to San Francisco. The role technology will play in shaping the urban environments of the future. Why she’s happy for people to acknowledge her success as well as being female, rather than just accepting it. The diverse portfolio that the UIF has inadvertently invested in and why she is drawn to companies with strong female and POC founders. Why she was so determined as a kid not to follow in her mother’s footsteps and how, despite her best efforts, the apple really didn’t fall too far from the tree. What personality traits and motivations entrepreneurs need to have if they hope to succeed with her. The appalling parental leave policy in the USA and the business Clara is championing to support breastfeeding mothers who have to go back to work. Her vision for the San Francisco of the future. Links: Urban Innovation Fund For more, visit secretleaders.com

Over the Australian summer, we'll be replaying some of your favourite episodes. We bet you will learn something you missed the first time. Enjoy and see you in 2019.Clara Brenner is co-founder and Managing Partner of the Urban Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in the future of cities located in San Francisco.In this episode of Success Stories, Clara speaks with Catherine Robson about what investments she's excited about, finding work/life balance in the Bay Area and which books she is recommending at the moment. (HINT: one has the backing of the city of San Francisco).

The post E852: News Roundtable! Clara Brenner, Urban Innovation Fund & Iain Thomson, The Register: Facebook & Twitter testify, Google misfires, free speech v. de-platforming, scooter war victors & victims, rise of IPOs & income inequality, security shenanigans appeared first on This Week In Startups.

The post E852: News Roundtable! Clara Brenner, Urban Innovation Fund & Iain Thomson, The Register: Facebook & Twitter testify, Google misfires, free speech v. de-platforming, scooter war victors & victims, rise of IPOs & income inequality, security shenanigans appeared first on This Week In Startups.

Clara Brenner is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of the Urban Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm that provides seed capital and regulatory support to the tech startups addressing the challenges facing urban dwellers. Clara and I had a wide-ranging discussion about her career, business, and the startups and technologies in which her firm has invested.Real Estate and GovernmentGrowing up in Washington, D.C., Clara was surrounded by real estate and government, and found herself drawn to both. Her undergrad thesis explored the historic relationship between real estate developers and local government in Lower Manhattan.“Ultimately, I decided to go down the real estate development path because it seemed like you were equally influential and you got to have more fun, be more creative, and make more money.”After four years of working in real estate, Clara realized she wanted to be her own boss. She returned to school at MIT Sloan with a vision to start her own real estate development firm.Shaping the Future of CitiesClara and her friend Julie Lein crossed paths at MIT Sloan and realized they both had a fascination with companies that were tackling meaningful challenges in cities. After some in-depth research, they discovered that these companies were facing a lot of similar challenges, around issues such as fundraising challenges, physical space, and regulatory and political hurdles.This sparked the creation of their investment vehicle and accelerator Tumml.“I think real estate is a great career if you want to have an impact on the physical environment around you, which is I think is something so many people want now, they want to feel like and see the influence of their work every day.”Tumml paved the way for Clara and Julie to found the Urban Innovation Fund, a more sustainable, long-term investment vehicle that writes larger checks, is involved in multiple rounds of investing and takes board seats. This $24.5 million dollar fund has a diverse portfolio that Clara says aligns with their vision for creating scalable solutions that shape the future of cities. This looks like everything from Milk Stork, a breast milk shipping service for the traveling businesswoman, to Udelv, a driverless delivery service.Their set of investors are more traditional, financially motivated entities who they refer to as “impact curious.”Clara highlights the fact that today, people often look to technology as the changemaker; however, she points to politics and policy as the place where real, slow, painful change happens. Identifying transformative technology is very important, but you still need to vote and be politically engaged to create real change.

Clara Brenner is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of the Urban Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm that provides seed capital and regulatory support to the tech startups addressing the challenges facing urban dwellers. Clara and I had a wide-ranging discussion about her career, business, and the startups and technologies in which her firm has invested.

Clara Brenner is co-founder and Managing Partner of the Urban Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in the future of cities located in San Francisco.In this episode of Success Stories, Clara speaks with Catherine Robson about what investments she's excited about, finding work/life balance in the Bay Area and which books she is recommending at the moment. (HINT: one has the backing of the city of San Francisco).

Clara Brenner is the co-founder of the [Urban Innovation Fund](http://www.urbaninnovationfund.com) and a staunch believer in the future of augmented cities. While she isn't a complete optimist, she believes tech and government can work together to make our cities better. Take a listen and follow her on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/clara_brenner?lang=en)!

Clara Brenner is the co-founder of the [Urban Innovation Fund](http://www.urbaninnovationfund.com) and a staunch believer in the future of augmented cities. While she isn't a complete optimist, she believes tech and government can work together to make our cities better. Take a listen and follow her on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/clara_brenner?lang=en)!

The post E810: Clara Brenner, Urban Innovation Fund: “Forming a Board: Why & When (or, To Board or Not to Board) & Domingo Guerra, Appthority “Founder Lessons from Seed to Series B” @ Founder.University appeared first on This Week In Startups.

The post E810: Clara Brenner, Urban Innovation Fund: “Forming a Board: Why & When (or, To Board or Not to Board) & Domingo Guerra, Appthority “Founder Lessons from Seed to Series B” @ Founder.University appeared first on This Week In Startups.

The post E798: News Roundtable! Antonio Garcia Martinez (author “Chaos Monkeys”) & Clara Brenner (Urban Innovation Fund) dissect Facebook’s Russia problem, targeted ads & dilemmas of unrestricted growth, crypto news, harassment in VC, gun control & Gen Z activism appeared first on This Week In Startups.

Clara Brenner, Urban Innovation Fund shares insights from ~50 investments focused on solving our biggest challenges, importance of tenacity, momentum, culture to scale & positive communication with investors

E17: Clara Brenner, Urban Innovation Fund shares insights from ~50 investments focused on solving our biggest challenges, importance of tenacity, momentum, culture to scale & positive communication with investors

Today we have a conversation from the VC corner stage at Startup Grind's Global Conference held each year in Silicon Valley. Joining us today is a presentation by Clara Brenner co-founder and CEO of the Tumml Urban Solutions Accelerator which has supported supported companies like HandUp, Chariot, and Popupsters solve problems specifics to cities and dense populations.    Prior to founding Tumml, she worked in real estate development – at a real estate tech startup called Fundrise, as well as at AECOM, GVA Advantis, and Monument Realty.    Clara earned her MBA from MIT Sloan and her BA from NYU. She is a member of the MIT Sloan Alumni Board. In January 2014, Forbes listed her as one of its “30 Under 30” for Social Entrepreneurship.   Lets listen into Clara Brenner live from the VC stage at Startup Grind’s Global Conference 

Hey Change Nation! This is the fourth week in July of our series featuring the 'Best of SCN'! Focused on taking you back to some of our early days in podcasting, I believe this interview will be interesting to many. This week we discuss an area of social entrepreneurship that Social Change Nation is very passionate about: Urban Innovation. Clara Brenner, the founder and director of the Tumml has been able to change urban cities and for good with her non-profit urban venture accelerator Tumml! Their mission is to empower entrepreneurs to solve urban problems. With a hands-on approach, Tumml provides entrepreneurs with the tools to help scale their impact and enhance quality of life in cities everywhere.  Clara shares many stories of urban impact ventures that have solved --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dollaranddifference/support

This week we focus on an area of social entrepreneurship that Social Change Nation is very passionate about: Urban Innovation.   Our first i --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dollaranddifference/support