As a corporate venture capitalist (VC) in Silicon Valley, Grant Allen brings a unique perspective to investing. His work does not end there as he is also an agency investor and nonprofit founder. He has a tremendous amount of respect for other investors and a passion that shines through. This is evident when he speaks about his love for the work he does.
One of the best learning tools we entrepreneurs have is to look at what others are doing. It’s the perfect way to find out what’s working, learn from their missteps and hear what advice they have. When it comes to pitching, many entrepreneurs try to learn from successful pitches made by other startups. Another approach is to seek advice and answers directly from the investors themselves. This is especially powerful for any entrepreneur who may be new to the world of fundraising.
This post offers perspectives from Grant Allen, a corporate VC investor in Silicon Valley. He shares about his firm and what they look for in a great startup. He describes the types of opportunities they tend to fund.
SE Ventures can provide startups with access to SE’s global market reach, insights and customer relationships. They act as an advisor, investor, and strategic accelerant for category-defining startups spanning energy, mobility, proptech, cybersecurity, industrial IoT, and automation software.
With global operations and a customer base in over 100 countries, they’re a market leader in industrial digital transformation. The SE Ventures team offers unmatched industry depth into electric technology and trends. They work with a customer base comprising the hardest sectors to decarbonize.
They consist of 200 manufacturing plants and 100 distribution centers across 50+ countries. Their ability to help shape the direction of climate change policy for cities and industries reaches across the globe.
Grant and his partners focus on sourcing new ideas from inside and outside the company. Their goal is to always find the best and brightest, and incubate new business ideas.
At last count, SE Ventures had evaluated 200+ ideas, launched eight incubation projects and created five new companies. Certainly, there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
During our interview, Grant shared how SE Ventures is helping startups bring their business ideas to life. In addition to this, Grant also offered success tips and points of advice for startup founders and teams, including: