Citi Ventures head honcho Arvind Purushotham is coming to TC Early venture capital used to get a bad rap. The money flowed from corporations into startups when times were good, and quickly disappeared when the market turned.

But startups and corporations discovered something over time: They’re a lot stronger together no matter the market conditions. Most big companies can’t gain enough insight into what’s bubbling up in the market without deep ties to founders; meanwhile, founders benefit greatly from having a renowned corporation on the balance sheet. Not only can a big brand give an upstart near-instant credibility, a corporate partner can also open doors and provide startups with a far better understanding about the needs of established companies.

It’s because the corporate venture relationship has become so key to founders that we’re thrilled to be welcoming Arvind Purushotham to TC Early Stage — Marketing Fundraising happening tomorrow, July 8-9. Purushotham is a longtime VC who started his career as a circuit designer with Intel before spending nearly a decade with Menlo Ventures. Then, in 2011, he helped found Citi’s corporate venture capital group, where he remains the outfit’s global head of venture investing and sets the group’s overall strategy.

Indeed, having since partnered with all kinds of companies over this last decade with Citi  —  just some of its checks have gone to Square, DocuSign, Honey, Plaid, Betterment, Jet.com, DataRobot, Tanium, Pindrop and Digit — Purushotham knows what it takes to drive a business forward and how corporate VCs can help in the mission.

He’ll share what his own team looks for when meeting with a founding team and how Citi specifically identifies, then invests in startups as a way to bring cutting-edge tech to Citi’s businesses and functions.

He’ll also share what not to do and why, how much to reveal and when, and how to think about a corporate venture partner once that investment is made.

It’s going to be one of the highlights of our event, which is coming up quickly and is a must-see if your startup or a startup that you’re advising is looking for insights into how to better approach the key pillars of both marketing and fundraising. Get your ticket today before prices increase tonight.

Source: TechCrunch

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