Overview
*REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS AT CAPACITY AND NOW CLOSED*
**NOTE: This month’s Cornell Tech @ Bloomberg event will be hosted at Bloomberg’s 731 Lexington Ave office. Please check the “WHEN & WHERE” section below for details.**
Bloomberg, Cornell Tech, and Tech:NYC invite you to join us for the latest installment of the Cornell Tech @ Bloomberg Speaker Series, featuring Amanda Eilian and Lisa Blau, Co-founders and Partners of Able Partners, in conversation with Caroline Hyde, host of Bloomberg Television’s flagship daily technology show.
When Eilian and Blau founded Able in 2017, they wanted to hone in on investing in the fastest-growing companies in what they’ve come to call the “positive living” space. Since then, Able’s portfolio has grown to 70 companies featuring many leading consumer health startups, including Goop, Spring Health, Oura, Maven, and more. This focus on health and wellbeing is rooted in their own backgrounds as entrepreneurs — Eilian previously co-founded video creation platform Videolicious, which was acquired by Squarespace, while Blau built and exited companies like VitalJuice.com and Portero.
Eilian and Blau’s investment theses are well-aligned: Both are focused on areas in wellbeing that have historically been stigmatized or overlooked, which often results in underserved markets and large business opportunities. This thesis has led them to investments in the biomarker testing startup Function, government benefits management platform Benny, and atai Life Sciences, a company developing psychedelic-based drugs for people with mental health disorders, like depression.
We hope you’ll join us for this conversation, in which Eillian and Blau will discuss the areas in the health and wellness sector that are still ripe for disruption, what’s left to do to narrow the “wellness gap,” their playbook for supporting female founders, and their predictions for the health and wellness VC landscape in 2024.
Twitter: @TechAtBloomberg
Facebook: Cornell Tech @ Bloomberg
Agenda
- 5:30 PM
Cocktail reception begins
- 6:00 PM
Doors close, conversation starts
- 6:45 PM
Audience Q&A
- 7:00 PM
Networking and hors d’oeuvres to follow
- 7:45 PM
Last Call/Bar Closes
PLEASE NOTE: Seating is limited and registered attendees will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors close promptly at the top of the hour. Individuals arriving late may be turned away from the building. No walk-ins will be allowed.
*REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS AT CAPACITY AND NOW CLOSED*
Speakers
Amanda Eilian
Amanda has been actively investing in early stage consumer companies for the last decade, drawing on her experience as an institutional investor and entrepreneur. Previously, Amanda was the co-founder of Videolicious, an enterprise video creation platform backed by Amazon, and served as its President until it was acquired by Squarespace (NYSE:SQSP). Under Amanda’s leadership, Videolicious grew to over 5 million users in 103 countries, including Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Walmart, SAP, Verizon and GE. Prior to forming Videolicious, Amanda was a founding partner of Capitol Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) that completed a $265 million initial public offering and became Two Harbors Investment Corp., a $3 billion REIT (NYSE:TWO). TWO grew to over $5 billion of market capitalization (including a spin-off). Amanda began her career in private equity and mergers and acquisitions. Amanda is a Truman Scholar and received her MBA from Harvard Business School where she was a Baker Scholar, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service with Honors in Economics. Amanda serves on the Board of Directors of the Melanoma Research Alliance and is a member of the Tech:NYC Leadership Council.
Lisa Blau
Lisa Blau is a Founding Partner of Able Partners, a venture capital firm focused on early stage companies in the health and wellness space. With over 70 companies in the portfolio, and more than 60% with female founders, Able’s investments include Bumble (NASDAQ: BMBL), Daily Harvest, Spring Health, Oura, Maven, Alma and Compass Pathways (NASDAQ: CMPS). Lisa chairs the Investor Group of the Leadership Now Project, a membership organization of business professionals committed to renewing democracy. She is a Board Member of KIPP New York and The Mount Sinai Parenting Center. Lisa has a BA from Duke and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and lives in New York City with her husband and three children.
When & Where
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
5:30 PM-8:00 PM EST
Bloomberg
731 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10022
28MPR