Ep. 99: Finding VC in an I-Don’t-Know Moment—with Dillon Liang

Finding VC in an I-Don’t-Know Moment—with Dillon Liang Are you curious about how different industries work? Would you like to learn something new every day? Then a career in venture capital might be a good fit. Dillon Liang is a Junior VC at Bullpen Capital, an early-stage, post-seed venture fund based in Silicon Valley. His resume prior to Bullpen includes roles at M13, Techstars Cedars-Sinai, Core Innovation Capital and Uncharted Ventures. Dillon earned his BA from UCLA, where he cofounded a nonprofit that connected startups with student talent. On this episode of the podcast, Dillon joins us to discuss the I-don’t-know moment that led to his career in VC, explaining what he loves about meeting and working with founders and other investors. He weighs in on what makes a great Bullpen investment and how he learned to identify what kind of deals he likes (and which ones he doesn’t). Listen in to understand why founders should talk to Junior VCs and find out if a career in venture capital is right for you. Topics Covered What made Dillon want to become a VCFound internship at family office on UCLA job boardLiked meeting smart people inspired to change world What makes a great Bullpen investmentProduct in market with early signs of tractionTeam of about 10 that’s raised up to $4M What Dillon likes most about being a VCMeeting and working with foundersBeing part of effort to change world How Dillon is finding deals in the COVID eraLean on network of trusted sourcesGo deep with relationships formed in last year How we can inspire more people to be VCsBroaden access to processesTransparency around how it works Dillon’s I-don’t-know moment at UCLARealized lack of conviction for medicineLed to discovery of venture capital Why founders should talk to Junior VCsJunior team included in decision meetingsRally more internal support How Dillon builds internal conviction for a dealTook every meeting in Year One to develop tasteSit in on meetings to understand what partners like What Dillon is most proud of in his VC career thus farDeals that made it over line (e.g.: Honeybee Health)Friendships with founders, other investors Dillon’s definition of successContent and fulfilled, happy in workContinue to learn every day Connect with Dillon Bullpen Capital https://bullpencap.com/Dillon at Bullpen https://bullpencap.com/team/dillon-liangDillon on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillsl/Dillon on Twitter https://twitter.com/dill_slBullpen on Twitter https://twitter.com/BullpenCap Resources Techstars https://www.techstars.com/Core Innovation Capital http://corevc.com/Honeybee Health https://honeybeehealth.com/Call of Duty: Warzone https://www.callofduty.com/warzoneDiscord https://discord.com/Telegram Messenger https://telegram.org/Reddit Showerthoughts https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/Fortnite https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/homeOculus Quest https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/homeThe Weekend Live Experience https://wavexr.com/theweekndexperience/John Legend’s Virtual Concert https://go.wave.watch/johnlegendWave https://wavexr.com/ Connect with Boost VC Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVCBoost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/