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THE AGENDA

Now in its fourth year, the Venture Debt Conference has been shaped by continuous feedback from the community. Each year, we refine the event agenda to reflect the most relevant topics and evolving dynamics of the venture lending market. The result is a program designed to deliver the information and perspective our audience values most. Below are some of the topics we’re working on for the 2026 event.

The 2026 Venture Debt Market Outlook
  • Identifying TAM
  • Sector growth drivers
  • The evolving capital supply landscape
  • Regulatory and policy outlook for venture debt, exploring how proposed oversight of private credit could reshape compliance, risk disclosure, lender reporting obligations
Mapping the Modern Lender Landscape
  • Who’s actively lending in 2026—from banks and specialty finance firms to crossover credit funds and emerging platforms.
  • Bank pullbacks and new entrants
  • How non-bank lenders capture market share
  • Key differences in speed, pricing, and risk tolerance
Innovative Lending Structures: Hybrid, Bridge, and Recurring-Revenue Lines
  • How creative deal structures—from hybrid instruments to milestone-based draws—provide borrowers flexibility and lenders attractive risk-adjusted returns.
  • Revenue-Based and Milestone-Based Financing Models
  • Comparing Venture Debt Instruments from term loans to convertible hybrids
  • How fintech challengers are reshaping expectations
Adjacent Credit Strategies
  • Litigation Finance
  • Royalty Streams & IP-Backed Lending
  • Sector dives into AI, Life Sciences, Clean Tech & Infrastructure where venture debt capital is flowing
  • Expansion beyond traditional venture debt into growth credit, structured equity, and hybrid instruments
  • Opportunistic deployment into asset-backed credit (IP, equipment, receivables) within venture ecosystems
The New Rate Cycle: How the Current/Expected Interest Rate Environment Impacts Venture Debt Pricing and Structure
  • How lenders are recalibrating spreads, covenants, and leverage terms
  • Staying competitive in a persistent high-rate environment
  • Shift from near-zero rates to a higher-for-longer environment resetting return expectations
  • Base rate sensitivity (SOFR) now a primary driver of all-in yields
  • Enhanced covenant packages (liquidity, performance triggers, reporting)
Underwriting in an Age of Selectivity
  • How credit committees are sharpening focus on cash flow visibility
  • Evaluating equity sponsor strength
  • Path-to-profitability metrics
  • What founders overlook when choosing a lender
Timing the Raise: Aligning Venture Debt with Equity and M&A Strategy
  • How to strategically sequence debt alongside equity rounds, acquisitions, or recapitalizations
  • Optimizing liquidity and minimizing dilution
  • Venture debt as a strategic bridge, not a substitute, for equity capital
  • Using venture debt to extend runway and reach value-creating milestones before dilution
  • Venture debt as dry powder for opportunistic M&A or tuck-in acquisitions
Optimizing Returns Through Warrants and Equity Kickers
  • How lenders are structuring equity participation to enhance yield
  • How borrowers negotiate terms that align incentives for long-term success
  • Warrants as a tool to enhance total return without increasing cash yield
  • Balancing cash interest vs. equity upside in different rate environments
  • Structuring warrant coverage based on risk, stage, and sponsor quality
  • Using equity kickers to align lender and founder incentives
Continuation & Secondary Funds: Managing Liquidity Across Portfolios
  • How GPs, LPs, and lenders are navigating longer hold periods through continuation vehicles
  • Using secondary transactions to sustain portfolio performance, generate interim liquidity for LPs
  • Growing role of continuation vehicles in extending asset hold periods
  • Using secondary sales as a tool to actively manage portfolio risk
  • Navigating consent rights, transfer restrictions, and lender approvals
Managing Risk and Recovery: Workouts, Restructurings, and Covenant Enforcement
  • Insights on how to navigate distressed credit scenarios
  • Ways to implement best practices for managing downside risk in challenging markets.
  • Early identification of stress through cash burn, runway, and KPI monitoring
  • Covenants as early-warning signals, not just enforcement tools
  • Aligning with sponsors and boards during restructuring negotiations
  • Role of collateral, IP, and guarantees in recovery outcomes
AI in Credit Underwriting: From Buzzword to Competitive Edge
  • AI-driven underwriting and risk scoring
  • Predictive revenue analytics for SaaS and fintech borrowers
  • Reducing early default identification from months to days
  • Ethical and regulatory considerations
  • Implementation challenges within traditional institutions
The Future of Venture Debt: What 2030 Might Look Like
  • Will venture debt become mainstream for all growth startups?
  • Tech-first underwriting platforms and embedded finance
  • The convergence of equity, debt, and alternative funding
  • Predicting lender behavior under future macro cycles
  • The next big disruptors in startup lending

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