Welcome Remarks

The 2026 Venture Debt Market Outlook

• Macro and rate backdrop for venture lending in 2026
• How lenders are underwriting risk, covenants, and pricing today
• Where sector appetite is expanding or contracting
• Regulatory and policy outlook for venture debt, exploring how proposed oversight of private credit could reshape compliance, risk disclosure, lender reporting obligations

John Markell

Managing Partner

Armentum

What Founders and VCs Really Think About Raising Venture Debt

• How founders evaluate venture debt versus equity in the current market
• What VCs want to see in debt terms, covenants, and intercreditor alignment
• Common mistakes in process, timing, and lender selection
• How debt strategy changes across growth stage, runway, and fundraising plans

Troy Zander

Partner

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Mike Lederman

Head of Innovation Banking

Western Alliance Bank

Philip Odelfelt

CEO

Datavations

Melissa Wasser

Partner

Andreessen Horowitz

Arjun Jain

Partner

NEA

Monsters, Misses, and Crashes: When Innovation Goes Wrong

• Know the three recurring modes of entrepreneurial failure: technological limits, timing gaps, and market mismatch
• How format wars, pricing models, and licensing strategy determine winners and losers
• Consumer behavior versus elite preference: misreading demand at scale
• What history suggests about leverage, runway, and the structure of risk

Arthur Daemmrich

Professor

Arizona State University

Networking Break

Playing Offense or Defense: Venture Debt Strategy in Today’s Volatile Market

• How lenders and borrowers are adapting strategy amid volatility and tighter liquidity
• Defensive tools: covenant design, collateral packages, and downside planning
• Offensive positioning: when debt can accelerate growth and improve optionality
• Legal and restructuring considerations that shape outcomes in stressed scenarios

Marty Pichinson

Co-Founder & Co-Manager

Sherwood Partners

Charles Charpentier

Partner

Troutman Pepper Locke

Eric Goldberg

Partner

DLA Piper

Bob Eisenbach

Of Counsel

Cooley

Prasant Chunduru

Managing Director, Head of Tech Credit Solutions

HSBC US

Raising Growth Capital in Israel and Beyond

• Current deal environment for growth capital in Israel and cross-border markets
• How venture debt complements equity in longer fundraising cycles
• Structuring considerations for founders, lenders, and sponsors across jurisdictions
• Sector and investor trends shaping deployment in 2026

Matt Pangle

Financial Services Associate

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Simon Weintraub

Partner

Arnon Tadmor Levy

Ella Adhanan

Managing Director

Hercules Capital

Seth Spergel

Managing Partner

Merlin Ventures

Lunch

Timing the Raise: Aligning Venture Debt with Equity and M&A Strategy

• When venture debt is most effective relative to equity rounds and M&A timelines
• Balancing runway extension, dilution, and strategic flexibility
• Term sheet features that can help or hinder future financings and exits
• How boards and investors are evaluating debt timing in a reset market

Craig Netterfield

Managing Partner

Columbia Lake Partners

Alexander Gorokhovskiy

Managing Director, Deutsche Bank Private Credit & Infrastructure

Deutsche Bank

Ruslan Sergeyev

Managing Director

Hercules Capital

Jennifer Post

Partner

Thompson Coburn, LLP

Kai Tse

Managing Partner, CIO

Structural Capital Investments

Adjacent Credit Strategies

• How adjacent private credit strategies compare to venture debt on risk and return
• Where structures are converging across sponsor-backed and innovation lending
• Portfolio construction considerations in a higher-for-longer rate environment
• What borrowers and allocators should watch over the next 12 months

Mehak Rashid

Partner

Legal Scale

Michael Balkin

CEO

Horizon Tech Finance

Nick Acimovic

Managing Partner

Jovian Capital Management

Robert McGregor

Managing Partner, Investments

Coromandel Capital

Achieving Better Outcomes with Distressed Borrowers

• Early warning signals and intervention timing in distressed borrower situations
• Negotiation strategies that preserve value while protecting lender rights
• Options across amendment, forbearance, recapitalization, and exit paths
• Execution lessons from recent middle-market and venture-backed workouts

Nate McOmber

Managing Director

G2 Capital Advisors

Networking Break

Venture Debt Jeopardy: Venture Jeopar-DEBT-y!

• Contestants will battle it out to prove their knowledge
• Winner receives a $250 Visa gift card
• Audience participation encouraged — fun giveaways throughout the session!

Host: Heidi Lipton

Founding Partner

Rock Creek Advisors

Judge: Zack Ellison

Managing General Partner

A.R.I.

Team 1

Steven Rea

President, ATEL Ventures

Team 2

Michael Balkin

CEO, Horizon Technology Finance

Mark Solovy

Co-Head Technology Finance Group, Monroe Capital

Team 3

Mike Lederman

Head of Innovation Banking, Western Alliance Bank

AI and Venture Debt: From Buzzword to Competitive Edge

• AI-driven underwriting and credit decisioning
• Predictive revenue analytics for SaaS and fintech borrowers
• AI agents for loan servicing, covenant monitoring, and investor reporting
• Human oversight and accountability in agentic workflows
• Implementation realities: from pilot to production

Mark Solovy

Co-Head Technology Finance Group

Monroe Capital

David Teten

Partner

Orange Collective

Eitan Frailich

Co-founder & CPO

Hypercore

Venture Debt Outlook: Signals, Shifts, and What Comes Next

• Volume trends, deal structures, sector concentration
• How the current environment is shaping borrower and lender behavior
• How venture debt is evolving alongside shifts in equity markets, valuation resets, and extended time between funding rounds
• Expectations for deal flow, pricing, competition, and sector opportunities

Jeff Goldrich

Managing Director, Technology

Growth Capital

Troy Zander

Partner

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Sean Lynden

President, Venture Banking

Banc of California

Trinity Chavez

Award Winning Journalist & Anchor

Cocktail Party