8:30 AM - 8:40 AM
2026 Conference
Archive
2026 Agenda
8:45 AM - 9:10 AM
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
9:15 AM - 9:55 AM
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
10:00 AM - 10:25 AM
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
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Networking Break
11:00 AM - 11:40 AM
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
11:45 AM - 12:25 PM
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
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM - 2:10 PM
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
2:15 PM - 2:55 PM
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
3:00 PM - 3:25 PM
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
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Networking Break
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM
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
4:35 PM - 5:15 PM
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
5:20 PM - 6:00 PM
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
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
