Ryan McCalley

Founder & Managing Partner

SQN Venture Partners

Ryan McCalley is the Managing Partner and Founder of SQN Venture Partners with lead responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of SQN VP and its Funds, the sourcing and investment process, and portfolio construction. Ryan brings over 20 years of portfolio management and startup operational experience to SQN VP.

Prior to establishing SQN VP, in partnership with SQN Capital Management, he was the Senior Vice President of ATEL Ventures, a San Francisco based private equity firm, managing $2BN in assets. Mr. McCalley’s tenure spanned over a decade with ATEL where he provided venture debt financing to emerging technology companies and also held various other responsibilities such as: portfolio management over multiple funds, deal origination and underwriting and was the head of Clean Energy Investments.

His extensive experience financing emerging technology companies led him to the cofounding of PURE Energies, Inc. in 2010. Mr. McCalley was part of the founding senior management team and board responsible for taking PURE from concept to the largest VC backed exit for a Canadian company in 2014. While with PURE, Mr. McCalley raised over $20 million in venture capital financing from multiple funds, including New Enterprise

Associates. He was also responsible for key strategic acquisitions that resulted in the sale of PURE to NRG Energy the largest VC backed exit in Canada in 2014.

Mr. McCalley holds a BA in Economics and accounting from the University of California Santa Barbara and resides in Charleston, SC with his wife and
three children.

2:20pm - 2:55pm

April 10, 2025

Lessons Learned in Venture Debt, Post-Workout

  • Early signs of distress and how to identify/react
  • When to lean in (lend more) versus get out
  • Factors that lead to a successful workout
  • Tips/Lessons learned for success