Alloy is an annual invite-only event that brings together investors, startups, and leading Fortune 500 innovators who are interested in learning how to better engage with startups. In 2019, we hosted 300+ attendees in San Francisco for a day of inspirational content sessions and relationship building. An alloy is the union of two or more base metals resulting in a new, stronger, and more useful compound. We think this is a fitting metaphor for large corporations and startups that successfully work together.
Greg Becker, CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, sat down with Kate Mitchell, Partner at Scale Venture Partners, to kick off #Alloy2019 with a Fireside Chat.
At Alloy, Greg and Kate walked through SVB’s unique philosophy around innovation and how they put that into practice at SVB. SVB works with 50% of all venture-backed companies in the United States and 2/3 of all venture capitalists, giving them an incredible view of the innovation economy. Greg and Kate unpacked SVB’s innovation strategy, how companies should be engaging with the startups that bank with SVB, overcoming risk aversion, attracting entrepreneurial talent, and much more. Greg has been a champion of the innovation economy since he joined Silicon Valley Bank in 1993 as a banker to fast-growing technology companies. Today, he is the CEO of the world’s only bank dedicated to the innovation sector around the world. Greg was the president, chief operations officer, and chief banking officer prior to taking on the CEO role. Earlier in his career, Greg ran the company’s Venture Capital Group where he was responsible for building relationships with and investing in, venture capital and private equity firms across the U.S. Greg was also a co-founder and managing director of SVB Capital.