Dafina Toncheva, Partner USVP #smartmoneysv

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I interviewed Dafina Toncheva, Partner USVP @C2SV Conference.  Shes been in venture capital for about 5 years. She likes to invest in the enterprise sector: enterprise IT & enterprise applications as well as security. USVP has been focusing on these sectors for over 30 years. There’s a lot of money to be made in this area over the next 10 years.  Over the years there have been a few female vcs @USVP but Dafina is the only one at present (altho that is still 1 more than 99% of vc firms).  A good friend of hers Nat Goldberg says that women fundamentally see the world differently & if you dont have a female @the table, you are missing out on that part of the world.  She is the youngest partner @USVP & she has a technical background, shes a foreigner so international perspective.  She believes she adds to the diversity of USVP which is important.  She spoke about how the vc industry has always been interested in disruptive ideas & models & now the industry itself is being disrupted.  She feels the changes are positive because it makes everyone think more carefully about the right ways to invest for their LPs.  Competition is good for everyone & ultimately only the best succeed. They all have to be the best they can be in order to deserve & earn the money & the trust that is in their hands.  ‘We all need to be challenged & if we are not challenged then we become lazy.  This is one of the reasons that venture returns over the past 10 years haven’t been very good.  Some firms will have to shut down but thats ok, that’s just the business of Life!”