ABOUT THE SESSION

 

​A practitioner-led conversation examines today’s early-stage funding reality; how to build high-conviction Seed & Series A rounds and achieve late rounds amid a splintered VC landscape and the growing presence of downstream private equity. Panelists will unpack what earns conviction, how angels and funds are partnering (or not), what rights/structures actually de-risk outcomes, and how founders can signal readiness beyond buzz cycles.

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SCHEDULED TO PARTICIPATE:

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Gail Gilbert-Ball, Founding board member, Wharton Alumnae Founders & Funders Association 

Gail Gilbert Ball is Top 40 Seed Investor and the founding Managing Partner of Alumni Venture’s Chestnut Street Ventures who also launched the AV Women’s Fund during her time there.  Currently serving as an Independent Trustee for a set of Hamilton Lane private asset funds and as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Delaware Innovation Space, she also maintains an active advisory practice for founders and is an active investor in her individual capacity. A graduate of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, she is also a founding board member of the Wharton Alumnae Founders and Funders Association. 

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​Marcie Reilly, Chief Growth Officer, The Innovation Space

​Marcie Reilly currently serves as Chief Growth Officer at The Innovation Space, one of the nation’s leading physical science incubators and accelerators.  In this role, she spearheads external communications, as well as partnerships with ecosystem and industry partners to bolster support for life science, clean tech, and advanced materials startups.  Before joining The Innovation Space, Marcie co-founded a tech startup in the events industry.  Her background includes key roles at Cleveland Clinic Innovations, where she facilitated innovation efforts across a global network of industry and academic partners.  At Kensey Nash Corporation (now DSM Biomedical), she developed and launched biomaterials and cardiovascular devices to the market. 

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Maya Nazareth CEO, Alchemize Flightwear

Maya Nazareth is the founder & CEO of Alchemize Fightwear, a fast-scaling women’s combat-sports brand recognized on the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for sports/retail innovation.  She recently secured a $300,000 Shark Tank deal from Kendra Scott, Lori Greiner, and Alexis Ohanian, —validation of product-market fit and a clear plan to scale.  Built from a University of Delaware venture into a multimillion-dollar community brand, Alchemize combines disciplined execution with a loyal customer base and strong unit-economics signals.  As a fundable, milestone-driven operator, Maya is focused on channel expansion, repeat purchase growth, and measured capital deployment to accelerate the next stage. validation of product-market fit and a clear plan to scale.

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Jo Norris, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon Reform

Jo Norris leads this climate tech startup transforming HVAC systems to cut energy costs and improve indoor air quality.  A materials engineer, climate scientist, and artist, Jo brings creativity and innovation to solving global challenges.  She holds a Master’s in Climate and Society from Columbia University, dual Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Sustainability Studies from Hofstra University, and conducted several years of materials science research at the University of Delaware, focusing on bio-based polymers for pollution mitigation.  Under Jo’s leadership, Carbon Reform has raised over $9 million in funding.  

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Tallulah Le Merle, AI Investor • Advisor • Speaker
Tallulah Le Merle is a leader at the intersection of AI, business, and human flourishing.  An investor, advisor, and speaker, she brings a clear, evidence-based lens to AI investing, helping audiences separate signal from hype and map where returns are forming.  She consults to companies as a fractional COO, drawing on seven years running large-scale transformation programs for FTSE-100 firms to align strategy, operating design, governance, and growth with human-centric values. Through WHIRL, she curates unconventional off-sites, salons, and retreats that activate authentic connection, building on a decade of community work including ELEVATE, which scaled to 12 European cities.  She also hosts and MCs events. Tallulah holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford.

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Amy Liao, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO Couragene
Amy Liao, PhD, is Co-Founder and CEO of Couragene, a role she has held since the company’s 2022 founding.   Prior to Couragene, she co-founded GENEWIZ in 1999 and later served as CEO; following its acquisition she became President of Brooks Life Sciences Services.   Her leadership has been recognized with the Biomedical Engineering Society’s 2020 Wallace H. Coulter Award for Healthcare Innovation and Ernst & Young’s 2010 Entrepreneur Of The Year®  Dr. Liao earned degrees from Nankai and Tsinghua, a PhD from Stony Brook University, and completed postdoctoral research at Columbia.​

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