Ep 181: Dafina Toncheva - From Communism to Capitalism; and Navigating the Future of Venture Capital

In this episode of Inside the Rope, David interviews Dafina Toncheva, a general partner at the US-based venture capital firm, USVP. Dafina shares her inspiring journey from growing up in Communist Bulgaria to earning a scholarship to Harvard and completing her MBA at Stanford. Now a prominent figure in venture capital, Dafina discusses USVP's history, including its success in managing 12 funds, 11 of which have been profitable. She highlights USVP’s impressive track record, which includes 93 IPOs and over 100 M&A transactions. Dafina explains her investment focus on early-stage companies, particularly in software, cybersecurity, and digital health. She recounts her early success at Venrock, where she led the first institutional investment in Cloudflare, now a multi-billion dollar company. Despite the initial skepticism from other investors, Dafina's persistence paid off, making Cloudflare Venrock’s most profitable investment. Throughout the podcast, Dafina reflects on her unique perspective shaped by her upbringing, her views on the importance of meritocracy, and her belief in free markets. She also discusses USVP's disciplined approach to early-stage investments and their commitment to liquidity for investors.

Om Podcasten

In this show, David interviews the leading minds in Wealth Management. David Clark is an experienced and respected Financial Services Professional. As a Partner and Advisor at Koda Capital, David advises some of Australia most successful families on Wealth Management. David is also a successful entrepreneur that has exited two financial services businesses. He is a director of the St Josephs College Foundation and sits on the investment committee, as well as being a founder of ZamBzee a software application development company.