BEGIN:VCALENDAR METHOD:PUBLISH VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:-//NONSGML Sandhills Development\, LLC//NONSGML Sugar Calendar Fe eds v3.8.2//EN X-WR-CALNAME:STAK VENTURES: Speaker Series - VIP Lunch & Learn with Isab elle Johannessen and Alicia Castillo Holley X-WR-CALDESC:STAK Space X-WR-TIMEZONE:UTC BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:UTC BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 DTSTART:20250127T000000 TZNAME:UTC END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:UTC BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 DTSTART:20250127T000000 TZNAME:UTC END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:STAK VENTURES: Speaker Series - VIP Lunch & Learn with Isabelle Johannessen and Alicia Castillo Holley DESCRIPTION:​You're invited to the STAK Ventures Speaker Series — a VIP Lunch &\;\n\n​Learn hosted at the iconic 1900 Broadway Tower in Oakland. Every 2 weeks we will be featuring an new guest speaker!\n\n Join us for a high-impact afternoon of connection\, conversation\, and community as we welcome two visionary venture capitalists shaping the fu ture of innovation:\n\n​Isabelle Johannessen is the Head of the Startu p Battlefield Program at TechCrunch and is currently on the hunt for cut ting-edge startups to feature on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt (october 27 -29). The Startup Battlefield program is TechCrunch's premier early-stag e launch competition\, for which Isabelle is responsible for sourcing an d selecting 200 of the most newsworthy startups in the world\, every yea r. She then works with each of the 200 companies to refine their pitches and prepare them for the pitch of a lifetime where they will compete fo r $100\,000 equity-free prize money\, a feature launch article on TechCr unch.com\, the attention of investors and worldwide press\, customers\, and the Disrupt Cup trophy.\n\n​Prior to joining TechCrunch\, Isabelle managed a San Francisco based accelerator\, with the mission of bringin g international startups to silicon valley from countries like Japan\, S outh Korea\, Italy and Spain. She has worked with thousands of startups to help them secure funding and customers\, but she is particularly pass ionate about working with women founders. Isabelle's work has been recog nized by the World Trade Organization for an acceleration program she in itiated and managed to bring women founders from Spain to the US\, which one the International Prize for Gender Equality in Trade.\n\n​Alicia Castillo Holley\, PhD\, is an experienced investor\, entrepreneur\, and educator with a strong focus on venture capital and high-impact entrepre neurship. A bShe has invested in over 90 companies and a dozen VC funds\ , specializing in life sciences\, climate\, and disruptive technologies. After 3 decades as investor\, she is developing a disruptive model for Venture Capital allowing accredited investors and family offices access to highly vetted deals that stand out with her proprietary due diligence and post-investment process.\n\n​Some of her most known quotes includ e:\n\n​“As investors\, we don’t invest and pray\, or prey”\n\n “As investors\, we don’t change diapers”\n\n​“Some things tak e time\, you can’t take 9 women and a month and make a baby”.\n\n​ She has lived in several countries morphing from a biotech scholar to en trepreneur\, investor\, and philanthropist. With a PhD in Finance and En trepreneurship from the University of Western Australia\, an MBA from Ba bson College\, a Master of Science and Engineering degree from the Unive rsidad Central de Venezuela. She has played a key role in fostering glob al entrepreneurial ecosystems and financial literacy programs.\n\n​ What to Expect:\n\n​🍽️ A relaxed lunch with fellow founders\, i nvestors\, and ecosystem leaders\n\n​🤝 Curated networking and high- impact introductions to help you move the needle\n\n​🎤 A 30-minute speaker session with live Q&\;A\, moderated by Brian Sparkes\n\n​ Insightful conversations on venture capital\, innovation\, and indust ry transformation\n\n​🚗 Secured parking in the heart of Uptown Oakl and\n\n​📍 Location:\n1920 Broadway\, 2nd Floor\, Oakland\, CA 94612 \n\n​🅿️ Driving Instructions:\n🚗 Parking: Please use our desig nated garage at 410 19th Street. Or the secured parking across the stree t on 19th at the Franklin Plaza Garage\n\n​🚇 Taking BART?\nExit at 19th St/Oakland—the building is directly outside the station.\n\n​ ️ Seats are limited—RSVP now to secure your spot.\nFor questions o r day-of needs\, text me directly: 408-992-5043\n\n​Let’s spark the next wave of innovation—right here in Oakland.\n\nLocation\nSTAK Space - 1900 Broadway\n1920 Broadway\, Oakland\, CA 94612\, USA URL;VALUE=URI:https://stakspace.com/events/vip-lunch-learn-speaker-serie s/ UID:urn:uuid:19ea0c9c-cf20-498f-add1-698593078ab7 STATUS:CONFIRMED ORGANIZER: DTSTAMP:20260428T111526Z DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250728T120000 DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250728T140000 LOCATION:1900 Broadway END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR