The arena for Yale's
next great builders

Connecting Yale Builders and VC PartnersApril 3 2026 · Tsai City
School of Athens
YPitch

At Yale Capital Partners , we work to connect Yale students with the venture and startup ecosystem. Our programs give students hands‑on exposure to building companies and investing, while helping founders find early support and investors discover new ideas. Through initiatives like venture sourcing and the Pitchbook directory , we aim to make Yale a stronger hub for entrepreneurship.


YPitch is our annual Demo Day, where we take student startups to the next level. A select group of Yale founders present their startups to a panel of venture capital and investor judges in front of students and investors. Together, these efforts create a space where students can explore startups and turn ideas into real companies.


This year, we are partnering with the Yale Entrepreneurial Society , Yale's student entrepreneurship hub building founders since 1999, to bring YPitch to more of the Yale community.


Yale Capital Partners Team
Schedule
3/31 @ 12 PM: YALE CAPITAL PARTNERS × NICO ROSBERG × ACCEL LUNCH
Join Yale Capital Partners for an intimate lunch at Tsai CITY featuring a conversation with Nico Rosberg and Accel's Dan Levine on investing in world-class companies. Click to sign up.
4/3 @ 11:30 AM: FOUNDER-FUNDER LUNCH
Kick off the day with a founder-funder lunch, featuring students and faculty across the Yale ecosystem, plus our VC partners.
4/3 @ 12:30 PM: OPENING REMARKS
Welcome from Yale Capital Partners and Yale Entrepreneurial Society.
4/3 @ 12:40 PM: PITCHES [BLOCK 1]
Watch Yale founders pitch their startups to a panel of venture capital and investor judges, Shark-Tank style. Click to register.
4/3 @ 1:50 PM: BOBA BREAK
A short boba break between pitch blocks.
4/3 @ 2:00 PM: PITCHES [BLOCK 2]
The second round of pitches, where judges continue their evaluations. Click to register.
4/3 @ 3:15 PM: NETWORKING + STARTUP FAIR
Connect with portfolio companies and VC firms recruiting from Yale and learn about opportunities across the startup ecosystem. Click to apply for a table.
4/3 @ 4:15 PM: FIRESIDE CHAT WITH RUNIK MEHROTRA
An informal conversation with Runik Mehrotra, Co-Founder of Vise, on building companies and raising capital. Judges deliberate during this session.
4/3 @ 5:00 PM: WINNER ANNOUNCEMENTS & CLOSING
Awards presented to the top pitches of the day, followed by closing remarks.

Judges
Kishen Patel
Kishen Patel
Greycroft

Software investor at Greycroft. Previously Director of Corporate & BD at Spotter and content strategy at Netflix. BS Applied Math / BA Economics, Yale; MBA, Harvard Business School.

Pierce Daly
Pierce Daly
Accel

Focuses on enterprise software, AI, and fintech. Previously BCG Principal Investors & Private Equity practice. Yale graduate.

Daniel Faierman
Daniel Faierman
Habitat Partners

General Partner at Habitat, the Red Antler-backed VC. Pre-Seed to Series A across tech and consumer. Portfolio includes Figure AI, Farther Finance, and Pop Up Bagels. MBA Stanford GSB; BA Yale.

Alessia Russo
Alessia Russo
Insight Partners

Growth equity investor in Technology at Insight Partners. Previously M&A at Evercore. Dual BA Economics & Sociology, Columbia & Sciences Po Paris.

Simon Pastor
Simon Pastor
RTP Global

Early-stage investor in consumer, enterprise & AI. EF's first US investor. Co-founded Delph. MPP Yale; BS LSE.

Thomas Marano
Thomas Marano
RTP Global

Early-stage investor in enterprise software, dev tools & AI. Ex-backend engineer at Duffel; led product at Farewill. MBA Columbia; BA Yale.

Kiko Wong
Kiko Wong
ClimateHaven

Investor & founding team at Yale-backed ClimateHaven. Previously Lowercarbon Capital across energy, industrials & frontier tech. BS Applied Physics, Yale.

Socrates bust

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building on the new."— Socrates