How has design shaped the world of venture capital? Join us for an insightful fireside chat exploring this intriguing intersection.
We’re bringing together two unique perspectives:
- Bill Burnett, Executive Director of Stanford’s Life Design Lab Program and bestseller author of “Designing Your Life”
- Tara Tan, General Partner at Strange Ventures, formerly at IDEO Ventures
Together, they’ll unpack the evolving relationship between design and investment, sharing personal experiences and observations from working with founders and investors over the last few decades.
You’ll gain insights into:
- The role of design in evaluating and nurturing startups
- How design methodologies influence investment strategies
- The future of design in AI, technology, and beyond
This conversation offers a thoughtful look at how creativity and capital work together to bring ideas to life. Space is limited. We invite you to join us for this engaging discussion.
Bill Burnett
Executive Director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford,
Co-Author of the NYT Best-seller “Designing Your Life”
After years of drawing cars and airplanes under his Grandmother’s sewing machine, Bill Burnett went off to the University and discovered, much to his surprise, that there were people in the world who did this kind of thing everyday (without the sewing machine) and they were called designers. 45 years, five companies, and a couple of thousand students later Bill is still drawing and building things, teaching others how to do the same, and quietly enjoying the fact that no one has discovered that he is having too much fun.
Bill Burnett is an Adjunct Professor and the Executive Director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford. He received his Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science in Product Design at Stanford and has worked in start-ups and Fortune 100 companies, including seven years at Apple designing award-winning laptops and a number of years in the toy industry designing Star Wars action toys. He holds a number of mechanical and design patents and design awards, and, in addition to his duties at Stanford, he advises several of his students’ startup companies.
Tara Tan
General Partner, Strange Ventures
Tara Tan is the founder and General Partner of Strange Ventures, a thesis-driven VC firm investing in the future of creativity and computing. She was previously a general partner at IDEO Ventures, the investing arm of global innovation firm IDEO, where she achieved top-decile returns. Known for her bold, design-driven approach to investing, she partners with deeply technical founders to turn breakthrough ideas into category-defining companies. Tara holds a Master’s in Computational Design from Harvard, and spent the first decade of career as a founder and operator in frontier tech companies.
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This event takes place at the same location as the 11am event. Attend both!
Adaptive by Design with MOON CREATIVE LAB