Online Event
Venture Trailblazers featuring Charles Hudson
Exclusive insights from the trailblazers shaping the future of startups and venture capital.
Date
Oct 01, 2026
Time
08:00 am - 09:00 am
Address
Online Event
Venture Trailblazers is an exclusive event series that connects leading investors, founders, and ecosystem leaders from across the globe to discuss the latest trends in startups and venture capital. For this edition, we are honored to welcome Charles Hudson, Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures and one of the most respected voices in early-stage investing. The goal of Venture Trailblazers is to educate and connect founders, leaders, mentors, and investors across the global Founder Institute, VC Lab, and FI Venture Networks.
Charles Hudson joins Adeo Ressi for the next edition of Venture Trailblazers.
Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures, an early-stage venture firm focused on writing the first institutional check for the most promising software and hardware companies. Under his leadership, Precursor has raised four funds and manages more than $200 million. He has invested in over 375 companies and backed more than 400 founders, including the teams behind Clearco, Juniper Square, The Athletic (acquired by The New York Times for $525 million in 2022), Incredible Health, Carrot, and Pair Eyewear.
Before founding Precursor, Charles was a Partner at Uncork Capital and the Co-Founder and CEO of Bionic Panda Games. He holds an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Stanford University. A committed champion of the venture community, Charles served as the 2023–2024 Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors, mentors emerging managers, and sits on the San Francisco Opera Advisory Board.
What We'll Cover:
Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures, an early-stage venture firm focused on writing the first institutional check for the most promising software and hardware companies. Under his leadership, Precursor has raised four funds and manages more than $200 million. He has invested in over 375 companies and backed more than 400 founders, including the teams behind Clearco, Juniper Square, The Athletic (acquired by The New York Times for $525 million in 2022), Incredible Health, Carrot, and Pair Eyewear.
Before founding Precursor, Charles was a Partner at Uncork Capital and the Co-Founder and CEO of Bionic Panda Games. He holds an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from Stanford University. A committed champion of the venture community, Charles served as the 2023–2024 Chair of the NVCA Board of Directors, mentors emerging managers, and sits on the San Francisco Opera Advisory Board.
What We'll Cover:
- Charles's path into venture and the philosophy behind backing founders at the earliest, riskiest stage
- What he looks for when writing the first institutional check, often before the data exists
- Lessons from a portfolio of 375+ companies, including standouts like The Athletic and Juniper Square
- How he thinks about conviction, pattern recognition, and betting on people over traction
- His advice for emerging managers building durable, high-performing venture firms today
Who Should Attend
- Early-stage founders raising or preparing to raise their first institutional round
- Repeat founders refining how they tell their story to pre-seed and seed investors
- Angels and VCs studying early-stage sourcing and conviction
- Ecosystem leaders and emerging managers building global founder networks
About Venture Trailblazers
Venture Trailblazers is an exclusive event series that educates and connects operators and investors across the global Founder Institute, VC Lab, and FI Venture Network communities. Each edition spotlights a leading voice from the ecosystem in a candid conversation on what's driving the next wave of innovation in venture capital.
About VC Lab
VC Lab (https://GoVCLab.com) is the leading venture capital accelerator worldwide for new and emerging managers. 900+ funds have successfully completed the program, building ethical and enduring venture capital firms around the world. The program provides all the tools needed to launch a fund and close on capital in six months or less. Managers participate in weekly fund-building sprints, receive tactical advice from experienced domain experts, and join a collaborative, global community of peers. VC Lab also develops essential fundraising skills and offers access to Decile Hub, the trusted venture platform for VCs to generate top decile returns.
About Founder Institute:
The Founder Institute (https://fi.co/) is the World's Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over 9,000 founders across 100 countries raise more than $2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 6 continents, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.
Additional Resources: Find more Startup Events (https://fi.co/events), learn about Funding Benchmarks and Milestones (https://fi.co/benchmarks), or visit our Insights Blog (https://fi.co/insights) for more startup tips.
Additional Resources: Find more Startup Events (https://fi.co/events), learn about Funding Benchmarks and Milestones (https://fi.co/benchmarks), or visit our Insights Blog (https://fi.co/insights) for more startup tips.
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