The Harvard Grid Meet the VCs Series features Fifty Years, a San Francisco-based pre-seed and seed venture capital firm. Their portfolio includes Solugen (sustainable industrial chemicals), Astranis (global internet satellites), Upside Foods (cultivated meat), Athelas (next-generation healthcare OS), and Opentrons (affordable lab robotics).

What sets Fifty Years apart: We help world-class scientists become world-class entrepreneurs. Fifty Years helps founders translate breakthrough science to solve humanity’s greatest problems. So far, we’ve backed 72 PhD founders and 33 PhD CEOs.

Itinerary For The Event:

1. One on One Office Hours: Select students will have direct office hours with Fifty Years' VC team (please apply through RSVP)

2. Open presentation and networking 5pm-6pm at the Node: Open to all attendees, listen and meet with the Fifty Years Team

3. Private Dinner: Select students will be invited to a dinner with Fifty Years' VC team (please apply through RSVP)

Fifty Years Industry Verticals

• Climate Tech & Sustainability (decarbonization, clean energy, sustainable materials)

• Synthetic Biology & Bioengineering (cell-based food, therapeutics, agriculture)

• Deep Tech & Hardware (space tech, robotics, advanced computation)

• Healthcare & Digital Health (next-gen clinical software, medical tech)

Attendees will learn how Fifty Years evaluates deeply technical ideas across sectors, what they look for before a company has traction or even a finished product, and how to translate complex scientific research into a massive, scalable business. Fifty Years invests at the absolute earliest stages—from pre-seed through seed.

You do not need a startup or a pitch deck to attend the 5-6pm talk. Curiosity and thoughtful questions are encouraged.

Selected participants will be notified individually for office hours and dinner attendance, details, and locations.

Visiting VCs

• Seth Bannon — Founding Partner, Fifty Years

  Seth has seeded a range of startups shaping the world for the better — companies like Solugen (engineering enzymes to produce industrial chemicals sustainably), Astranis (small satellites to cover the Earth in Internet), Upside Foods (culturing meat to eat), Athelas (next generation healthcare OS), and Opentrons (affordable lab robots). Seth is also the co-founder of Impact.Tech, a community of entrepreneurs combining purpose with profit, and was previously the founder & CEO of startup Amicus. After dropping out of college to found his startup, Seth "graduated" from Y Combinator.

  
  

• Nicole Granath — Fifty Years

  At Fifty Years, Nicole leverages her past experience as a climate tech founder to support scientists and engineers building solutions to the world's biggest problems. Before 50Y, she founded Tangible, a VC-backed startup decarbonizing the real estate industry, and built and led the sustainability program at Novalis, a manufacturer with a footprint across 50 countries.

  
  

A Note About the Series

Meet the VCs sessions are informal networking and educational opportunities. They are not confidential settings. We encourage attendees to use their judgment about what they share.

If you receive a term sheet, investment offer, or any formal agreement through a connection made at one of these events, the Grid is not a party to that process. We recommend consulting an i-lab legal advisor before signing anything. You can also seek guidance through the Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project, the Harvard Grid Lab-2-Market Monthly Series, and email questions directly to us at grid@harvard.edu.

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE

Seating at all events is on a first come, first serve basis. RSVPs are encouraged so we have an accurate headcount for classroom size and catering purposes.

ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

The Harvard Grid welcomes attendees of all abilities to our events. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about physical access, please contact grid@harvard.edu in advance of the event.

FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

Please note: By registering, you agree to receive emails about this event and future communications from the Harvard Grid.