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Giovanni L.
PE & VC advisor
Professional Background
Giovanni L. is a highly respected independent advisor with an impressive 30-year track record in the investment industry. His vast experience spans various asset classes, including venture capital, growth equity, and buyout strategies across prominent markets like Europe, the United States, and Asia. Giovanni's extensive knowledge and expertise enable him to structure and execute complex secondary transactions and identify the most promising investment managers, effectively doubling down on his strategic insights through direct investments. His pivotal contributions to several firms highlight his leadership and unique understanding of the global investment landscape.
With a distinguished career, Giovanni has not only provided guidance on countless investment opportunities but also has been an integral part of advisory boards for several premier private equity firms. His keen analytical skills and strategic foresight have allowed him to hold multiple advisory and board seats for various companies, playing an influential role in their growth and direction. Giovanni's multifaceted experience positions him as a valuable asset in the world of investments, often sought after for his insights into private equity and venture capital.
Education and Achievements
Giovanni holds a Master of Science in Economics from HEC Lausanne, the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne. This esteemed academic background laid a strong foundation for his future endeavors in the finance and investment sectors. His educational experience, combined with practical know-how gained over three decades, has equipped him with an excellent grasp of economic principles and investment strategies, further enhancing his advisory capabilities.
Throughout his career, Giovanni has held several key positions in prestigious organizations. As a co-founder of Speak Invest, he demonstrated his entrepreneurial spirit and drive to create opportunities in the investment landscape. His role as an advisor to the Freeride World Tour reflects not only his passion for extreme sports but also his commitment to supporting organizations that contribute to the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Giovanni has also held senior advisory positions at Euro Private Equity and led initiatives as a senior advisor/co-founder at Alpha Associates. His tenure as a Principal at Swiss Life Private Equity Partners allowed him to spearhead numerous successful investment strategies. Additionally, he has held analytical and portfolio management positions at BCV Investment Asia Pte Ltd and Credit Suisse, where he honed his skills in investment analysis and management.
Personal Interests
Beyond his professional achievements, Giovanni is an avid mountain biker and skier, enjoying the stunning landscapes of Verbier, Switzerland, where he has spent much of his life. His affiliation as an advisor to the FIS Freeride World Tour underscores his enthusiasm for extreme sports and adventure. Giovanni's active lifestyle and love for the outdoors reflect his positive approach to life and work, often finding balance and inspiration from nature.
Giovanni L.'s extensive experience, agile problem-solving abilities, and commitment to excellence make him a distinguished figure in the investment world, with a unique blend of professional accomplishments and personal passions that enrich his perspective and contributions.
Achievements
- 30 years of experience in investment management across diverse asset classes such as venture, growth, and buyout.
- Advisory roles on boards of premier private equity firms and companies, enhancing their strategic growth.
- Co-Founder of Speak Invest, creating a platform for investment opportunities.
- Significant experience in structuring complex secondary transactions and direct investments.
Location
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
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Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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