Western Association of Venture Capitalists

Name

Western Association of Venture Capitalists

Legal name

Western Association of Venture Capitalists

Website

https://wavc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital Trade Association

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAGAGAK

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Conventions & Conferences (Business Events)

Keywords

• Venture capital networking
• Venture capital association
• Private membership organization
• Speaker series events
• Nonprofit trade association

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: WAVC generates revenue through annual membership fees charged to venture capital firms. The primary membership tier is a Calendar Year membership at $1,500 annually, with additional terms available at $2,250 for 18 months and $750 for 6 months. This recurring revenue model supports the organization's speaker series events and charitable activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

WAVC is a non-profit membership organization that provides networking and thought-leadership services for venture capital firms in the Western United States. Its core offering is a distinguished speaker series featuring prominent business, political, academic, and industry leaders at exclusive luncheon events, supplemented by annual charity tennis and golf tournaments and community support for local nonprofits.

Product overview

WAVC is a professional membership organization for venture capitalists, not a software product company. It operates as a unified service offering centered around its distinguished speaker series, which provides members exclusive access to presentations from the country's most celebrated business, financial, government, and academic leaders. The organization supplements its speaker programming with annual charity tennis and golf tournaments and community support for local nonprofits. Membership is the sole delivery mechanism through which all services are provided to qualifying venture capital firms in the Western United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Distinguished Speaker Series Private luncheon events for WAVC members featuring prominent thought leaders from business, politics, sports, entertainment, and academia. Events typically draw 80-150 venture capitalists and include 30-minute presentations followed by 15-minute Q&A sessions, with more than 500 distinguished speakers hosted since inception.
• Membership Program Exclusive membership for venture capital firms with principal offices in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, or Arizona, requiring minimum $10 million discretionary investment authority. Members gain private access to thought leaders, peer networking, and annual charity tennis and golf tournaments. Membership tiers include Calendar Year ($1,500), 18 Months ($2,250), and 6 Months ($750).

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ thought leaders have spoken at WAVC events
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National Venture Capital Association (NVCA)coreOthersWAVC leaders maintain active involvement with the NVCA. Ira Ehrenpreis served on the NVCA Board and Executive Committee and was Annual Meeting Chairman. Phil Sanderson serves on the NVCA Board. This connection positions WAVC as an integral part of the broader US venture capital ecosystem.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Golden Gate Angels: A Bay Area-based angel investor group running structured deal screening and monthly pitch forums. Comparable to WAVC as a Northern California member-based capital-provider community hosting recurring investment events.
• Band of Angels: A Silicon Valley-based angel investor group founded in 1994 (partly by WH Draper III). Comparable to WAVC as a Western US, peer-driven capital-provider community with structured membership and regular deal-sharing meetings.
• Keiretsu Forum: A global angel investor network with multiple chapters in WAVC's territory (SF, LA, etc.). Comparable as a regional, member-funded investment community that hosts regular deal-review and networking events for accredited investors.
• Tech Coast Angels: One of the largest angel investor networks in the US, with strong presence in Southern California. Compares to WAVC as a California-based, membership-driven investor community focused on deal flow and peer networking.
• VC Taskforce (formerly SD Forum / Silicon Valley Forum): A Silicon Valley non-profit focused on supporting the regional innovation economy through investor education and networking. Comparable to WAVC as a West Coast-based, member-supported organization convening VCs and founders.

Broad incumbents

• Angel Capital Association: The largest professional organization for angel investors in North America. It overlaps with WAVC in serving early-stage capital providers and runs similar peer-networking and educational programming, though oriented to angels rather than institutional VCs.

Emerging players

• Common Table (Common): A modern membership community for venture investors offering curated networking, content, and events. Relevant as a digitally-native emerging peer that competes for the same West Coast VC networking mindshare, albeit via subscription software rather than luncheons.

Direct peers

• National Venture Capital Association (NVCA): The national industry association for the US venture capital industry and the natural counterpart to WAVC at the federal level. WAVC's leadership actively serves on the NVCA board, underscoring direct organizational overlap in representing VC firms.
• VCNetwork: A non-profit organization of 1,400+ venture capitalists founded and chaired by WAVC's own Phil Sanderson. VCNetwork is a direct sibling in mission (VC peer networking and deal sharing) and is run by WAVC's chairman.

Others

• Council of Foreign Relations: While not a VC association, CFR is the iconic example of an exclusive, dues-paying membership organization that convenes members around elite speaker programming — the model WAVC's speaker series most closely resembles in format.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/westernassociationofventurecapitalists
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/western-association-of-venture-capitalists

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Western Association of Venture Capitalists