Venture Capital 101 for Government

Join Dcode on Thursday, February 5th from 2:00–3:00 pm ET for a tactical session with Dcode CRO Meg Vorland, Dcode Capital Managing Partner Rebecca Gevalt, and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) focused on helping senior government leaders understand the fundamentals of venture capital and how private-sector financing influences the technologies the federal government is able to adopt.

For government teams engaging with commercial innovators – whether through formal acquisitions, prototype programs, or partnerships – understanding how VC-backed companies operate is essential to making “commercial-first” work in practice, engaging industry credibly, and avoiding missteps that cause private capital to walk away.

We will cover:

• How VC Works – What venture funds are, how they raise and deploy capital, and how incentives shape decision-making across the tech ecosystem.
• Startup Growth and Risk Dynamics – How companies mature across funding stages, and why that affects timelines, product readiness, and the ability to work with government.
• Impact on Government Engagement – How venture-backed priorities like growth, repeatable revenue, and market traction influence whether companies pursue federal opportunities – and how early understanding of investor incentives can reduce transition failure.

Attendees will gain a clearer picture of how venture-backed companies operate and how to engage them more effectively to support national missions and modern acquisition objectives.