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How I Became A VC: Canvas Ventures’ Grace Isford
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Grace Isford started working with the Canvas Investment team in 2016. Before Canvas, Isford worked in growth equity at Stripes Group, early as a product manager at Handshake, a digital recruitment platform for college students, and at the Stanford Management Company, helping manage over $24B in assets.
Isford pursued both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford. On the Farm, Isford was actively involved with Stanford Women in Business, serving as President, as well as the Mayfield Fellowship Program, participating both as a fellow and as teaching assistant, and worked with Rough Draft Ventures. Isford is originally from Connecticut, although she has lived in Tokyo and aspires to re-learn the Japanese language. She’s an avid runner and cyclist.
Frederick Daso: When did you first gain interest in being a VC?
Grace Isford: I didn’t know what venture capital was until my freshman year at Stanford University. In my first quarter at Stanford, I took an entrepreneurship seminar that featured prominent CEOs and venture capitalists, and I became intrigued in the entire entrepreneurship ecosystem…
