Silicon Valley Bank and Partners for Growth: Alternative Sources of Capital

As director of Startup Banking Latin America, Julia Figueiredo manages SVB’s portfolio of technology startups and venture capital funds based in key Latin American markets. She’s also a member of the team launching SVB’s LATAM Growth Lending Fund, a partnership designed to provide venture debt to Latin American companies.

Julia joined SVB in 2018 as a vice president of LATAM Startup Banking. The team perfectly suits her passion for fast-paced work environments and positively impacting people and companies in Mexico, Argentina and her native Brazil.

A 2006 graduate of the Ibmec Business School in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Julia moved to the US in 2012 to study global business management, finance and venture capital at the University of California Berkeley. Subsequently, she served as a bridge builder in corporate business development at accelerator GSVlabs and as product marketing manager and scrum master with software developer Evernote.

Julia’s extensive business experience includes starting and running a small import company in Brazil, which deepened her understanding of the challenges entrepreneurs face.

Julia is also one of the founding members and serves as an adviser for Latinas in Tech, a nonprofit organization that connects and empowers Latina women working in technology by providing safe spaces for learning, mentorship and recruitment.

Armineh focuses on sourcing and structuring new transactions and working with current portfolio companies. Armineh joined PFG in 2017, bringing her background as an operating executive at several Bay Area technology companies and previous investment experience working at Hambrecht & Quist and JP Morgan Partners. Prior to joining PFG, Armineh was CFO/COO for Solinea, Inc., a consulting organization providing open infrastructure services to Fortune 1000 enterprises. Prior to that, she was the CFO for Treq Labs, Inc., and oversaw the company’s successful acquisition by Sonus Networks. Before that, she was Co-Founder and CFO of Vello Systems, Inc. where she was responsible for financial planning, treasury, tax, international accounting and all other operational and finance functions. Armineh holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University.

Karthi Sepulohniam is Managing Director at Partners for Growth (PFG), a leading global venture debt provider. PFG provides less dilutive funding to growth companies, primarily in the software and tech-enabled sectors. Karthi is based in PFG’s Sydney office and oversees PFG’s venture debt investments in Australia and New Zealand. PFG is the largest venture debt provider to growing Kiwi companies and has provided over NZ$30 million in debt commitments to 6 NZ businesses since 2018.

Andy Tsao is a Managing Director and Head of SVB’s Global Gateway, which assists innovation companies in the emerging markets with their US and international market expansion. He brings more than 20 years of experience banking dynamic companies in technology industries worldwide.

In his roles, Andy manages SVB’s relationships with venture capital and private equity firms outside the U.S., helps emerging market technology companies as they seek U.S. market entry, and U.S. companies as they seek to expand abroad. In both capacities, Tsao provides these firms with strategic advice and banking services, including debt financing, based on a deep understanding of their needs.

Previously, Andy led and helped found SVB’s U.K.-based operation, SVB Financial Group UK Ltd, which was established in 2004, Andy is on the boards of TiE Silicon Valley, Asia America MultiTechnology Association Silicon Valley, Asia Society of Northern California, BayBrazil, and Venture Capital Advisory Board of LAVCA.

Tsao earned a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and an MBA from Boston University. Andy enjoys time with his family including his two kids, fitness training, skiing and the NFL.