How to Build a Sustainable Venture Backed Business, According to Someone Who's Built Three
Venture capital fuels growth, but growth without discipline is how great companies burn out. That's the tension at the heart of the next CEO Works Luncheon, hosted by Santa Cruz Works on Wednesday, July 29th, 11:30 AM–1 PM at productOps, Inc. in Santa Cruz.
The guest of honor: Toby Corey, entrepreneur, Stanford lecturer, and someone who's actually lived the answer. Toby has led three billion-dollar businesses, steered two IPOs (including the Tesla merger), and raised over $300M in capital along the way. From co-founding USWeb to serving as EVP at Tesla Energy and CRO at SolarCity, he's managed teams of 7,000+ and closed 40+ M&A deals. Today he's building BrandCapsule, applying AI to brand discovery.
Over lunch, Toby will get candid about the stuff most founders only learn the hard way:
Balancing investor growth targets with long-term sustainability
Hard-won lessons across clean energy, materials, mobility, and brand tech
Navigating board dynamics when things get tense
Capital discipline: knowing when to spend and when to hold back
Keeping team culture intact through pivots and funding crunches
If you're building (or advising) a venture-backed company, this is 90 minutes of hard-earned wisdom you won't get from a pitch deck.
📍 productOps, Inc., 110 Cooper Street #201, Santa Cruz, CA
🎟️ Grab your ticket here
