Speakers

Deborah Perry Piscione is a venture capitalist, serial entrepreneur, thought leader in innovation, board advisor, New York Times bestselling author, keynote speaker.

Deborah started Sterling Ventures in 2020 to democratize opportunity, period. Sterling Ventures is an innovative venture capital fund that is committed to find the best female + underserved founders and prove high returns. Additionally, Sterling Ventures commits to systemic change via diversity mandates of leadership teams and advisory boards (50% must be women and/or people of color) among our founders.

After selling her first company in 2010, Deborah created Alley to the Valley as the proverbial female golf course where highly accomplished women can come together to create deals. She also wrote the highly acclaimed book, Secrets of Silicon Valley: What Everyone Else Can Learn from the Innovation Capital of the World, among three other best-selling books.

Deborah is the architect of Improvisational Innovation, which helps companies grow through a bottom’s up, annual innovation approach that fosters a trusted and safe environment for any employee to put forth new ideas.

Deborah is a speaker and guest lecturer Stanford University on topics including the Silicon Valley ecosystem and culture in addition to growing regional economies through innovation, entrepreneurship and risk-taking leadership. Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business conducted a case study on Deborah called, “Deborah Perry Piscione: Finding Opportunity in Silicon Valley.”

Prior to her move to Silicon Valley in 2006, Deborah spent 18 years in Washington, DC as a staffer in the U.S. Congress and The White House in addition to serving as on-air political commentator on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.