▶ 22:00 · $WDAY · Workday Ventures model: strategic corporate VC without exclusivity, generated outsized returns

episode briefing

Como invertí en Uber, Airbnb, Stripe, ScaleAI desde Sillicon Valley | Nacho Vilela

2026-01-21 · 11 company · 8 thematic

sentiment

11 bull0 bear0 neu

speakers

Spanish engineer turned Silicon Valley investor. Started with €1M fund in Spain (2011), moved to SF in 2013, built track record via AngelList/Forge secondaries and Workday Ventures partnership. Manages ~$70M across vehicles including Juniper (5x gross, 44% IRR), Almanac Evergreen, and opportunity SPVs. Specializes in late-stage secondary purchases in enterprise SaaS, cybersecurity, and defense tech. Four funds liquidated with 44%+ net IRR.

quote

“el corporate de allí no tiene nada que ver con el de aquí... la primera cosa clave es que no hay exclusividad... el objetivo número uno era estar viendo startups punteras... traer gente que les juntabas con el se level”

—nacho vilela

now playing · $WDAY

$99bullish· high· posnacho vilela

First unicorn exit: invested at $25M valuation, sold to Didi at $1B in 2 years

Brazilian ride-hailing leader 99 raised at $25M valuation in 2014; Didi acquired for $1B within two years, delivering ~40x return and validating Latin America thesis.

$WDAY···bullish· highnacho vilela

Workday Ventures model: strategic corporate VC without exclusivity, generated outsized returns

Workday's $60B corporate VC succeeded by refusing exclusivity, focusing on strategic intelligence and M&A pipeline; Vilela sourced deals like 99 Taxis and Okta through this platfo…

$FORGE-GLOBAL···bullish· high· posnacho vilela

Early investor in Forge (Equidate), the largest private secondary marketplace

Invested in Forge's Series A as both LP and first customer; used platform to source Stripe and Okta secondaries; Forge later went public via SPAC and was acquired by Charles Schwa…

$STRIPEbullish· high· posnacho vilela

Vilela buys Stripe secondary at $6B via Forge, sells last block at 16x

Stripe was a clear compounder at $6B valuation with $500M+ revenue growing triple digits; bought employee secondaries via Forge Global and held through multiple up-rounds to $100B.

$OKTA···bullish· high· posnacho vilela

Buys Okta secondary at $1B valuation, IPOs at $10B within 6 months

Workday passed on buying Okta but Vilela saw clear path to $5B+ valuation; bought secondary at last private round ($1B) and captured 10x at IPO six months later.

$COINBASE···bullish· medium· posnacho vilela

Juniper fund bought Coinbase at $1B valuation; 40-50x potential if held

Early secondary access via AngelList/Forge allowed entry at $1B valuation; fund returned 5x gross in 4 years but would have been 40-50x if held through IPO.

$HOOD···bullish· medium· posnacho vilela

Juniper fund bought Robinhood at $1B valuation; now $100B market cap

Same secondary strategy as Coinbase: bought at $1B private valuation via Forge; position would have compounded to 100x at current public market cap.

$NETSKOPEbullish· high· posnacho vilela

Opportunity fund bought Netskope secondary at $9B vs $12B last round; IPO imminent

In 2022 correction, bought cybersecurity leader Netskope at 25% discount to last private round ($9B vs $12B) as sole buyer; company subsequently IPO'd, returning half the fund on…

$CRWV···bullish· high· posnacho vilela

SPV bought CoreWeave at $50/share pre-IPO; stock opened at $40, rallied to $160, sold at $120/$100

Employee liquidity need created entry at $50/share (below last private mark); IPO priced at $40 but fundamentals drove rally to $160; disciplined selling at $120 and $100 based on…

$ABNB···bullish· high· posnacho vilela

Bought Airbnb secondary at $100, held through 50% drawdown, conviction validated

Purchased employee shares at $100 during 2021 peak; stock halved post-IPO but Vilela maintained position based on intrinsic value model, avoiding panic selling that plagued SPAC-l…

$SHIELD-AIbullish· medium· posnacho vilela

New investment in Shield AI: defense drones with 25-year government contracts

Shield AI builds drone swarm coordination software for US DoD and NATO; locked in 25-year sole-source contracts providing revenue visibility rare in early-stage defense tech.

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