Today I’m going ALL IN with Chris Van Dusen, a serial entrepreneur turned venture capitalist and senior partner at Solyco Capital. Chris shares how a career-ending baseball injury unexpectedly launched him into entrepreneurship, leading to multiple exits—including one for $75 million—and ultimately into venture capital. We dig into the highs and lows of building businesses, the reality of raising money, and the difference between lifestyle businesses and scalable ventures. Chris also breaks down how his firm flips the script on traditional venture investing, why people matter as much as products, and what investors really look for before writing a check. If you’ve ever thought about raising money, scaling big, or just want to hear the raw truth from someone who’s been in the trenches, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

We Meet: Chris Van Dusen, Senior Partner at Solyco Capital

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About Chris:

Chris Van Dusen is a Senior Partner at Solyco Capital as well as Chief Growth Officer and Partner in 3 exits through Acquisition. Solyco, is a vertically integrated investment firm that delivers capital solutions for late-stage startup and growth companies. They take a private equity approach to venture capital. Solyco builds its portfolio of assets brand by brand - instead of through specific categories. Once the investment is secured, a partner led team is deployed on secondment to work alongside the portfolio company’s executive team. In 2022 Van Dusen joined Solyco. He is the last partner to be brought on by the firm. He manages sourcing of capitalization and serves in CMO and CRO roles for the brands in the portfolio. Chris Van Dusen is a successful marketing and growth professional with extensive early stage and capitalization experience. Prior to joining Solyco, he launched marketing agency Parcon LLC. He was a partner in an Orange County liquor distillery, Surf City Still Works, where he led the successful merger with Kimo Sabe. He is formally the Chief Growth Officer (CGO) of Balanced Health Botanicals (BHB) in Denver, CO which he successfully exited in 2021. Chris received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from the College of William and Mary. He is active in the community and has held a variety of board seats at institutions like the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) and the Irvine Public Schools Foundation (IPSF). In addition to his non-profit work, Chris is a National Board member of Alder, a member of Entrepreneurs Organization(EO), and has traveled extensively speaking on a variety of topics. A life-long athlete he also has a black belt in Jiu Jitsu.