Vincent Cordero, ’99, formerly a top US and international media executive, is now a venture capitalist focused on breakthrough dual-use (civilian and defense) technology. He also serves as an advisor to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a unit of the US Department of Defense, and to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This summer, Cordero will begin serving as senior advisor & entrepreneur-in-residence at the UChicago Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Please describe your work as a venture capitalist.

I make conviction bets on transformational founders, technologies, and visions. In many cases, this means not following herd mentality. My primary role is to identify and engage paradigm-shifting founders and support them in realizing their visions. I do this by directly investing, assisting with raising additional capital, and advising on marketplace engagement and operational strategy.

What is your approach when it comes to identifying your next founder?

I focus on breakthrough technology that elevates humanity, enhances the world, and advances America’s security and global leadership. I look for founders with strong character and capacity who have demonstrated a winning mindset, tenacious resilience, and an unrelenting ability to problem solve and overcome challenges. I look for founders with competitive advantages via access to leading-industry investors, collaborators, and clients. Also, I look for compelling stories of mission and breakthrough impact in nascent global marketplaces that I believe have exponential growth potential.

What have been a couple of career highlights so far?

Following my 17-year media executive career at Univision, FOX, and HBO, an early highlight as a venture capitalist was partnering with Mucho Mas Media in 2020. The cofounders had curated a robust IP portfolio showcasing premium US Latino storytelling for global audiences. I helped the company secure seed and series A funding, which enabled the production of five successful films, including, The Long Game (prescreened at the White House and ranked #1 in the US on Netflix in 2024) and Black Demon (#1 on Amazon Prime in the US and Latin America in 2023).

Additionally, convening two venture capital summits at the White House in 2024 in partnership with Cabinet leadership, was a true honor and career highlight. The summits focused on enhancing US national security and innovation leadership by broadening participation in US venture capital markets to better include US Latino capital allocators and startup founders.

What is a project or deal you have been involved with that you are particularly proud of?

I’ve had the privilege of partnering with many phenomenal founders. A particularly proud moment was investing in and helping launch Colossal Biosciences, the world’s first de-extinction biotech company, in 2020, before many realized its potential. My investment was based on my confidence in cofounders Ben Lamm (CEO) and George Church (Harvard, MIT, and Wyss Institute genomics professor). Since then, the company has raised $435 million, achieved decacorn status with a $10.2 billion valuation, “de-extincted” the Dire Wolf, and was recognized as one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential Companies” in 2023.

Could you discuss your work on the SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee and DARPA Commercial Strategy team?

The SEC’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation works to advance the interests of small businesses, from start-ups to small public companies, and their investors, including addressing capital-raising issues. In 2023, I was honored to be appointed to a four-year term as an advisory committee member, where I provide recommendations on related SEC rules and regulations.

DARPA’s mission is to make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for US national and economic security. The Commercial Strategy team enables defense and commercial sectors to scale DARPA-funded technologies with maximum impact and free of adversarial influence. In 2024, I was honored to be appointed as a senior commercialization advisor, where I advise on agency programs and portfolio companies.

What was your favorite Law School experience?

One of my favorite experiences was writing an eighty-page thesis for then-Lecturer Barack Obama during a 3L Constitutional Law seminar. In my paper, I argued against “majority-minority” gerrymandered districts, both on constitutional grounds and because they disempower the very underrepresented groups they claim to help.

What advice would you give to a law student starting out today?

You are the agent of your own destiny. Don’t feel confined to predetermined outcomes or expectations. Be risk-on, adopt an owner’s and builder’s mindset, and always bet on yourself. Be service and mission driven, think strategically and long term, and act with conviction. And never stop learning and evolving. Upon graduating from the Law School, I began my media career at Univision (hired by media icon Jerry Perenchio), based on the epiphany that media shapes ideas that shape the world. At forty-seven, my evolution into venture capital was born from the epiphany that to scale my impact capacity and create multigenerational family wealth, I needed to make long-term investments in phenomenal founders with paradigm-shifting visions.