Michael Johnson
Four-Time Olympic Gold Medalist | World Record Holder in 200m and 400m | Founder, Michael Johnson Performance
Caterina Fake
Co-Founder, Flickr | General Partner, Yes VC | Former Chairman, Etsy | Angel Investor Hall of Fame | Ethical Tech and Innovation
Caterina Fake co-founded Flickr, helped define the social internet, and has spent the years since backing the next generation of founders at Yes VC. Inducted into the Angel Investor Hall of Fame and recognized by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, she brings a rare combination of builder instinct and moral clarity to conversations about what technology should and should not become.
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Caterina Fake biography
Caterina Fake is one of the most consequential figures in the history of the consumer internet. As the co-founder of Flickr, the photo-sharing platform that defined online community in the Web 2.0 era and was acquired by Yahoo for a reported $35 million in 2005, she helped establish the model that shaped a generation of social products. Her career since then has moved fluidly between building, investing, and asking the harder question that sits behind both: what is technology actually for?
Today, entrepreneurship speaker Caterina Fake serves as General Partner at Yes VC, a pre-seed and seed stage venture capital fund investing in Climate, AI, Health and Longevity, Energy, and Defense. With a portfolio of over 50 companies that includes unicorns such as Ledger and Superhuman, Yes VC backs founders building at the intersection of technological ambition and genuine social value. Fake has been named one of the Top 25 Women Investors by Business Insider on multiple occasions and was inducted into the Angel Investor Hall of Fame, recognition that reflects a track record spanning more than two decades of early-stage investing.
Beyond the Portfolio
After serving as Chairman of Etsy, where she championed values of creativity, craftsmanship, and human connection within a technology company, Fake has continued to shape public conversation about the ethics and consequences of innovation. Her podcast Should This Exist?, which reached number one on Apple Podcasts and surpassed four million downloads, challenged founders and executives to interrogate their own creations honestly. She has since launched a new podcast, Ingenious, continuing that tradition of substantive, critical inquiry. She holds honorary doctorates from the Rhode Island School of Design and The New School, serves on the boards of the Sundance Institute and McSweeney’s, and has been recognized by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
As a speaker, Caterina Fake draws on a career that spans every side of the technology industry: founder, operator, investor, and critic. Her talks explore what it means to build with conscience in an era when the consequences of getting it wrong are felt at scale. She challenges audiences to think clearly about the tradeoffs embedded in every product decision, and to hold themselves to a higher standard of accountability than the market alone will enforce. For events focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, tech ethics, or the future of investing, she brings a perspective shaped by experience rather than theory.
Caterina Fake Speaking Videos
Caterina Fake - Lessons learned from Flickr, Etsy & Yes VC
What Does It Take to Become a Successful Entrepreneur, Caterina Fake?
Caterina Fake Keynote Topics
Every technology starts as a good idea. The hard question is what it becomes. Drawing on her experience co-founding Flickr, investing in over 50 companies at Yes VC, and hosting the number-one tech podcast Should This Exist?, Fake offers a practical framework for founders, executives, and investors who want to build with intention. She explores the unintended consequences that emerge from even well-designed products, and how to ask better questions before the damage is done.
When Flickr launched, it offered something the internet had never quite managed before: a space where strangers created something genuinely good together. Fake draws on the principles behind Flickr's community design to examine what made early social platforms work, why so many of their successors broke trust at scale, and what builders today can recover from that history as they design the next generation of connected products.
At Yes VC, Fake and her partners back founders working on the problems that will define the next several decades: clean energy, AI applications with real-world stakes, longevity science, and national resilience. In this keynote she explains the investment logic behind that thesis, what she looks for in founders who are building in hard, consequential categories, and why the next great companies will be defined as much by their values as by their valuations.
Fake has been building things on the internet since the 1990s, through multiple cycles of hype and correction, and across roles as founder, board member, and investor. In this talk she reflects on what has stayed constant: the creative instinct, the tolerance for uncertainty, and the willingness to care about something enough to build it well. A candid and personal session for founders, entrepreneurs, and anyone leading a team through change.
FAQs on Booking Caterina Fake
Why Caterina Fake?
Booking Caterina Fake means bringing one of Silicon Valley's most original and credible voices to your stage. She co-founded Flickr, helped define what the social internet could be at its best, and has spent the years since investing in and advising the founders shaping what comes next. Her perspective is rare because it combines hands-on experience across every stage of a company's life with genuine moral seriousness about the impact of technology on society. For events focused on innovation, tech ethics, entrepreneurship, or venture investing, she delivers talks that are intellectually honest, practically grounded, and consistently memorable. Contact Aurum Speakers Bureau to check availability and speaking fees.
What is Yes VC?
Yes VC is a pre-seed and seed stage venture capital fund co-founded by Caterina Fake. It invests in startups working across Climate, AI, Health and Longevity, Energy, and Defense, with a focus on founders whose work reflects meaningful cultural and societal shifts. The fund has backed over 50 companies and counts four unicorns in its portfolio, including Ledger and Superhuman. Fake serves as General Partner and works closely with founders from the earliest stages of company building.
What was the podcast Should This Exist?
Should This Exist? was a podcast hosted by Caterina Fake that explored the ethical and human implications of emerging technologies. It reached number one on Apple Podcasts and accumulated over four million downloads, featuring conversations with founders, scientists, and thinkers about the consequences of what they were building. Fake has since launched a new podcast, Ingenious, continuing her focus on technology, creativity, and the people shaping the future.
What topics does keynote speaker Caterina Fake cover?
Fake speaks on ethical innovation and responsible tech development, the history and future of online communities, early-stage venture investing and the founder mindset, and what it means to build companies that reflect genuine values. Her talks draw on her experience as co-founder of Flickr, Chairman of Etsy, and General Partner at Yes VC. She is particularly well suited to events where audiences want a substantive, experience-driven perspective on technology's role in society. Aurum Speakers Bureau can help identify the right topic and format for your event.
How to book Caterina Fake as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Caterina Fake as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Caterina Fake's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Caterina Fake or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Caterina Fake speaking fee?
Caterina Fake speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Caterina Fake to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Caterina Fake.
How can I contact Caterina Fake?
We only work with Caterina Fake on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Caterina Fake and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Caterina Fake speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Caterina Fake for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Caterina Fake for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Caterina Fake is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Caterina Fake for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
