The EVCA leadership is dedicated to building community across and empowering the next generation of venture capitalists through an array of activities—from hosting events, knowledge sharing, and connecting others. This EVCA Leadership Spotlight Series is intended to help the broader community get to know what's going on behind the scenes at the EVCA, as well as highlight the valuable contributions of those individuals who make the EVCA possible. Accordingly, it's a great privilege for us to announce this EVCA Leadership Spotlight on our very own EVCA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Lead, Evan Cannon of Osage Venture Partners.
Evan Cannon is an analyst at Osage Venture Partners, an early stage B2B software firm based in Philadelphia investing primarily in the future of work and the future of education. Prior to joining Osage Evan worked in Decision Analytics for ZS Associates, a healthcare consulting firm, and worked on go-to-market strategies for Amicus Therapeutics, a rare disease biotech company. Evan grew up in Galway, Ireland and attended the University of Galway for his undergrad degree in Biomedical Engineering and the University of Notre Dame for his Master’s degree in technology entrepreneurship. During his time in college, Evan was the CTO of Free Feet Medical, a MedTech startup focused on developing assistive technology for Parkinson’s patients.
EVCA: Could you explain more about what you do in your role as a Mid-Atlantic Chapter Lead at EVCA?
Evan: I am a co-lead of the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the EVCA. Our chapter represents the cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. The chapter is in its infancy, having only launched in January 2023, and we hope to have our first events this summer.
EVCA: What made you interested in taking a leadership role at EVCA?
Evan: When I initially found out about the EVCA from my colleagues at OVP, I was excited about the opportunity to connect with investors across the US and beyond. The Slack community is a great way to meet new people in different cities and expand your network. However, there were no local in-person events I could attend unless I traveled to New York. This drove me to talk with some other investors in my area, and we decided to create the Mid-Atlantic chapter. This allows us to represent the region on a national level, and also connect the growing community of investors here.
EVCA: What is your most contrarian view on an existing or emerging technology trend?
Evan: We need to use technology less.
The development of mobile technology has had a huge effect on how we live, learn, and work. There can be no doubt that we can be much more efficient with the use of these technologies, whether it be to end arguments about the leading points scorer in the NBA in 2014, write emails more efficiently, or find the best restaurants in a new city we are going to visit for the first time. However, the effect that mobile technology has had on the psychology of the human race is severely understated. Some authors such as Cal Newport and Matt Haig have examined this topic and our need to understand how our attention is being taken away from us on a daily basis. There needs to be more governance of the attention economy to ensure that new technologies enhance the human experience and allow us to detach from the devices that have taken over our daily lives.
Interested in taking on an EVCA leadership role? The EVCA leadership is dedicated to empowering the next generation of VCs through an array of activities—running 40+ channels on from hosting events, knowledge sharing, and connecting others. If interested in pursuing an EVCA leadership role, click here.
EVCA is a 501(c)(3) organization, EIN# 83-4254999
