Peri Ehlman is an investor at Chingona Ventures, a Chicago-based venture capital firm focused on early stage investments in fintech, future of work, education, and health technology. Prior to joining Chingona Ventures, Peri spent her early career at Goldman Sachs, where she provided public and private portfolio solutions to independent broker-dealers and RIAs across the U.S. She also served as an ambassador for Launch with GS, Goldman Sachs’ $1 billion commitment to invest in diverse-led companies and investment managers, grounded in a thesis that diverse teams drive strong returns.

Peri graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Economics along with a certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications and a minor in Religious Studies. Outside of work, Peri serves as the chair of the Loyola Academy Young Alumni Council and a member of the Misericordia Young Professionals Council, Catholic Charities of Chicago Junior Board, and Alumni Admissions Council for Northwestern University.

Could you explain more about what you do in your roles at EVCA?

As the co-lead of the Chicago Chapter of EVCA, I bring together Chicago-based investors in pre-partner roles by planning events and sharing resources that foster both meaningful friendships and professional connections. In this role, I’ve organized and participated in a variety of events — from networking brunches to mini golf to cake decorating — all designed to make the Chicago venture ecosystem more accessible and collaborative. As a member, I also regularly engage in EVCA’s Slack community, where I’ve been able to connect with other investors doing diligence in similar sectors and exchange operational resources and advice.

What made you interested in taking a leadership role at EVCA?

When I began my role in venture in the fall of 2023, I quickly realized how isolating the industry could feel. Hoping to build both friendships and a strong network, I applied to EVCA per the recommendation of my GP. From the start, the organization had a meaningful impact on my experience. Through EVCA’s automated coffee chats, I’ve connected with nearly 100 investors across the U.S. and Canada, and it quickly became the venture community where I found the most value. It was also the first resource I recommended to anyone new to the industry. So when I was invited to co-lead the Chicago Chapter, I immediately said yes, knowing firsthand the value EVCA brings and wanting to help extend that same experience to others.

What is your most contrarian view on an existing or emerging technology trend?

One of the most relevant topics to me as an investor right now is what makes a business defensible, especially in the age of AI. My team has discussed at length the “revenge of the services business,” a concept we first heard on Nathaniel Whittemore’s The AI Daily Brief podcast, where he referenced Greg Isenberg’s post on what’s keeping him up at night. This idea deeply resonated with what we had already begun to see in the market. For years, services businesses were viewed as second-class compared to pure software because they didn’t scale as efficiently. But with AI now able to handle the majority of the work, Whittemore argues that the next generation of unicorns will be productized services companies — blending software with embedded expertise to enable smaller teams to do much more, at margins competitive with software-only businesses. 

We’ve already seen that some of the strongest companies won’t be AI-only but AI plus human-in-the-loop, where automation drives efficiency and humans provide the judgment, relationships, and context that customers value most. At Chingona Ventures, this has shown up in diligence across a variety of sectors like cybersecurity, supply chain, and proptech, where, in reference calls, customers consistently emphasized the expertise of founding teams and exceptional service as key drivers of adoption. Beyond software with services layers, we’ve also found hardware to be a surprising differentiator — something we once dismissed outright, but now increasingly view as a legitimate source of defensibility. 

Ultimately, I believe defensibility in the AI era will come not from AI alone, but from how companies combine technology with human expertise, customer relationships, and differentiated products: a mix that is harder to replicate and more durable over time.