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VC’s April Showers And May Flowers (ft. VC Internship Opportunities, Founders, Lessons)

VC’s April Showers And May Flowers (ft. VC Internship Opportunities, Founders, Lessons)

Girls Into VC
April 21, 2026

Hey GIVC :), Today’s theme is April Showers and the soon-to-be May Flowers!

🗓️ Showers & Flowers of the Week

W.W.W. (Weekly Words of Wisdom)
VC Lesson: What Are Secondaries and Why Are They The 2026 Liquidity "Rainmaker"? 🌧️
Upcoming Community Event: Latinas in Tech Boston
Founder Feature: Yuliia Volchenko (Founder and CEO of Connexa)
Opportunities

W.W.W. (Weekly Words of Wisdom)

“Approximately 75% of venture-backed startups fail,” claims Professor Elizabeth Pollman at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. This edition’s Weekly Words of Wisdom is based on the theme/common saying: “April Showers Bring May Flowers”

In a world where you are guaranteed to fail more times than you succeed, it is of utmost importance to remember every “no” gets you closer to a “yes”. I remember once watching a podcast a couple of years ago where the person said something along the lines of, “If you knew you were guaranteed to get a “Yes”, but you needed 26 “No’s first, wouldn’t we all get those 26 “No’s as fast as we can to get that “Yes”?

This really stuck by me all these years because in the real world, there’s a good chance we get the “Yes” before 26 “No’s, but that uncertainty of how many failures and uncertainty of success has held us back for so long - it’s time to act like your next attempt is a yes or one step closer to a yes. With that mindset, you will be a great VC and just have a great approach to life. To all the loyal GIVC readers, for this next week, if you come across any difficulty (big or small) and tell yourself you “can’t”, stop restricting yourself and change that sentence from a “can’t” to “one day will”. You’re already one step closer to “Yes”!

Check out Jia Jiang’s Ted Talk “What I Learned from 100 Days of Rejection” that talks about the beauty of rejection!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vZXgApsPCQ

VC Lesson: Why Secondaries are the 2026 Liquidity "Rainmaker"

Secondaries are the 2026 $60B+ engine that is revolutionizing how venture capital operates.

But what are they?

Most people breaking into VC learn the flashy part first: finding deals, backing founders, watching companies grow. What gets less attention is the part that actually determines if the fund is successful: can they get their money back?

Picture this: you’re a VC who invested in a startup five years ago. It hasn't IPO'd (when a private company goes public by selling shares of its company at an IPO, a.k.a Initial Public Offering), there's no acquisition on the horizon, and your money is just sitting there. That's the reality most VC investors have been living since 2021.

Secondaries are the escape hatch.

A secondary transaction is when an existing investor (you, in this example) sells their stake in a private company to someone else, but it must happen before any IPO or exit happens. Instead of waiting, they cash out early. The buyer gets access to a company that's already proven itself to some degree.

Both sides get what they need.

This used to be a niche corner of the market. Not anymore.

In 2026, the secondary market is expected to clear over $60 billion in volume. Why now? Because a massive backlog of capital has been sitting frozen in private companies for years. Funds that raised money in 2017 or 2018 are now years past their typical return timeline, and their investors want out. And with public markets still unpredictable, secondaries have become the most reliable way to move.

For anyone breaking into VC, this matters for two reasons.

1) Secondary funds are actively hiring!
2) Understanding these liquidity mechanics is what separates someone who knows the vocabulary from someone who actually understands how the business works, and makes you stand out to recruiters.

The firms winning in 2026 aren't necessarily the ones with the best deal flow. They're the ones who figured out liquidity first.

Upcoming Community Event: Latinas in Tech Boston

If you’re in Boston on April 28 and interested in the tech industry or just want to enjoy an evening of connection, conversation, and community… Listen up!
The incredible Latinas in Tech Boston is relaunching with a mixer on April 28 at Dorchester Brewing Company (1250 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02125)

Founder Feature: Yuliia Volchenko (Founder and CEO of Connexa)

About the founder

Yuliia Volchenko is a 2x founder, VC investor in an EdTech fund, and immigrant entrepreneur building in the U.S. She started her first company at 22, scaled and operated it for 9 years before exiting.

After relocating to the U.S. following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she earned her MBA from Babson College and built her career in venture capital—one of the most relationship-driven industries. Today, she is building Connexa to rethink how professionals build and retain meaningful relationships.

What she’s building

Connexa is an AI-powered relationship management app designed for real-world networking. At conferences and events, professionals meet hundreds of people, but quickly lose the context behind those connections. Connexa captures that context in the moment through LinkedIn QR scanning, business card capture, and quick voice or text notes, turning contacts into a searchable relationship memory. Over time, it will evolve into a professional networking platform that helps users discover the right people to meet and build stronger, goal-driven relationships.

Try Connexa for FREE

Exclusive for the GIVC Community - Get 3 months free with code!!!