The event, co-sponsored by the Indiana University Alumni Association and Union Board, is free and open to the general public, according to Union Board.
Conrad was an initial investor in WordPress, which fuels the majority of blogs around the world.
Through his firm True Ventures, he has funded companies such as FitBit, Flickr, Blue Bottle Coffee and High Fidelity.
“We’re super focused on the quality of the founder,” Conrad said. “Personally, when I meet with entrepreneurs, I like to understand their background, what they’ve done with the opportunities life has presented them and what makes them tick. I’ve been lucky to partner and support some amazingly talented founders in our communities.”
More recently, Conrad has developed the social media website About.me. On the website, individuals can create a public profile and encourage others to connect with them.
“Online has become the most effective environment for people to discover and interact with you at scale, and we believe it’s incredibly important to have a starting point online for people to learn more about you,” Conrad said. “The popularity of social media has really fragmented our identities in ways that don’t align with the 360-degree view we have of ourselves.”
Conrad said his team is launching three new features in the upcoming months, including a new iPhone app that turns a profile into a digital business card and the ability to attach resumes to the bottoms of pages.
“You should navigate people interested in learning more about you to a page that introduced you on your terms, not leaving it to focused services or a Google algorithm to define you,” he said.
Conrad graduated from IU in 1984 and majored in telecommunications with a minor in business.
Conrad described himself in a University press release as “an animal whisperer, sometimes triathlete, an unfortunate Cubs fan and lover of languages, art and architecture.”
He said he is very excited to come back to Bloomington and that it is an honor to meet with students, faculty and staff.
“I had an amazingly fun, rewarding experience at IU — everything from working at the Indiana Daily Student to being a member of the IU Student Foundation Steering Committee,” Conrad said. “My four years at IU was truly a meaningful experience that has served me very well in my life.”
Emili Sperling , alumni programs officer in the IUAA, said Conrad is a guest of the Dean’s Advisory Council within the School of Informatics and ?Computing.
She said the board is meeting Friday, and Conrad reached out to IUAA to see if he could present to students before the meetings.
“It’s incredible to me how Tony came from those humble Hoosier roots and grew into one of the most well-known venture capitalists in Silicon Valley,” Sperling said. “Tony is a prime example of how IU alumni support one another and current IU students. IUAA’s Professional Enrichment team is honored to bring him back to feature his professional successes.”
Union Board Vice President of Marketing Paul Yoon said he hopes to learn what specific things Conrad considers before making business decisions as well as how Conrad nurtures growing businesses to be ?successful.
“Because we share the same experience and love for IU, I believe that his lecture will be very rewarding,” Yoon said.
