Bala Deshpande, 

Deshpande's firm hit a roadblock in the past year, which she blames on irrational amounts of capital chasing a few good deals in a handful of sectors. She believes that the tide will turn but doesn't report any new completed investments, barring an infusion north of $10 million in children's products retailer FirstCry. One key action she has driven is to widen the bookends of her investing range, the minimum to $5 million and maximum to $75 million. NEA’s current assets under management amount to about $450 million, and portfolio companies include Naaptol, Nova, FSS, and Airworks. Deshpande is passionate about fostering entrepreneurship and employment, and is on the advisory board of retail industry body TRRAIN.