Meet 55 VCs who stood out in 2021 and are the names to watch in 2022, according to other VCs

• Venture capital shattered records in 2021 and is headed into another bullish year.
• Behind all the dealmaking were the venture capitalists at firms large and small.

There's no doubt 2021 was a record-breaking year for venture capital.

After a volatile early 2020, venture capital came back strong. Throughout 2021, it smashed fundraising records and minted hundreds of new unicorns, aka startups valued at $1 billion or more.

Behind the scenes of these successes this past year were all the hungry venture capitalists sourcing hot startups and closing major deals.

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To find the ones gaining attention in the industry, Insider asked the previous class of rising-star venture capitalists to nominate who they thought deserved the title this year. Several of last year's investors have seen their reputations grow even more, such as Atelier Ventures' Li Jin, who got her first venture-capital job from a cold email at age 26 and has since become known for her work investing in the creator economy.

They nominated investors who have been noticed for savvy dealmaking skills and finding startups that have the potential to make it big. Many come from diverse backgrounds that inform their dealmaking decisions. These VCs come from large and small funds and work on a mix of early- and growth-stage deals.

For instance, Paige Doherty at 24 started her own venture fund, Behind Genius Ventures, after raising $1.6 million for early-stage startups right after graduating from college. And Iynna Halilou organized and spearheaded the global startup-relations team for New York's Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator. Other investors, like Noramay Cadena and Sherman Williams II, founded their own venture firms.

Subscribe to Business Insider to meet the 55 rising-star VCs who represent the future of venture capital.