Women in Venture Capital

In the conversation with Courtney, we talk about her journey into the world of investing, starting as a Kauffman Fellow - to becoming an LP and now running Recast Capital, a platform supporting and investing in emerging managers in venture. We also learn more about their recent fellowship - for emerging VC investors. We hear Courtney's perspective on how the changing market environment is imp...

In this episode, we dive into the Platform and Operations role at venture funds with Sophie. We also touch on the operations role in times of uncertainties for startups such as the SVB crisis and how 186 Ventures is positioning itself to best support portfolio companies. Finally, Sophie talks about gender dynamics in VC broadly and in the Boston ecosystem and  shares some advice for aspiring femal...

In this conversation with Claire, we hear about her journey from LevFin to PE to now VC, and how she tapped into various networking opportunities and fields of career as she chose to pursue VC. She also shares some trends in the startup world she is tracking closely. And we end the chat with some candid and genuine advice for women who are trying to break into this ecosystem!

In this conversation with Janis, we chat about her long journey in life sciences and the gradual transition to a more generalist fund set-up, with Cota Capital. We also hear about the fund thesis with Cota and some of the most exciting spaces she is following. Lastly, we touch upon her experiences and take on gender dynamics in this ecosystem and how should one navigate the system!

In this chat with Johanna, we get to hear about her breadth of experiences in economics, finance and and what led her to do investing. She also shares her motivation and journey building Elevar, doubling down on the LatAm ecosystem and her aspirations for women in the space. 

In this conversation with Pallavi, we learn about her career transitions and what got her interested in growth investing, particularly in the Indian fintech ecosystem. We got to hear about a few of her investments and investment theses, and her goals of learning from the international markets, like the USA. Tune in, for a thought provoking chat! 

In this conversation with Tasneem, she talks about setting up Excelestar - building the fund's thesis and growing it to where its at today. She also talks about her efforts into promoting female entrepreneurs, via Golden Seeds - that is addressing the lack of funding and coaching for female founders. Finally, she shares what her aspirations are for women in investing.

In this conversation with the Untapped Global team, we talk to Caitlin and Yvonne about the fund's smart asset financing strategy, data-driven approach and Africa's growth vision. We also hear from them how women have a better "vibe check", making them sound investors in the ecosystem!

In this episode, we talk to Miki about her interesting path into VC and her career motivations along the way. We dive into the inspiration behind Grid110, the mission of the firm and the trends she's been excited about. Finally Mikki talks about gender dynamics in VC and details some tactical advice to break into VC; from online research to books, events, and communities. 

In this episode, we talk to Justine about what led her to a career in finance, first at Goldman Sachs then in VC. She further dives into the secondary team at Industry Ventures and how she approached the decision of what stage to invest in. Finally, Justine touches on how the sheer availability of female mentors in itself is a sign that things are changing in the industry, albeit slowly, and discu...

In this episode, we talk to Brittany about her passion for Tech through her roles in consulting, ops and VC. She also touches on her experience working for one of the longest running VC firms and how the tenure of her mentors have played a role in her own journey. Finally, we dive into the thought that “Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity isn’t — yet." and what it will take to get...

In this episode, we talk to Julie Sandler about her psychology background and how that has translated to her work today, especially her relationships with founders. Talking about PSL, she touches on the growth of the fund and the Northwestern region and the venture studio model. She also dives into diversity both within the fund and their investments, serving as a testament to advancements in the...

In this episode, we talk to Connie about her early interests in technology and how that translated to working at Square and eventually in VC. Connie shares more about her experience at Forgepoint Capital, including the funding growth in cybersecurity and horizontal expansion of the space across sectors. She also touches on how she engages with a community of professionals to tackle unfavorable gen...

In  this episode, we talk to Temi about her pull towards an entrepreneurial space focused on Africa, her deep dive into fintech along with trends and themes she is excited about in the space—notably female founders. Temi also touches on the climate resilience and climate adaptation efforts in Africa (especially considering the prevalence of agriculture-related jobs). We conclude the chat with some...

In this episode, we talk to Jazmin Medina about her interest in VC and startups during business school and why she chose an operator role beforehand. We also touch on some of the aspects of the industry that she finds attractive, including the ability to have a high level of ownership, lifelong learning, and the privilege of working alongside CEOs. Jazmin further talks to us about trends she'...

In this episode, Julia shares her experience working in business development at WeWork before joining VC funds for the last 3+ years. She further talks about professional growth within a firm and how to tackle conversations around promotions. She concludes with her very candid recommendation to think about why you see yourself succeeding in and enjoying venture capital before diving in. 

In this episode we talk to Senofer and Asya about their journey into VC and their vision to build a more equal and diversified funding landscape. We touch on how the current environment is all about empowering entrepreneurs and how bias can be used to counter the very unequal distribution it has created in the past. We conclude with some advice to aspiring female investors to tap into their streng...

In this episode, Vivien talks about her venture path, her passion for healthcare and the podcast she hosts, interviewing & learning from entrepreneurs in the sector. She further talks about leading Pear's Female Founder Circle which is providing a platform for female technical founders and shares the aspiration of bringing these founders to the funding table, technical assistance or simpl...

In this episode, we talk to Isabelle about her journey through finance and operations and what eventually led her to angel investing. We touch on the realities and opportunities of being part of an angel investing community, especially for women. We wrap up the conversation with some advice for female founders and investors with Isabelle drawing inspiration from two impressive women in very differ...

In this episode, Lexi talks about how a long visit to the continent prompted her to explore innovation and investing in Africa and eventually moving to Nigeria. She dives into some of her key investment strategies that have helped achieve portfolio success at Acuity and themes and trends that she is excited about. Additionally, we talk about her experience with gender dynamics in African VC and he...

In this episode, we talk to Monica about her role driving impact at G2 Venture Partners and dig into her interest in climate tech and sustainability through her roles at Zola Electric and Tesla. We also touch on the evolution of climate tech over the years and the exciting new opportunities and conclude with how to achieve parity for women in both Tech and VC.  Side note: apologies for my flu voic...

In this fun episode with Tess, we talk about her passion for space and how that translated into a career through Boeing, SpaceX and eventually into venture capital at Bessemer. We also touch on mentorship vs. sponsorship and fellowship programs as a means to learn and break in the VC space. Finally, we dive into the low representation stats for female investors and talk about the need to take acti...

A short message to our avid listeners - we are still here! Anvita graduated from HBS last month (woo!) and is moving to Seattle to start the next chapter of her life and I have been working on an Africa focused Agritech / Foodtech accelerator program in Mauritius, hence the break from the podcast. We are looking forward to resuming the podcast in the coming days. Stay tuned!  - Rashveena

In this episode, we talk to Rima about her journey from being a "stock picker" in equity research at GS to business development at Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren and eventually venture capital, first with XRC labs, and now Commerce Ventures. Rima also touches on her experience working for StartU, "a Techcrunch for student startups" as she calls it, while doing her MBA. She emphas...

In this episode with Deborah Quazzo, we talk about her pathway to VC, including her time at Merrill Lynch and her experience with angel investing as well as her collaboration with Michael Moe in founding ThinkEquity Partners and GSV Ventures later on. We also touch on the current education technology space and the opportunities it holds for entrepreneurs passionate about solving problems. We concl...