Updates & Advice
Updates & Advice
Updates & Advice
Venture Capital and the Age of Social Reckoning
From the global economic recession caused by the pandemic to George Floyd’s death empowering the Black Lives Matter movement to overall desperate calls to action for social justice and equality—the venture capital industry has much to learn from the age of social...
10 Lessons I’ve Learned in 25 Years
I’ve been in the venture capital industry a long time—getting my foot in the door in the 90’s after a few shots at being the CEO of technology companies. Though they happened to be failed attempts, I’m grateful for the opportunities those experiences presented because...
It Takes a Community: Aspen Fire Needs Your Help
One of my favorite places on earth is Aspen, Colorado. Because I spend a lot of time there, I stay quite active and contribute to the community as much as possible, such as serving on the board of ACES, an environmental organization. A recent initiative that has my...
Why I’m Committed to Being an Ally for Women in VC
Diversity isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s good for business. This fact has become more and more clear over the years as countless studies and conversations have started regarding the powerful impact diversity has on driving successful investments, teams, and...
Investing Isn’t Just a Man’s Game
Across the world, consumers, businesses, and entire industries are suffering from what’s described as the COVID-19 economic crisis. The result? Losses of almost every kind. Still, we find that these changes didn’t affect all industries equally. In this time of...
What I’ve Learned From Mentoring Women-Led Businesses
When it comes to mentoring founders and investing in their businesses, we already know that diversity is the key to success. There’s no question that we need to listen to the voices and ideas of women and men and people of all races, ages, and walks of life. Something...
Speakers and Lessons From This Year’s CEO and Board Leadership/Governance Class Spring Quarter 2021
Even though everything is still virtual, Eileen O'Neill Odum and I were happy to be back and teaching another bright class of MBA students at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business. This time around, discussing CEO and Board Leadership was especially...
Encouraging More Women Into Careers in VC
We know that founders are looking for investors who value diversity and recognize the success that comes with diverse teams, so what can we do to attract more women on the investment side of the table and shift what types of founders, products, and services are being...
Turning the Tables: What Do Female Founders Look for When Seeking Out Investors?
As an investor, there are many factors that I consider when working with founders. Along with pitching a good idea, I’m also thinking of the biases that exist within venture capital to ensure I’m actively investing in diverse companies. Knowing that diverse teams...
Wrapping up the Year: What 2020 Has Taught Us
In just a few words, 2020 was wild, unpredictable, and exhausting. We all thought the chaos of COVID-19 would only last a few weeks or months, but we’re going to be facing it for well over a year. It has been an overwhelming time navigating a global pandemic while...