My thoughts on consumer & women (2021)

I have the privilege to run a community of the next generation of women who will build and break things in every industry across the board. So, I’m not worried about any part of progress in terms of actualization. Everything I can say here can be used with any person of any identity:

Focusing on consumer data. In consumer venture, specifically, what I am the most excited about is for MPs to see the value of taking the majority of next-generation consumers seriously (women make 80% of consumer choices, GenZ is the most culturally diverse generation, etc.) The reality is that the investors that take the most interest to the majority of consumer (research, investment, network) are the women themselves. The pressure to focus on sterilized SaaS has been dissolved with the decentralization of Silicon Valley across the country. Whoever cares the most about the majority consumer now, will win. That’s probably going to be women and I’m excited to see that.

Maturing the craft//generalists are lame. Entry into venture is becoming more competitive, rather than gatekept. Meaning, there is more to do and prove in the job than what was allowed before. VCs are trying to keep their edge with brand and community, but what I’m really excited about is the encouragement of thesis. This is something that a fund does itself and rarely allows for individuals to explore as individual investors with niche communities and a thirst for data that can quench their curiosity. This can be internal reports, interaction with researchers who specialize in that interest, and an acknowledgement of specialists as a part of the community rather than thirst-trap thought pieces of one investor’s narrative.

Title matters. Additionally, there’s been a rise of the term “investor” as a substitute for traditional titles (typically used when an investor on the team captures responsibilities well above what would be expected with their background) and is a founder-friendly signal that this person has decent say in the deal-decision process. If you’re going to hire a woman to be the “face,” give her the title to match. Give her decision making ability and give her platform as an individual – she’ll deal with whatever cultural nonsense this industry can have if she feels supported and valued by the team.

Benefits. This goes out to specifically earlier funds: figure out benefits. Women take these decisions seriously as a legitimizing factor to starting their venture career. Let’s not pretend that VC is a “scrappy” job at all. Make sure women’s health is included as these packages.