What do venture capitalists ACTUALLY look for in the founders they take on?

For Nisha Dua, co-founder of BBG Ventures, it’s all about great storytelling. What problem are you trying to solve? Why is your team best positioned to solve it? Also: why now?

BBG Ventures’ superpower is in supporting “overlooked” founders, particularly women and diverse groups who are targeting untapped markets. In this episode, Nisha sheds light on how demographic shifts post-COVID are presenting new opportunities for innovation and investment.

Nisha has a fascinating story, too: she’s the daughter of immigrants and grew up in a small Australian town. She worked in corporate law, consulting, and even lead strategy at AOL before co-founding BBG Ventures, launching their first institutional fund of $50 million in 2019!

Today, she shares deep insights into the venture capital world and reveals the evolving priorities within venture capital, the key considerations for investments, and how to create the perfect VC pitch, no matter what stage you’re in.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Nisha Dua's journey from corporate law, to consulting at Bain, managing strategy at AOL, and co-founding BBG Ventures
• The value of storytelling and 3 key questions founders should ask themselves in a VC pitch: Why now? Why this product? Why this team?
• Why non-linear career paths are OK (and sometimes better!) – allowing for serendipity and surprise
• VC pitching advice for pre-seed and seed founders, including common mistakes and red flags
• Drawing in overlooked founders and the importance of understanding the shifting identities, values, and behaviors of the American people

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Learn more about BBG Ventures including their investments in the Polycultural Future of America.

Sarina is a consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, and on LinkedIn, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

Gabby Slome’s founder journey is one of passion, resilience, and an unyielding belief in herself.

First, she experienced massive success with direct-to-consumer dog food subscription service Ollie and wasn’t afraid to put in the hustle to get the word out.

We cover the gritty grassroots marketing tactics she tried around Manhattan, the impact of direct-to-consumer models, and the surprising results that came with asking for help (including how she ended up talking to the Head of Food Safety at Burger King!)

After stepping down from Ollie, Gabby launched her next venture, Cooper Parenting, a virtual lifeline for parents, featuring expert-led group workshops on everything from sleep, self-regulation, picky eating, and parental loneliness.

As a Mom of 3, Gabby gets raw, real, and honest about the juggle of motherhood, parenting, and running a successful business.

How does she stay present with her kids when an important email comes in? What self-care tactics does she make non-negotiable?

Gabby shares her secrets to “ruthless prioritization” and how becoming a parent made her a more empathic leader and manager.

One of my takeaways? You can almost always figure ANYTHING out if you access the right people. I can't wait for you to hear Gabby's wisdom, resilience, and storytelling!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Gabby’s background as a first-generation American, the child of two entrepreneurs, and a professional equestrian
• Starting Ollie, which involved grassroots marketing strategies (like distributing samples at dog parks and cold-calling customers for feedback)
• How Gabby honed her prioritization skills and became a more empathetic leader
• The moment Gabby knew to step down from Ollie to focus on Cooper Parenting – plus, her advice for fellow entrepreneurs who are running businesses while raising kids
• Gabby’s #1 tip for founders: the importance of passion and why not every passion project deserves to be a business

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Check out Gabby Slome’s company, Cooper Parenting.

Sarina is a consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, and on LinkedIn, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

Emma Bates had the idea for Diem while seeking answers on the internet about her health – and unable to find the kind of advice she wanted right then.

The company she started with her co-founder Divia Singh, Diem, aims to make conversations about women’s health more discoverable through a female-centric search engine akin to ChatGPT and Reddit.

As it turns out, Emma wasn’t the only woman struggling to find what she needed on the internet. Before the company even went public, Diem amassed a wait list of 20,000 and raised $3 million dollars!

In this episode, Emma shares the secrets behind their success and incredible growth trajectory, from TechStars and a viral marketing campaign to their fundraising and extensive beta testing.

What’s helped her most is stepping into confidence and surrounding herself with supportive peers and mentors, which has been more beneficial than ANY professional experience she’s ever had.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• How Diem is like ChatGPT meets Reddit, focused on female-centric experiences that she says are like the kinds of information you’ll get in the girl’s bathroom at 1 a.m.
• Emma’s background studying war studies at King College, starting her blog, her work and how Diem was inspired by the morning after pill
• The confidence-building techniques Emma used (including power posing!) to secure funding and get Diem off the ground
• Diem’s trajectory from newsletter to platform, and why looking at market and user data is more important than consumer feedback
• Leaning into community, including the magic of working with an experienced mentor

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Learn about Emma’s company, Diem and follow them on Instagram.

Sarina is a consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, and on LinkedIn, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

Lee Rotenberg has exited not one, but TWO companies.

Want to know the secret to her genius? Quick decision-making. If you’ve got an idea, get it out there, perfection be damned. Pivot and edit until you have that perfect market fit.

In this episode, Lee shares her experience of starting and selling two businesses with her partner, Alex Schinasi: Ivy (business management software for interior design firms) and Clay (early childhood AI-powered learning).

You’ll hear a behind-the-scenes look at both ventures from beginning to end, along with great advice about co-founder relationships, productivity, and the importance of just taking the leap and being fluid with what comes next.

If you take anything away from today’s conversation, don’t “kill the idea” by limiting yourself to launching ventures about only what you know.

With Ivy, Lee and Alex infiltrated the interior design market even though they didn’t know anything about interior design!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The importance of speed in the early stage of start-ups, particularly when it comes to pivoting and finding the perfect market fit
• Building to sell vs. building for the sake of building a great company (which Lee says is kind of similar to finding a life partner!)
• A perfect co-founder recipe: respect, trust, equity, and the ability to think creativity and move fluidly
• The process of creating, pivoting, and eventually selling both Ivy and Clay, and the lessons Lee and Alex are taking with them on their next venture
• “If you’re waiting for something to be perfect, you’re killing the idea” – and other thoughts from Lee about the power of action in building a business

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Sarina is a consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, and on LinkedIn, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

Have you ever been intrigued about angel investing, but unsure where to begin?

The path to getting started can feel incredibly daunting. How much money do you need? How can you “break in”?

Jaclyn Johnson is an inspirational trailblazer in the world of entrepreneurship and angel investing, and she’s here to demystify it all, while giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the process.

With a portfolio that includes 25 companies (!), Jaclyn is also the founder of Cherub, a platform that uses dating app mechanics to connect angel investors with entrepreneurs.

The investing world can be fragmented, but Jaclyn breaks it all down with beginner tips from the average check size, to safe notes, what special purpose vehicles are, and how to get started.

You’ll also hear about angel investing from her perspective: what captures her attention as an investor, and the power of having a unique marketplace advantage, plus a truly compelling story – one that speaks to the heart of why your amazing product needs to exist in the world.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Jaclyn’s inspiring founder journey, and why she launched Cherub to bridge the gap between angel investors and entrepreneurs
• What angel investing is: who does it, what it looks like, and the benefits of angel investing as opposed to venture capital
• What to look for if you’re an angel investor, including founder credibility, unique marketplace advantages, and the potential for long-term returns
• Jaclyn’s experience with angel investing: why she does it (and it’s not just to make money!) and how her approach has evolved
• Tips for entrepreneurs funding through angel investing (be wary of taking little checks from lots of people!) and how to find investors who provide strategic value beyond just financial support

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Check out Cherub and sign up for their newsletter. Also, be sure to take Jaclyn’s fundraising masterclass if you’re a founder raising capital.

Sarina is a consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, and on LinkedIn, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

Seven years ago, Cherie Hoeger saw a real need for better reusable period care products – and after starting Saalt in 2018, it became clear how big that need really was.

In their second year, Saalt products were stocked in all Target stores nationwide. By their third, Saalt had reached eight figures in revenue! Their company has since donated more than 100,000 products to help women and girls worldwide and has funded 600,000 days of school for girls.

What’s noteworthy about Cherie’s story is that her background wasn’t in business. It was in writing. But she did have five daughters, and the news from relatives in Venezuela – that political instability was causing a pad and tampon shortage – kept her up at night. Wasn’t there a reusable product that could prevent girls in developing countries from missing school?

In this episode, Cherie takes us behind the scenes of starting this very successful company with her husband. For them, conducting the research and pinpointing their mission has been crucial, offering them fuel while navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and helping them effectively create something that consumers wanted.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Cherie’s background as an English major, writer, and editor, and the conversation with her husband’s aunt in Venezuela that kept her up at night and provoked her to start Saalt
• The beginnings of the company, starting with the creation of a 3D CAD model of their first period cup, and how they differentiated themselves in a saturated market
• Their first years of business, which included a product recall and a buyer from Target who changed everything, helping them reach 8 figures in year three
• Becoming a B Corp-certified business: how to get certified, the impact it can have socially and environmentally, and the importance of mission for Gen Z/Millennial consumers
• Using market research to literally create a company that consumers wanted and the importance of surrounding yourself with other entrepreneurs

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Learn more about Saalt and the story of how the company came to be.

Sarina is a career coach and consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, via email, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

Fearlessness in putting yourself out there is Adriana Carrig’s secret to success.

Adriana is the inspiring Founder and CEO of the Little Words Project, a community built on the back of bestselling affirmation bracelets worn by A-listers like Taylor Swift, Lance Bass, and Alicia Keys.

After years of bullying, Adriana was inspired to launch her jewelry company as a way to build sisterhood in her college sorority. After college, the Little Words Project was intentionally built without capital by listening to her gut, the market, and her brand’s impact-driven values.

Sometimes it can be uncomfortable putting yourself out there, but discomfort is where growth happens. You never know who is going to get you into what space. You never know who is going to be interested in your product.

This conversation with Adriana is incredibly powerful as she weaves in stories of resilience and empowerment and insights around motherhood and entrepreneurship. The result of her hard work isn’t just a business, but an entire community built on kindness and self-love.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The origins of the Little Words Project in Adriana’s college sorority, which was then a side hustle that she worked on in her parents’ basement
• Getting the business “on sale” by hiring friends to help her with her website and create video content – and why she wouldn’t change those first steps even 10 years later
• “Baby stepping” her way into working at her business full-time and only growing when it was necessary, hiring her first employees carefully and strategically
• Allowing all the imperfect moments to be seen on their social media accounts and the impact this had on the Little Words Project community
• How to find the right people who can give you confidence in your business and help champion your brand, plus the importance of putting yourself out there

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Join the Little Words Project community and shop their bestselling jewelry.

Sarina is a career coach and consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, via email, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.

Slow and steady is the BEST way to build a business, laying the foundation brick-by-brick.

Sabena Suri is the co-founder and board member of BOXFOX, an ecommerce gifting destination, curating elevated, thematic boxes for all occasions. The company is tremendously successful, and yet, Sabena and her co-founders never raised capital. Instead, they learned to wear lots of hats and built their business slowly with no outside forces dictating the direction.

After 8 years, Sabena made a bold and unconventional decision to pivot and step down from BOXFOX, realizing her “zone of genius” is actually in establishing the foundations for a new business from scratch.

Today, Sabena takes us on her fascinating career journey: her early experiences, what it was like to grow BOXFOX with friends, and the work she’s done since. She shells out great advice for fellow entrepreneurs, from the importance of being open, to knowing when it’s time for something new.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Sabena’s early work experience writing for CNET and working as an associate at Ogilvy and Mather, where she became fast friends with one of her future co-founders
• The benefit of focusing on problems instead of products and the birth of BOXFOX, a curated platform for gifting
• Sabena’s advice for deciding whether to start a company with a co-founder, plus things to consider, from your vision and commitment, to the skills you each have
• Why BOXFOX decided to not raise capital (an unconventional decision!) – and advice for entrepreneurs going that route
• Leaving a thriving company in order to pivot, pursue personal growth, and find more opportunities that enable you to use your “zone of genius”

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Check out BOXFOX’s elevated gifting options on their website.

Sarina is a career coach and consultant who works with startup leaders and entrepreneurs. Connect with her on her website, on Instagram, via email, and check out more episodes of the Career Memos podcast.