The Value-Add

I had the privilege of sitting down with Rachel Coffman [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-coffman-1a917592/] who is the Operations Manager at Footwork.vc. Together, she answered 25 of my questions about VC Platform and VC Operations from experience working at Footwork.vc and Susa Ventures. This is the most colorful episode we've ever recorded on the pod, and I'm so proud to present this to you. Here are the topics we talked about: - Rachel, why venture capital of all things? And how did you enter the industry? - What motivated you to move from such a large VC fund (Susa Ventures) to a smaller one (Footwork.vc)? - What's your day-to-day like as the Operations Manager at Footwork.vc? And how is this different from say, a "Platform Lead" at a similar sized fund? - Talk to us about how you and your team provide Platform services for your portfolio. And how do you split your Platform responsibilities with your team at Footwork.vc? - When it comes to arranging dinners, how do you determine which founders/investors/advisors to put in the same room? - How involved does your team get when helping your founders make their hires? How do you measure the effectiveness of your Platform's Talent efforts? - Do you help your seed founders raise their Series A and B rounds? How exactly do you support them? - What's your go-to tip for early-stage founders who want to pitch themselves to reporters? -  What have been your 3 biggest learnings doing Operations and Platform in the last 5 years at Susa and Footwork? - How do you "market" Footwork and its Platform capabilities to founders prior to cutting the check? - How do you keep track of your founders' needs today in real-time? - What's the best advice you've gotten for leading VC Platform? - What's the most misunderstood topic in VC Platform today? And what's one thing you wish VC Platform people did better? - How do you see the Platform space evolving over the next 2-3 years for everyone in venture capital? What's your vision for improving Footwork's Platform capabilities? - What's your advice for newcomers who want to get a job in VC, particularly in Operations? This podcast is presented by HireCMO.io/vc [https://hirecmo.io/vc], where VCs bring in hands-on marketers to grow their startups' revenue. All of our marketers are vetted, and have 23+ years of experience growing startups to millions in revenue! :)

For Episode 11, I sat down with Cuco Vega [https://www.linkedin.com/in/cucovega/] who is the Head of Platform at Leap Global Partners, a firm with a global footprint in the United States and Latin America! Pretty unique. Cuco had interesting insights to share on how he conducts VC Platform, and I'm honestly so happy that I got to jazz with him. Here are the topics we covered: - The current state of San Francisco (as of Q2 2024). - What "VC Platform" means to Cuco and his team at Leap Global Partners. - How Cuco's team adds value to their network of Family Offices and Angels. - How their VC Platform team keeps track of their portfolio founders' needs. - How Cuco's team thinks about fund operations automation with AI. - How their VC Platform team supports their portfolio startups with Business Development. This podcast is presented by HireCMO.io/vc [https://hirecmo.io/vc], where VCs bring in hands-on marketers to grow their startups' revenue. All of our marketers are vetted, and have 23+ years of experience helping startups "triple triple double double" aka grow their revenue extensively.

I spend the legendary episode number 10, with none other than Richard Hughes [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardphughes/] who is the Operating Partner at Gutter Capital, a fund I deeply admire because of how they treat their founders and the depth of the care they provide for their success. Richard helps his founders find and retain the most talented candidates at every level from entry-level to the C-suite. It's not everyday that I come across someone who is this passionate and great at their work, and I deeply recommend you listen to this full episode! Here are the topics we discussed in great detail: - What makes Richard love the talent/hiring space so much, and how he got into it. - How his career evolved over the years and how he entered the world of Venture Capital. - Richard's 3 biggest learnings after helping so many startups hire top-tier talent. - How his role at Gutter Capital (Operating Partner) is different from a Platform Head or Lead. - How exactly Gutter Capital supports their portfolio founders today and how they anticipate their startups' needs. - How his team "markets" their Platform capabilities to LPs (Limited Partners) and portfolio founders. - How emerging managers should think about budgeting for their Platform functions. - Most useful and the worst (haha) advice Richard's heard. - What the future of Platform looks like for the next 3-5 years at Gutter Capital. - Richard's advice for newcomers to VC Platform This podcast is presented by HireCMO.io/vc [https://hirecmo.io/vc], where VCs bring in hands-on marketers to grow their startups' revenue. All of our marketers are vetted, and have 23+ years of experience growing startups to millions in revenue! :)

Finally, I sit down with Dani [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielapico/] from Forum Ventures where she leads Platform for 380 startups, with a 6-person Platform team! We went into extreme detail to learn how they've built a community of founders/investors/mentors so well, and how they continue delivering tiptop value to their startups even at this scale. We left no stone unturned, and we'd love for you to listen to the full episode! Here are the topics we discussed: - How the venture capital scene differs in Canada versus US. - What type of startups Forum Ventures invests in, and if they prefer first-time versus repeat founders. - Forum Ventures' unique structure where they have an (1) AI Studio (2) Accelerator fund and a (3) Pre-seed fund! - The difference between "Community" and "Platform" in the VC world (since I keep confusing the two lol) - Dani's top learnings while building out their community at Forum (hint: it's really well thought out!) - What exactly Platform means to Dani and her team, and precisely how they support their founders. This is the meat of the episode! - What Dani envisions for the future of Platform at Forum - And finally, her advice for newcomers wanting to join the VC Platform space This podcast is presented by HireCMO.io/vc [https://hirecmo.io/vc], where VCs bring in hands-on marketers to grow their startups' revenue. All of our marketers are vetted, and have 23+ years of experience growing startups to millions in revenue! :)

What a unique episode. My admiration for Divya went up tenfold when I learned why she does what she does, and how she entered the world of venture capital. Often times we forget the weight of our own "why" and this episode reminded me about how our whys truly drive our behaviors. Divya [https://www.linkedin.com/in/divyakakkad/] is a VC Partner at Graham & Walker. Here are the topics we cover: - Divya's career path, as she went from leading Marketing in India to now being a VC Partner in Seattle! - How and why Graham & Walker is so committed to help female founders. - How their VC fund actually started as a community!  - What drives Divya as person to do what she does everyday. - Some alarming statistics around how less women are funded compared to men. - How Divya's team does VC Platform at Graham & Walker. - How she sees the VC Platform space changing over time. - Divya's advice for newcomers trying to get into VC Platform. This podcast was hosted on HireCMO.io/vc, where VCs bring in hands-on marketers to grow their startups' revenue. All of our marketers are vetted, and have 23+ years of experience growing startups to millions in revenue! :)