The Value-Add

I had the privilege of sitting down with Rachel Coffman 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, 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 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, 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 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 PlatformThis podcast is presented by 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 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 spaceThis podcast is presented by 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 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! :)

It's my first time hosting someone with such a unique background, who obsesses about communications and everything that surrounds it. Her perspective is truly one of a kind, and there's so much I learned in such a short amount of time talking to her. I'm so proud to be sharing this with you.Galina is the Head of Communications at Vibranium VC. Here are the topics we cover:- How Galina landed in venture capital, coming from an innovations and communications background.- How she uses her communications background specifically to support her fund and the founders they back. Niche gems here. Loved it.- How founders need to be persistent when trying to get media exposure from publications like TechCrunch.- What her fund does to support newcomer founders to the US. This was heart-warming, seeing how much they actually care.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. Okay, that was a mouthful.

What a detailed interview. One of a kind. Julian and I went into specifics of how their fund (Maze) operates and how exactly they support their portfolio founders through a unique blend of VC Platform services. Great talk!Julian is the Product Analyst at MAZE. Here are the topics we cover:- How she landed her VC Platform role, despite being from a non-finance background originally. She was a teacher, a graphics design, and much more before getting into Venture Capital! I personally love Julian's grit through her career. Amazing.- Her fund is very big on the word "impact". Lots of VC funds have different meanings for that word, and so I asked her how her team defines and measures impact for their founders.- We (obviously) talked in depth about MAZE's VC Platform capabilities. Julian eloquently explains this. And I suggest you take notes when you listen!- How community is so, so important in the VC platform world because you get to learn so much rapidly from others who're doing the same things as you! This was an interesting one.This podcast was hosted on HireCMO.io/vc, where VCs bring in our senior marketers to grow their startups' revenue. All of our marketers are vetted, and have 23+ years of experience growing startups to millions in revenue. Okay, that was a mouthful.

What a power-packed episode. I remember feeling electric after we finished recording this.  Oliver has to be one of the smartest and most confident individuals I've met from the VC Platform industry this week. He had strong conviction behind his words, and I personally loved the story behind how him and his team think about their fund's brand, identity and support system (i.e., VC Platform) for founders. Incredible episode, took me hours to edit but that's because it's that good! Haha.Oliver is the Platform Lead at inMotion Ventures. Here are the topics we covered on this episode:- Fundraising trends in the UK/Europe for startups and VC funds- How inMotion Ventures thinks about strategic investing, and how them having just one LP affects their VC Platform function- How Oliver's background in marketing/branding supercharges his own role today at the fund as their Platform Lead- How Oliver thinks the VC Platform role will evolve in the coming years- How VC funds typically market their platform capabilities to founders- How Oliver and his team keeps tabs on what their portfolio founders need, so they can support them in the best way possible i.e., the role of the "VC Platform" function- Oliver's advice for newcomers who want to apply for VC Platform rolesThis podcast was hosted on HireCMO.io/vc, where VCs bring in senior marketers (with rockstar reputations) to grow their portfolio startups' revenue. Spoiler: it works.

It's my first time hosting two wonderful guests on the same episode, and it couldn't have gone better. Rachel and Emily, although early in the VC Platform roles at their own funds, were so honest and candid about their learnings, experience and advice! I learned so much about the industry thanks to them both, but also a personal reminder on the importance of being grounded and honest. I'm so happy to be sharing this episode with you!Rachel is the Operations & Community Coordinator at Alate Partners. Emily is the Portfolio Support & Community Associate at Roble Ventures.And here are the topics we cover:- How did they enter the world of venture capital, since their backgrounds are not at all related to finance?- What did they do / feel in their first few weeks and months at their VC funds?- How do they define their role in VC platform, and what exact services do their funds provide to founders post-investment?- What advice do they have for newcomers to the VC platform space? (this one was amazingg)This podcast was hosted on HireCMO.io/vc, where VCs bring in senior marketers (with rockstar reputations) to grow their portfolio startups' revenue. Spoiler: it works.

I sat down with D'Arcy Jade Whelan from Outward VC to learn about how she and her team support early stage fintech founders post-investment. This 30ish minute episode is jampacked with information and I'm so excited to finally release it!Here are the topics we cover:D'Arcy studied Art History before getting into VC. And so naturally, I had to ask how she adapted to the fast-paced world of venture capital when she first joined the fund.We all have had episodes of imposter syndrome at some point in our lives, and she went through it too when she joined her fund. So I asked her for tips on how she got over it.I found Outward VC's approach to investing and supporting founders very unique, so we chatted about the tactical ways they help founders today. They're just under 5 years old, and yet there's so many gems she shared here!This podcast was hosted on HireCMO.io/vc, where VCs bring in marketing leaders to grow their portfolio startups. You can find our complete list of episodes at podcast.hirecmo.io!