Ride it Out_LBS Kathryn Larin

Seb - ex MBB consultant, joined a hyper growth mobility start up, Circ which later sold to Bird and now jumped ship to Balderton, VC - what a career journey so far!

What start up trend is Seb currently excited about? Future of ecommerce! He explores the bifurcation of ecommerce, D2C, purpose brands and ecommerce infrastructure. If you're recruiting for a B2C VC - these are some golden nuggets!

VC recruiting advice? Seb has got you covered with some of these tips on charting a path to stand out: 1) Learning to have confidence to have strong views on spaces; 2) Get on top of an ecosystem; 3) Do your own marketing and sales - blogging, twitting and even podcasting!

Check out the latest Balderton portfolio investments: https://www.balderton.com/companies/ 

Nina (LBS MBA'19) started Cult Mia during her MBA. She won the LBS Launchpad competition in 2019 and thereafter joined the LBS Incubator, 'The House'.

Cult Mia is a fashion platform bringing unique designer styles from across the globe. Working with over 100 designers from over 26 countries, serving over 20,000 customers. Cult Mia supports local businesses at an international scale. During COVID, Cult Mia's agile business model was in full force allowing for an authentic destination shopping experience without the international travel!

Thinking about co-founding a start up with a friend or joining an early stage start up? Nina gives advice on how to vet those important relationships as you're hitting the ground running

Angela Chou and Sarah Shanfield, investors at Felix Capital, join us the final episode of the ‘Breaking into VC’ series. In this episode, we discuss thematic sourcing at Felix Capital, the creator economy, and what drew them to Creative Fabrica. We also walk through their due diligence process for Creative Fabrica in the hopes that it will help you prepare for your next VC case study.

Check out the Felix Capital portfolio here: https://www.felixcap.com/portfolio

0:55 - 5:35: Intro to Sarah & Angela, and Felix Capital

5:40 - 8:10: Overview of Felix Capital

8:10 - 10:15: What is thematic sourcing?

10:15 - 13:05: Breaking down the creator economy

13:05 - 15:20: What does Creative Fabrica do?

15:20 - 33:20: Felix Capital’s due diligence process and how it was applied to Creative Fabrica

33:20 - 34:30: Investment Process at Felix Capital

34:30 - 36:50: Support post-investment

36:50 - 41:05: What’s next post-VC on the career side?

Kathy Gromotka, Principal at Downing Ventures, joins us for the fifth episode of the ‘Breaking into VC’ series. In this episode, Kathy walks us through her process for analyzing founder pitches and which metrics matter the most to investors. Later in the episode, we dive into the preparation required for a VC case study and what one should expect. Kathy provides some helpful tips for standing out in the VC recruitment process.

Check out the Downing Ventures portfolio here: https://www.downingventures.com/portfolio

1:50 - 3:00: Overview of Downing Ventures

3:00 - 8:25: Receiving and analyzing founder pitches

8:25 - 16:10: What are investors looking for in pitch decks?

16:10 - 22:40: What are some red flags in a pitch deck?

22:40 - 27:45 : Making an investment and post-investment support

27.45: 30:35: Putting together an investment memo

30:35 - 42:10: What are different case study formats and how do you prepare?

42:10 - 45:05: What skills are VCs looking for in the case study?

45:05 - 50:20: Tips and advice for interviews and case studies

50:20 - 52:35: Key takeaways

How does one prepare for a VC interview? In the fourth episode of the ‘Breaking into VC’ series, Kathryn and Anjum discuss the typical structure of a VC interview, advice for pitching a start up, and the main competencies VCs are screening for in an interview. This episode wraps up with some helpful tips on motivational and technical questions as well as general interview advice.

1:30 - 3:00: What should you expect from a VC interview?

3:00 - 7:15: What are VCs looking for in candidates?

7:15 - 14:30: What should you research and prepare before the interview?

14:30 - 25:20: How to pitch an interesting start up and talk about industry trends

25:20 - 44:20: Motivational questions questions and tips for answering them

44:20 - 51:55: How to prepare for the technical questions

51:55 - 56:46: Key takeaways and interview tips

Dr. Brittany Barreto, fellow podcast host of Femtech Focus discusses the latest investment trends in Femtech - market worth $1 trillion! Did you know that there are 3 femtech IPOs, 39 notable exits out of which 6 over $1 billion. No wonder VCs are focusing on the FemTech space. Be prepared to learn, not only what makes a successful Femtech company but also sextech, orgasms and pelvic floor therapy!

Loved listening to Brittany? Follow her FemTech Focus podcast: https://femtechfocus.org/podcast/

Want to learn more about Femtech? The LBS Women in Business Conference on 4th March 2021 has a very exciting FemTech panel lined up with Dame, Parla, LocalGlobe and moderated by Amy Lewin from Sifted.

Grab your ticket to the hottest LBS event of the year! https://www.lbswib.co.uk/conference-2021.