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Mergelane Blog

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Fighting the Urge to Ask for and Give Advice

The “Magic Genie Fallacy” phenomenon, in which people start to believe that they need someone else’s magic advice to propel themselves forward, can be counterproductive to both the lamp seeker and the lamp possessor.

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Kindly Candid Feedback | Success with a Simple Text

I would like to publicly thank my mom for sending a cool and collected text message after her recent accident. That simple message gave me hope that offering kindly candid feedback can, in fact, improve relationships, including the one I have with my mom.

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Committing to Discomfort to Achieve Growth

Some of my biggest accomplishments and happiest moments have stemmed from a feeling of discomfort. I am going to publicly commit to staying out of my comfort zone for at least six weeks.

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Welcoming “Ridiculous” Goals | Executive Coaching While Powder Skiing

I allowed myself to include all of my “ridiculous” wants and aspirations on my list of 2023 goals, one of which was “finding a coach and co-collaborator who would agree to hold meetings from the chairlift.” Believe it or not, I was actually able to manifest that.

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Striving for Success Unapologetically

It is amazing what you can achieve if you get out of your own way.

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When the “Safe” Route Is Actually Less Safe

I have learned the important lesson that being mediocre at anything is not a “safe” path to success. I now realize that the “safe” path for others may not be the best route for me.

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What If Everything Goes Right Rather Than Wrong?

In investing, and in life in general, an ability to foresee potential pitfalls has served me well. However, being able to see what can go wrong can prevent me from seizing an opportunity. I sometimes forget that most of my successes have been the result of seemingly impossible feats.

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Holidays: Why Stressing Might Be More Relaxing Than Destressing

While holidays are designed to help people rest, I almost always feel exhausted after them. I’ve started to take a completely different approach. Especially if you are a type A entrepreneur, this approach may work for you, too.

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When Refusing to Help Is Actually More Helpful

I receive far more requests for help than I can possibly fulfill. I am much better at saying no than I used to be, but it is something I am still working on. A friend recently modeled how to say no in a way that was actually more helpful than a yes. I’m going to try her approach going forward.

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How to Ask for Referrals

Asking for a referral can be a delicate request to make, so I am sharing some tips on how to ask for them.

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Looking For Feedback? Clarity Might Help

I have been asking for feedback more than usual. I have found that I receive better feedback when I share some context upfront. In case this will help you when you ask for feedback, here is what I've been sharing.

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An Exit, Our Final Investment, and the Next Chapter for MergeLane

It is fitting that this investment in the end of life will be MergeLane’s last. We are excited to announce our recent investment in After, an online cremation planning and fulfillment service.

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When Passion Runs Out

I’ve spent most of my life learning how to turn off my passion for just long enough to eat and sleep. I’ve never had to learn how to turn it on. After a recent long stretch without that passion, here's my hypothesis as to why I think it is coming back.

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Episode 41: Living Off the Brink of Disaster

I tried for many years to maintain a jam-packed schedule with zero margin for error, but life never seems to fit into perfectly scheduled boxes. After a straw-that-broke-the-camel’s-back moment, I’m learning to live off of the brink of disaster.

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The New Builders | A Book Review

New Builders are essential to a more dynamic and diverse economy, but they are also driving revitalization in the neighborhoods where others have given up hope.

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Episode 40: Avoiding Venture Capital Fund Administration Headaches

I've spent more time than necessary on our fund administration and reporting, in part because of some of the easily avoidable administrative mistakes I’ve made over my 10-year journey as a startup investor.

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Episode 39: When Anxiety Is Worse Than the Outcome

Over these past two months and throughout all of 2020, I've learned something that I want to record to make sure that I remember: My anxiety about the potential outcomes is almost always worse than the actual outcome.

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Episode 38: Fund81 Startup Spotlight - Alaffia Technology Solutions

In this second episode of a new series to feature startups sourced from our Fund81 VC forum members’ portfolios, I interviewed Alaffia Technology Solutions nominated by the Hustle Fund.

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Episode 37: How the Pandemic is Shifting LP Strategies with Beezer Clarkson

In this episode, Beezer shares how the pandemic is affecting Sapphire Partners’ investment strategy. I also share what I’ve been seeing from investing in startups and venture capital funds through our MergeLane fund. 

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Renewing My Commitment to Drive Change without Provoking Defensive Behavior

I want to keep reminding myself that nearly 50 percent of my fellow Americans desired a different outcome for this election. I believe that in politics, business, and life, understanding and collaborating with your adversaries is the key to driving change.

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Episode 36: Pre-Election Advice for VCs + The Value of Talent-Exporting Communities, with Trinet Founder Martin Babinec

Trinet founder Martin Babinec offers timely advice on why and how VCs should engage politically, and how they can leverage opportunities outside traditional startup ecosystems.

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Convincing My Mother to Cross Party Lines | Lessons in Life and Business From Our Five-Year Journey

I've learned a lot about life and business from my mother’s and my five-year journey to reconcile our political differences. I want to share our story because I think it may be of service regardless of which way you lean politically.

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Episode 35 - Fund81 Startup Spotlight | Gini Health - Techstars Toronto

I’m starting a new series to feature some startups sourced from our Fund81 VC forum members’ portfolios. In this episode, I interviewed Gurjot Narwal, CEO of Gini Health.

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6 Questions to Rethink the Way You Add Value

I have been doing a lot of thinking about how I can add differentiated value to our MergeLane portfolio. I’m asking myself six questions to that end.

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5 Reasons Every Entrepreneur and VC Should Follow the Hustle Fund

Here are five things I think every startup and VC can learn by paying attention to what the Hustle Fund is up to.

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Adjusting Productivity Expectations to Account for Air Quality

I was optimistic that I could will myself to keep my normal pace when the smoke settled in. I think I need to take a different approach.

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Episode 34: Adding Value in Today’s Venture Capital Market with Peterson Ventures’ Ben Capell

The proliferation of venture capital funds has left many VCs wondering how to deliver unique value to their portfolio companies and how to scale that value to fit their portfolio strategy. I invited Ben Capell, partner at Peterson Ventures, to join us for a candid conversation.

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Authentic Feedback for Underrepresented Founders

When I listened to this story about a black entrepreneur who has been unable to raise funding for his startup, it made me wonder whether the investors he pitched had given him authentic feedback. 

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Tuesday Takeaways 8.11.20 - Four Questions I Ask Myself Every Day

After my business partner had a serious health scare 18 months ago, I started asking myself three questions every day. I've added a fourth during this pandemic.

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Episode #33: Recruiting Top Tech Talent with Evan Walden of Getro

I invited Evan Walden of Getro to share his thoughts on recruiting top talent in the current environment and the role VCs can play to help their portfolio companies address this ongoing issue.

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How Inside Coaching Is Changing the Trajectory of My Day

My colleagues Sue Heilbronner and Leah Pearlman Iaunched their Marco Polo Channel, Inside Coaching, this week. Here’s why and how I’m making the channel a part of my weekly routine.

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Tuesday Takeaways 07.28.20: Reopening a Previous Round vs. Raising a New One

A few of our portfolio companies considered whether to reopen their previous round or open a new round with a higher valuation. If you are considering the same question, here are the thoughts I shared with one of those companies.

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Celebrating Success in Times of Crisis

Somewhere in my childhood, I learned to hide and feel guilty for my success. It wasn't until recently that I realized how much that inhibited my ability to actually achieve success.

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Testing My Commitment to Candor: Wearing My Mask Inside AND Out

I thought I had overcome my fear of peer pressure when I was 16, but this coronavirus experience has proved me wrong. I broke my commitment to tell the truth at a time when candor could have been of service.

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Tuesday Takeaways 07.14.20 | A Trend Toward More World-Changing Startups?

Over the past few months, I've seen an increasing number of pitches from startups tackling the world’s biggest environmental and social problems like climate change, gun violence, and the mental health crisis. I'm also finding that I’m becoming more determined to invest in world-changing startups.

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Diversity in Venture Capital: Taking Action to Actually Change the Ratio

Kim Smith, executive director of the League of Innovative Schools, shares her thought-provoking insights to help drive racial equality in our venture capital industry, and makes a powerful call for white co-conspirators who are ready, willing, and able to fight.

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Tuesday Takeaways 07.07.20 | Going Cold Turkey on News and Emotion This Week

I am grateful for the clarity and inspiration this emotional time has afforded me. I am more driven to do work that matters than ever before. Because we still have a long road ahead, I'm going to take an emotional breather. 

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Fund81 Summer Spotlight: Five Startups Sourced from the Fund81 VC Forum

We sourced five startups from our Fund81 VC forum members to present for our June forum. Check out this episode to hear pitches from these incredibly tenacious entrepreneurs. ‍

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Tuesday Takeaways 06.30.20 | Surrendering to July

I find that I have to expend three times more energy to feel productive during the holidays. This pattern tends to persist not only during the week of July 4th, but for the entire month of July. 

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Tuesday Takeaways 06.23.20 | How to Ask for Introductions

I have fielded several requests for introductions this week. I like to be helpful, but I also like to be respectful of my network’s time. I'd like to share a few tips for making double opt-in intros easy.

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I've Regressed: Marriage and Gender Equality in the Face of COVID-19

I’ve always thought of myself as someone who has a modern marriage. Three months into this COVID-19 situation, however, I'm starting to feel like I'm stuck in a 1950s sitcom.

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Tuesday Takeaways 06.16.20 | Shifting from White Comfort

In a conversation on my partners Sue and Leah’s Marco Polo Channel this week, I shared that my fear of how my participation may be received given my white privilege has historically kept me on the sidelines of the racial equality conversation. Guest coach Kimberly Smith gave me some great advice.

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A Lesson in Leveraging My VC Network for Good | COVID-19 in Vail, Colorado

As a VC, I have the opportunity to build relationships with people who have tremendous resources. I often hesitate to ask my network to support philanthropic causes, because I want to respect our business relationship. After seeing the impact of COVID-19, however, I decided it was time to ask.

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Tuesday Takeaways 06.09.20 | The Best of My Weekly Reading and Listening List

I post my most interesting weekly thoughts, coupled with the best of my listening and reading list, and occasional MergeLane portfolio news each Tuesday. Here’s the best of what I’ve read and listened to this week:

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Episode #28: Finding BIG-Thinking and Executing Entrepreneurs with Dick Rothkopf

I invited Dick Rothkopf, co-founder of Learning Curve International, the manufacturer of the Thomas the Tank Engine toys, to share his thoughts on how to spot big thinkers and big ideas with the propensity to scale, and how to help entrepreneurs think bigger.

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Tuesday Takeaways | My Most Interesting Weekly Thoughts 06.02.20

During this epidemic, I've been doing more reading, listening, and introspective thinking. In an effort to remember and share some of what I learned, I'm going to start posting my most interesting weekly thoughts + the best of my listening and reading list + occasional MergeLane portfolio news.

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Do We Need an Excuse to Say No?

Two people I admire recently shared their silver lining in our global COVID-19 pandemic—an excuse to say no to the constant stream of requests for their time. I’ve made great strides in saying no with candor, but it left me wondering: Can I really stop using excuses for my nos?

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Turning It Off | Managing Anxiety and Workaholism While Working from Home

Without that physical barrier between work and home, many entrepreneurs (including me) have a hard time shutting off. In this podcast episode, I share what I've learned through my experience working from home for the past 15 years.

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Feeling Stretched by COVID-19? Outsourcing and Delegating with Foundry Group's Seth Levine

I invited Seth Levine to join the show because we’ve had some nice conversations about the challenge we each have in managing our personal bandwidth. Since having these conversations, we’ve both managed to carve out more time through some creative outsourcing and delegating.

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A Tale of Three Recessions - Lessons from an Entrepreneur's Recession Startup Streak

Dave Balter, CEO of MergeLane-backed Flipside Crypto, has built three previous startups in the midst of economic downturns. He believes recessions are the greatest time to launch into successful models. In this Fund81 podcast episode, Dave shares his thoughts on why these eras drive opportunity.

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Episode 23: Working from Home | Balancing Guilt and Productivity, and Other Lessons from My 15-Year Experience

I’ve been working from home for the past 15 years. I have learned a lot about maximizing productivity, finding work/life harmony, managing home life, staying fit and maintaining a healthy marriage while working from home. I’ve shared some of these lessons learned in this Fund81 podcast episode.

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Advice from 21 VCs | Managing Startups and Raising Capital in a Downturn

As part of our survey to determine whether COVID-19 will slow VC investment, we asked venture capitalists to share their advice for entrepreneurs who are currently raising or plan to raise capital in the next six months. Here's advice from 21 of those VCs.

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Will COVID-19 Slow VC Investment? Our Initial Survey Results

Since we are all wondering how COVID-19 will affect venture capital investment, I surveyed some of my Fund81 VC forum members to take quick pulse on their investment plans. Below is the data from the first 34 respondents.

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Managing Anxiety | Lessons from an Anxious Entrepreneur

I have battled anxiety for many years. In that journey, I've learned a lot about how to manage it and support others who battle anxiety as well. I thought it might be helpful to share my thoughts.

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Choosing a Venture Capital Fund Administrator

We’re considering a few different fund administration solutions. I have a lot of questions that other fund managers may have as well. I invited Tiffany Cholez from CFO Fund Services to answer some of these questions live.

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Announcing MergeLane's First Anti-theme: Founders Who Dislike Authentic Feedback

We have talked about declaring investment themes since our launch six years ago. Today we settled on one "anti-theme": Founders who dislike authentic feedback.

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Fund81 in 2020 and Lessons from a Bout of Holiday Depression

In this latest Fund81 podcast episode, I share my 2020 plans for the Fund81 forum and podcast, and a few reflections from my short bout of holiday depression.

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The Complete Guide to Composing Startup Investor Updates

I’ve now read over a thousand startup investor updates. The most effective updates — the ones that immediately grab my attention and heighten my interest — have similar characteristics. My advice is below, along with a comprehensive template for startup investor updates.

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Episode #20: Venture Capital Lessons from 2000 and 2008: Preparing for a Downturn

At MergeLane, we’ve been thinking about how changing market conditions may affect our fund in the future. I know many of our listeners are asking themselves that question as well. Our guest, Liza Benson, thrived as a VC through both the dot-com crash in 2000 and the 2008 financial crisis.

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Episode #19: The LP Perspective and the #OpenLP Reboot with Beezer Clarkson

Beezer Clarkson invests in early-stage venture funds at Sapphire Partners (the division within Sapphire Ventures that invests in venture funds). In this episode, Beezer shares her perspective on venture capital trends, VC firm differentiation, and nonobvious mistakes for VC fund managers to avoid. 

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If Your VC Fund Makes You a Pirate, Should You Abandon Ship?

As an entrepreneur and startup investor, I have had many moments of feeling like I am pushing water uphill with a rake. Sometimes, I have kept pushing and have succeeded out of sheer grit. Sometimes, it was time to admit defeat. Two years ago, I had one of those moments. 

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Episode #18: Assessing Hustle with the Hustle Fund

Elizabeth Yin, co-founder and general partner at the Hustle Fund, shared her thoughts on how to assess a startup’s ability to “hustle”. Her thoughts are applicable to venture capitalists, startups and anyone who wants to work with hustlers. 

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“Sorry for the Delay”? I Don’t Accept Your Apology

Nearly every email I receive starts with “Sorry for the delay.” Our always-on culture has set an unwritten expectation that an email should be responded to within 24 hours. To prevent the perpetuation of this cultural expectation, I would like to make my thoughts clear.

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Fund81 Fall Startup Showcase: Four Startups Sourced from Our VC Forum

We asked our Fund81 forum for venture capitalists to nominate portfolio companies to participate in a startup showcase. We received over 50 nominations. Four of those startups are featured in this episode. 

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Episode #16: Investing in AI – The New Metrics, Milestones, and Playbooks for AI-driven Startups

Jocelyn Goldfein from Zetta Venture Partners joined the Fund81 podcast to share her approach to investing in artificial intelligence (AI). With the cost of creating software continuing to decline, Zetta believes the companies of the future will need to build more than just great software to thrive.

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Episode #15: Fitting Fitness into a Startup Schedule with Nicole DeBoom

I love being active, but I also have high professional aspirations. I’ve spent the last 16 years trying to find a productive balance between the two. In this episode, Nicole DeBoom, pro triathlete turned CEO of Skirt Sports, and I share our thoughts on how to fit fitness into a startup schedule.

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Episode #14: VC Fundraising with David Cohen | Moving LPs to a Yes

Fundraising doesn’t come naturally to David Cohen, founder and co-CEO of Techstars, but he’s learned how to leverage his strengths and team to successfully raise the funds that power the Techstars network. In this episode, he shares his honest and authentic reflections from this experience.

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Entrepreneurs: Read This Customer Discovery Book Right Now

So often I speak with entrepreneurs who have not spoken to anyone outside of their personal circles before spending countless hours on their business. This always catches my attention, because I was once this entrepreneur.

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How Conscious Leadership Bought Me 5 Hours of Extra Time Each Day

I practice the principles of Conscious Leadership, a methodology and toolkit that accelerates self-awareness. It’s being taught at companies like Yahoo, Goldman Sachs and Ebay and has forever changed every aspect of my life. I estimate that it has bought me about five hours of extra time each day.

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Episode #13: Mental Health in Venture Capital with Brad Feld

In this Fund81 podcast episode, I invited Brad Feld, founding partner of Foundry Group, to share his thoughts on maintaining mental health in the fast-paced venture capital world and supporting portfolio companies, colleagues, friends and family wrestling with mental health issues.

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Episode #12: Unexpected Product Pitfalls in Venture Investing

SC Moatti joined the Fund81 podcast to talk about how to discover and vet products in venture capital. We talk about how VCs can spot indications of future product success, creative ways to look under the hood before investing, and the product-related questions most venture capitalists fail to ask.

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When Defensiveness is Masked in Explanation, Investors Notice (and so does everyone else)

Rapid-fire explanations without curiosity or engagement often feel like dressed-up defensiveness. I’m not terribly game to build a relationship with someone who feels defensive from the start.

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The Top 9 Investor Pitch Mistakes

I’ve seen thousands of startup investor pitches. Since I find myself offering the same feedback over and over, I thought it might be helpful to share my nine most common points of investor pitch feedback.

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Episode #11: Using the Enneagram in Venture Capital Investing

In this Fund81 podcast episode, we talk about something that has made our team at MergeLane better investors - the Enneagram Personality Typing System. To talk about how the Enneagram can help other VCs, I invited Kaley Klemp to join the podcast.

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An Unexpected Cure for Exhaustion

As a venture capitalist, I am frequently surrounded by exceptionally high-performing and inspiring people. Until recently, I had never stopped to think about the impact of that.

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How a 26-Inch Powder Day Increased My Conviction for My Business, My Team, and the 15 Commitments

We are big proponents of using the 15 Commitments in the work we do in Conscious Leadership. However, as an Enneagram Type 1 who is most happy at maximum productivity, I’ve always had a hard time buying into Commitment #9, the commitment to play and rest. Until yesterday….

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Continuing to Stand for Women by Opting Out of Speaking At Women’s Events

I’ve made a decision to take a break from speaking engagements that focus topically on women, women in startups, investing in women, women as leaders, and the rest. This includes events that may not be topically focused on women but are part of something called a “women’s track.” Here's why.

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Why My Day in the Woods Was My Most Productive Work Day Yet

I am extremely disciplined and focused. However, this can also be a detriment. Anything I perceive as a distraction from my to-do list feels stressful, and I have to constantly tell myself that off-the-to-do-list opportunities are often the best opportunities. I was recently reminded of that.

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Episode #10: Lessons from 300+ Venture Capital Fund Pitches

For the final episode of Fund81's first season, I interviewed Jaclyn Freeman Hester from Foundry Group. As someone relatively new to the industry, she has a fresh perspective on what's compelling to institutional investors and an incredible pulse on the landscape for emerging VC managers. Enjoy!

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How I'm Doing Less to Achieve More

I’m trying to focus my time on opportunities to operate in my zone of genius and a few select priority areas in line with my passions and in which I feel I can make the most impact, aka my true north. To help all of us stay the course, I thought it might be helpful to share those priorities. ‍

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When Giving First Gets to Be Too Much

I gave first without question for almost five years. It came back to me in spades. I don’t regret it, and I think it was exactly the right thing for me to do at the time. But then….it just got to be too much.

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Shedding My Commitment to the Conventional Schedule

Could I be more effective if I simply surrendered to a schedule that felt natural to me? After some serious self-reflection and experimentation, I can unequivocally say YES.

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Episode #9 - Cryptocurrency Venture Investing: The Questions Every VC Should Ask Before Making a Crypto Investment

Dave Balter, the CEO of one of our MergeLane portfolio companies, Flipside Crypto, shares his perspective on investing in the cryptocurrency space. Dave is obsessed with and extremely knowledgeable about cryptocurrency, and has an interesting perspective from both sides of the table.

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Raising Money Is Hard for Everyone But Harder if Rationalizations are Trumping Self-inquiry

If you're relying on rationalizations for why you're not raising, you're missing excellent insights

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It Has Been a Great Few Weeks for the MergeLane Fund

It has been a great few weeks for the MergeLane fund. When people ask us what our criteria are for investments, we always talk about team as the distant number one priority. I wanted to share this recent, wonderful interchange with TomboyX after a great week for them:

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Why Are Men “Incredibly Moving” and Women “Distraught?”

How the media (and more) judges emotion in leadership differently between men and women, and the costs of those judgments.

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Episode #8: Why Ownership Matters in Venture Investing with FirstMark's Amish Jani

Most venture capital funds target a minimum ownership percentage when making investments. In this Fund81 episode, Amish Jani, a founder and Managing Director of FirstMark Capital, shares his take on why ownership matters and how funds of different sizes and strategies determine ownership targets.

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Episode #7: Venture Capital Liquidity: Innovative Solutions for Today and the Future

Venture capital funds are typically structured to have a 10-year lifespan, but venture-backed companies often take more than 10 years to achieve an exit and return capital to their investors. In this Fund81 podcast episode, we discuss solutions to this problem with our our guest, Roland Reynolds.

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Conscious Leadership Camp is Going Gender-free

After years of running women's Conscious Leadership Camps, all programming is now for everyone

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How 75 Ski Days Made Me a Better Venture Capitalist

This year, I decided to do an experiment. To build our MergeLane investor and mentor network, I dedicated four months to exclusively focus on meetings that involved skiing.

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A Prescription for a "Quiet Day" for an Entrepreneur

Want to take a day and bookmark a big win? Here are a few ideas and groundrules

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Episode #6: Using Conscious Leadership to Be a Better VC

Conscious Leadership has been a game-changer for our partnership and our investing. For this Fund81 podcast interview, I invited my business partner at the MergeLane venture fund for high-potential startups with at least one woman in leadership, Sue Heilbronner, to talk about Conscious Leadership.

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Are Your One-on-One Meetings with Direct Reports Feeling Stale? Add Conscious Leadership …

Dennis Adsit of Adsum Insights guest blogs about turning your one-on-ones from pedestrian checklist run-throughs to opportunities for connection and growth.

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Episode #5 | Venture Fund Terms 201

Gaining an understanding of venture fund legal terms can be a bit like learning a foreign language. In this episode, my guest, Mark Weakley, helps us navigate some of the more complicated terms commonly seen in venture fund legal documents.

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7 Ways Conscious Leaders Give Feedback From Presence vs. Reactivity

MergeLane CEO, Sue Heilbronner, gives tips on giving feedback from presence.

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Why I Am Going to Break More Commitments in 2018

I cannot think of a commitment my mother has ever broken. The importance she places on her commitments is one of her best qualities. I am proud that I inherited this quality. However, my goal for 2018 is to actually allow myself to break a few commitments.

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Episode #4 | The Introverted VC with Google Ventures and Section 32 Founder, Bill Maris

In this podcast, I spoke with Bill Maris, the founder of Google Ventures (GV) and Section 32, who happens to be an introvert. I am also an introvert and have been doing a lot of thinking about how my introversion plays into my life as a venture capitalist. We explore this topic in this episode.

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The Best Mentor/Advisor Question I’ve Ever Been Asked

Our co-founder Sue Heilbronner shared her thoughts on the best mentor/advisor question she’s ever been asked

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Fund81 Episode #3: The Generalist vs the Specialist VC with Nick Moran

Venture Capitalists are increasingly looking for ways to differentiate themselves and produce better returns. One popular path to this is specialization according to geography, industry sector, etc. Nick Moran, GP at New Stack Ventures and host of the Full Ratchet podcast, shares his insights.

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Fund81 Episode #2: Venture Fund Terms 101

Venture fund legal terms can sound a bit like a foreign language to new venture capitalists and venture fund investors. In this Fund81 podcast episode, Liz Meade, a new angel investor considering venture fund investments, interviews me to decode some of the lingo in venture fund offering agreements.

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