S2E2: Jaclyn Hester - Giving First In Venture Capital
Jaclyn Freeman Hester is a venture capitalist and partner at the Foundry Group. In this episode, Jaclyn talks about how she recruits and funds new talent, her “give first” philosophy, and what entrepreneurs should consider when it comes to VC funding.
EPISODE QUOTES:
On focusing on the journey (not the outcome)...
[00:10:09] I think that’s what really helps folks stand out, especially when you're younger, taking a lot of risk and being way more focused on the journey and the curiosity and the learning and who you meet and kind of collecting people along the way versus the lockstep career path.
On taking risks…
[00:16:57] There's a ton of learning that can be done by joining companies and joining funds, especially early. So, I think it's just important for folks to realize that there is no one way to do this.
On being people focused…
[00:23:39] I think values alignment, both for hiring and for investing is huge. Because it speaks to, I don't know every single decision that's gonna come up with this company, but if I understand your values and what motivates you and how you think about things and what your philosophy is on lots of different aspects of building a business, then I can have better trust and insight into when things come up, you know, that it's gonna play out in a way that I would like… And so I think having hard conversations around, big questions that you have, and being direct and trying to understand someone else's values and motivations is really important.
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