20VC: Forerunner's Kirsten Green on The Biggest Challenges Scaling Both Teams and AUM, What Truly is High Performance in Fund Management & Why Parenting and Relationships are an Enabler To Your Best Work

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The Twenty Minute VC

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4.4 • 637 Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2022

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kirsten Green is the Founder and Managing Partner @ Forerunner Ventures, one of the leading firms of the last decade investing at the intersection of innovation and culture. As a founder, Kirsten has led efforts to raise over $2B+ from leading institutional investors and invest in more than 100 companies. She currently serves as a board member at Glossier, Ritual, Faire, Hims & Hers, and Curated, to name a few. She has also invested in other smash hits including Chime, Jet, Warby Parker, Hotel Tonight and many more. Due to her immense success, Kirsten has been honored in Time’s 100 Most Influential People and named a Top 20 Venture Capitalists by The New York Times in 2018 & 2017. Prior to Forerunner, Kirsten was an equity research analyst and investor at Banc of America Securities.

In Today's Episode with Kirsten Green We Discuss:

1.) Entry in Venture at 40 and Founding Forerunner:

How did Kirsten make her way into VC at 40 with the founding of Forerunner having never had a role in VC before?
What did everyone tell Kirsten when she was looking to break into venture? What did she tell herself when she heard this?
What does Kirsten believe she is running from? What does she believe she is running toward?

2.) Fund Management and Leadership:

How does Kirsten define high-performance today? What are the nuances of high performance in fund management?
How would Kirsten describe her leadership style today? How has it changed over time?
What have been some of Kirsten's biggest lessons in terms of what it takes to retain quality with scaling AUM and teams?
What have been Kirsten's biggest lessons when it comes to giving hard feedback with kindness?

3.) The Venture Landscape Today and Forerunner's Position:

Why does Kirsten believe the venture landscape is more dynamic today than ever?
Does Kirsten agree with the statement that venture is less collaborative than ever?
Why did Kirsten and Forerunner seem to amend strategy and move into B2B?
Why does Kirsten disagree with the delineation between B2C and B2B?

4.) Parenting, Relationships and Life:

What have been Kirsten's biggest lessons since becoming a parent? How has it impacted her mindset?
Does Kirsten agree that relationships attract from sheer input on work? How does Kirsten separate relationships into two kinds of relationships?
What does success in marriage mean for Kirsten? How has she seen that in her own marriage?

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is 20 VC with me, Harry Stebbings. Now, our guest today was last on the show five years ago,
0:04.6	since they've had more hit investments than I've done podcast episodes. And they're also one of the
0:09.0	most kind and genuine people in this business. I'm so proud to welcome back to the hot seat today.
0:13.8	Kirsten Green, founder and managing partner at Four Run Ventures, one of the leading firms of the last
0:18.4	decade, investing at the intersection of innovation and culture.
0:21.8	As a founder, Kerson has led efforts to raise over $2 billion from leading institutional investors
0:26.7	and invest in more than a hundred companies. She currently serves as a board member at Glossier,
0:31.3	ritual, fair, hymns and hers and curated, to name a few. And she's also invested in other smash hits,
0:36.8	including Chime, Jet,
0:38.4	Warby Parker, Hotel Tonight, and many more. Due to her immense success, Kirsten's been named
0:43.3	in times 100 most influential people. That really must be quite a cool accolade. And today's show was
0:48.1	a team effort, a huge thank you to Elliot curated, Yuri Kim, Andy Dunn, Anu at Yisi, Jeremy Liu, Alfred Lynn, my word, we do do
0:56.1	our references, and more, and it really did make such a difference, so huge thank you for that.
1:00.6	But before we move into the episode today, Harvard Management Company is constantly seeking
1:04.7	out the next generation of great investors and entrepreneurs. HMC has managed Harvard
1:09.4	University's endowment for nearly 50 years and was one of the
1:12.4	first institutional investors in venture capital. Their experience and long-term investment horizon
1:17.1	make them ideal partners to get world-changing ideas on a path to viability and success. They work as a
1:23.0	true partner, providing insightful perspectives to help managers succeed. I personally have had the pleasure
1:28.2	of working with the HMC team and can say that they're truly exceptional partners and savvy investors.
1:33.9	Whether you're launching your first fund or your fifth, HMC welcomes the opportunity to partner with
1:38.7	both developing and established managers. Have an idea you want to share with the team? Just send it
	...

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