Investing In Underrepresented Founders & The Future of Pop Culture w/ Mercedes Bent (Partner at Lightspeed Ventures)
In this episode, Shamus Madan chats with Mercedes Bent about her journey from Goldman Sachs to venture capital, emphasizing the importance of sales and partnerships. They discuss strategies for customer retention in crypto, the globalization of pop culture, and how to overcome uncertainty in the venture capital industry. The conversation wraps up with key takeaways and Mercedes' advice for success in venture capital.
Key Points
- Venture Capital is about managing uncertainty and breaking down large problems into smaller, manageable components to focus on leading indicators of success.
- Understanding and leveraging one's unique strengths and perspectives, such as Mercedes Bent's background in edtech and Latin American heritage, can provide a competitive edge in identifying and capitalizing on investment opportunities.
- To effectively fund underrepresented founders, VCs need to challenge their confirmation biases, consider diverse perspectives, and focus on the potential for a startup to succeed, despite past trends or patterns.
Mercedes Bent is an investor and operator who lives and breathes startups. Currently, Mercedes serves as a Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, however, Prior to Lightspeed, she was an early employee / General Manager at General Assembly (sold for $412mm 2018). In a short period of time Mercedes ultimately grew her division from $0 to $30mm+ in 2 years. Then, in 2016 she was named a 40 Under 40 for Tech Diversity in Silicon Valley.
Mercedes is an investor in Forage, Stori, Flink, Outschool, Hawku, Fan Controlled Sports, Flockjay, Honeylove, House of LRC, and more. In addition, she co-leads Lightspeed's LATAM region and Scout Fund (angel fund). https://lsvp.com/about-us/mercedes-bent
Twitter of Shamus Madan (Host): @mbitpodcast
Twitter of Mercedes Bent (Guest): @mercebent
*Disclaimer: Not investment or financial advice
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Transcript
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