She’s Independent Member Interview Questions 

Q: How long have you been a She’s Independent member? And how did you find out about She’s Independent? 

I’ve been a member since the Spring of this year (2023). I met Natalie at a networking event in Boulder, and we instantly connected over the She’s Independent mission!

Q: What is your background? Brag a little ; ) 

I have a traditional investment background – with my career beginning in equity research covering publicly traded Aerospace and Defense companies. It was great training, and I loved my team at BofA. From there I worked at Capital Group, one of the largest long-only asset managers in the game ($2.3T in AUM). I was lucky to learn from some incredible investors, but after 15 months I knew my heart was in it more for the early stage companies. Over a year ago I joined IBM’s corporate venture fund, and have been covering enterprise software since! 

On the side I am a bit of a closeted writer – and have recently started to publish some of my writing via a blog – The Novel Investor.

Q: Where are you on your investing journey? And how has She’s Independent influenced or supported this?

Valuing companies for investment purposes is all I’ve really known in my career. But I haven’t yet had the opportunity to actually make those investments myself (not counting day trading!). She’s Independent offers me the ability to test my skills and build a track record in the venture market, which is crucial at this point in my career. Also, I’ve mainly been focused on Gen AI and Quantum Security over the last year (so all tech), but I am really interested in learning about other sectors (such as Consumer and Healthcare) via She’s Independent.

Q: What was your first experience with our empowered action approach to learning? 

My first experience was during the 2Q23 pitch day – Natalie invited me to sit in on the event. It was awesome to see some many folks engaged in person and over the phone, I hardly had time to ask all my questions! 

Q: What has been your biggest ah-ha moment or benefit from the She’s Independent experience so far? 

One of my favorite things about She’s Independent is the inclusivity of folks with non-investment backgrounds. Not only is it an important part of She’s Independent’s mission to bring more women onto cap tables, but it also makes us better investors. Collectively, we all benefit from the knowledge and wisdom from people with different career paths and experiences. I know very little about Healthcare tech, so I am very grateful to have practitioners right in the room when we’re discussing those companies. 

Q: What investment stands out in your mind so far?

We haven’t made an investment yet since I joined, but I am very much looking forward to hopefully joining my first syndicate this quarter.