5 Women to Watch in Venture - Fall 2024
In this Fall's edition of Women to Watch in Venture, I'm thrilled to showcase five women in Venture who are making significant strides in the industry and beyond. Their successes and visions inspire me deeply as they reshape venture capital with their innovative investment strategies, passion, and dedication to impact.
These remarkable women come from varied backgrounds, enriching their funds and the industry with unique insights. Unified by their drive to challenge the norm, creative approach to problem-solving, and unwavering support for founders and colleagues, they truly stand out.
Let's celebrate their inspiring accomplishments and ambitious goals this season.
Margaret Gabriel
Margaret Gabriel is the Head of Talent at CoinFund. CoinFund is an early-stage web3 and crypto fund with both a venture capital and a liquid investment strategy in digital currencies. Both strategies support their core mission to champion the leaders of the new internet.
Margaret was a psychology major who started her career in undergraduate admissions counseling at Fordham University. A thoughtful cold outreach message to a fellow BC alum at Google transpired into an offer to join their talent team. Margaret spent almost four years as a recruiter at Google, the ideal place to build your expertise in talent acquisition. Margaret was later recruited to join a former Google colleague at Gemini, an early leader in the crypto world, where she was instrumental in building their team, culture, and leadership development from the ground up. Her work at Gemini caught the attention of CoinFund who recruited her to join them doing the same team and leadership development work for their fund and portfolio.
Margaret’s ability to support CoinFund’s internal recruiting and people management while simultaneously providing talent and leadership coaching to their founders undoubtedly gives their fund a competitive advantage.
“When you’re building a business most of your problems are going to be people problems. And they are the problems that are the most complex and emotionally strenuous. No matter how spectacular your product is, with the wrong people or the wrong people management, you will fail. And that is why we put such a high emphasis on the people side of the business and take a diagnostic approach to our support model.”
Margaret will feel like she’s impacted the industry if three things happen: 1) more venture funds realize the value of having people-related professionals at their firm, 2) more founders embrace the need to be coached, and 3) to see more women in venture capital embracing their innate feminine superpowers.
Margaret’s hot take? The mom does more. It is extraordinarily hard to be a working mom, and we need to acknowledge that and double down on the support.
Margaret’s career advice?
Lean into your natural superpowers. You can add so much as a female investor. Leverage your inherent EQ and intuition. And don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. Vulnerability is how you build trust.
Drew Fennessy
Drew Fennessy is a Platform Associate at BBG Ventures. BBG Ventures is an early-stage fund leading investments in women and diverse founders uniquely qualified to build for the polycultural future.
Drew started her career at a boutique consulting firm that focused on assessing and then augmenting the board of directors at large public companies by recommending and placing strong female candidates. Drew observed that the majority of these successful women she was working with had MBAs and, in 2020, decided to enroll in business school at Berkeley Haas. While at Berkeley, she worked at a high-growth healthcare company before deciding that working in the health sector wasn’t her passion.
“Reflecting on what to do next, I went back to this idea that I've always had, which is - follow the money. Money is power. And I had this epiphany that we need to give more women the money and support they need to build companies that will change the world - and that is venture capital.”
With this new clarity, she mapped out every fund in the US that invests in women and her potential pathways into these firms through her network. She was introduced to the team at BBG and, after a few months of persistence, landed a contract gig with them that turned into a full-time role. You gotta love the intentionality and tenacity in Drew’s path to venture.
Drew hopes to impact the venture industry by helping others see that people from non-traditional investment banking backgrounds can break in and by truly supporting founders beyond the dollars so they can succeed in changing how we live.
Drew’s hot take? The supreme court should have nine women. It’s been all men until very recent history, so why not?
Drew’s career advice?
Tell everyone you know that you want to work in VC - don’t be shy about it, shout it from the rooftops. This is different than networking; this is literally making sure everyone you talk to knows your goal because your pathway in may come from the person you least expect.
Kirsten Suddath
Kirsten Suddath is a General Partner at Next Fronteir Capital. Next Fronteir Capital is an early-stage fund that partners with mission-driven, talented entrepreneurs to build Rocky Mountain technology companies of impact, utility and value.
Kirsten graduated with a degree in math and philosophy studying topics like logic, set theory, and ethics while she was a competitive big mountain skier. A a risk taker and an analytical thinker. She started her career at a bootstrapped startup in the clean energy space in an operations role. She quickly progressed from managing the company’s dispatch operations to sitting on the board and being part of the founding team of their subsequent sister company. Unfortunately, the fundraising process for that sister company was unsuccessful, and that experience inspired Kirsten to pursue her MBA and learn more about finance and venture capital. After her MBA,. she spent more time in operating roles at both a later-stage company and another early-stage startup before moving into an investor role. Kirsten joined Blackhorn Ventures as a Senior Associate, where she worked on over 35 transactions before landing at Next Frontier Capital as a General Partner.
“When you’re joining a fund, there are three different areas to find really good alignment on. Culture is one of them. That's hugely important. And then investment thesis is another kind of obvious one that gets talked about. What kind of investor do you want to be - industry sector, stage, risk appetite, etc? For me, ambition is the third one that is less talked about but equally as important. So if you're joining a relatively early lifecycle fund, I think one of the best questions to ask those partners you'd be joining is, "what is your ambition for this fund?”
Kirsten wants to impact the industry in two primary ways 1) to deliver amazing returns to their LPs, proving that you can find alpha in alternative and underserved markets like the Rocky Mountains, and 2) for every founder that she’s worked with to be willing and happy to work with her again.
Kirsten’s hot take? For women, bring a guy with you to the important meetings. Not because it should be that way, but in her lived experience (and mine), it helps.
Kirsten’s career advice?
Ignore the headlines and have patience. Sometimes, being an early-stage investor is like watching paint dry. It’s a long and slow process; it might not be the best fit for you if you don’t have the patience for it.
If you decide this is the path for you, really spend the time to figure out which fund is best for you from an investment thesis perspective. The stage of the fund will really impact the way you analyze investments, the velocity and volume of investments, and your level of involvement with the founder.
Kalee Gardella
Kalee Gardella is a Partner and the Chief Community Officer at Founders Circle Capital, a growth-stage investment firm headquartered in San Francisco with $1.3B AUM. Their fund is unique in that they often acquire their ownership interest through purchasing employee stock options versus through a direct check to the company. This secondary strategy requires them to have strategic relationships with the operating teams at startups in their investment sweet spot. This is why they have such a strong and intentional community focus through The Circle.
Kalee started her career in marketing and internal communications roles at large tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and quickly realized that she had a desire to be closer to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. As she explored ways to work with startups without working for a startup, she learned more about venture capital and landed a role at Trinity Ventures, leading their marketing efforts for the fund. After four years at Trinity, she moved to Colorado and struck out on her own as a fractional marketing and community leader for multiple venture capital funds and investors. One of her first clients, Founders Circle Capital, eventually convinced her to join them full-time as a partner and Chief Community Officer.
“Many people you talk to, including myself, believe that community is the new marketing. There’s a tangible craving for brands that offer authentic connection, sense of belonging, and a reason for being. We want to feel like we’re in good company amongst other consumers of the products and services that we love.”
Kalee hopes to impact the industry by helping growth-stage startup talent be as strong as they can possibly be, which has a ripple-effect impact on the venture industry. The executive team within a startup absolutely impacts returns, driving real value for the people and investors involved. Kalee’s calling is to make people exceptional at their jobs and get them into exceptional roles and companies that they're excited about because those people create exceptional jobs for other people, too.
Kalee’s hot take? There’s no such thing as a completely unique point of view in venture. And that’s ok. Don’t be afraid to be provocative and have conviction in your thought leadership, even if it’s not 100% unique.
Kalee’s career advice?
- Tell people you’re interested in venture AND ask them to reflect back to you why they think you are (or aren’t) a good fit for venture. This will help you craft your narrative for the hiring team.
- Get clear on whether you want to be an investor or part of the operating team - most funds will want you to pick a lane and stick to it.
- Ask for carry. You need to have skin in the game.
- Educate yourself on the business fundamentals of how a venture fund operates and makes money - this is critical to navigating the ecosystem and picking the right fund at the right time. (One great resource for this: Breaking Into Venture by Allison Baum Gates)
Lindsey Rohde
Lindsey Rohde is a fractional platform consultant for emerging venture capital firms, currently supporting Massive VC, Colorado Startups, and most recently, Outside Ventures. In addition, she serves as the fractional COO of Journeyable, an accessible travel community and content studio.
Lindsey began her career in hospitality and retail, where she helped launch and expand new locations for brands like Lululemon. Her exploration of the Colorado startup ecosystem led her to Galvanize, a software engineering bootcamp and co-working space. There, she took on a national leadership role overseeing co-working operations. Inspired by the innovation and ambition of startup founders, she transitioned into venture capital, joining Sweater Ventures. After a successful tenure, she launched her practice as a fractional consultant supporting multiple funds.
“I believe meaningful output comes from authentic, two-way engagement with your audience, customers, or community. My approach is rooted in curiosity and a deep commitment to human-centered connection. In VC and beyond, I’m most excited by the opportunity to build platforms that amplify this kind of genuine engagement. It’s not just about growth—it’s about creating spaces where people feel a shared sense of ownership and impact. When you get that right, everything else falls into place.”
Lindsey hopes to impact the industry by fostering a rising tides mentality and removing that historical sense of competition within VC; she hopes to inspire more people to focus on collaborative growth.
Lindsey’s hot take? The competition in VC is overhyped and the industry is much better served when we focus on collaboration and the collective success of founders and investors.
Lindsey’s career advice?
Be more selfish. Check in with yourself regularly and take inventory often. Ask yourself if what you’re working on energizes or depletes you. Your time and fulfillment matter, so lean into projects that spark joy and challenge you to grow. Step back from anything that doesn’t.
.png)
.png)
