Liz Giorgi
@lizgiorgi
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Media Entrepreneur. Emmy-Award Winner. General Badass. Co-Founder + CEO of @soonastudios Founded @mighteor - acquired by @standardshows Also:
Mountains and Great Lakes
Joined December 2008
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Last Seen Profiles
Pinned Tweet
👋I'm a second time founder who sold her 1st biz to go after an opportunity that NO ONE ELSE believed in.
And guess what?
$0 to 5M run rate in 15 months
$6M run rate in 16 months
$7M run rate in 17 months
AND we are ahead of pace to do $8M in 18 months.
AMA.
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Dear sales people,
Your email did not get lost.
Sincerely,
all of us.
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2K
For my 32+ years old founders:
Do you find it incredibly difficult to listen to junior investors at VC funds pontificate about your market opportunity?
Every single time, my brain just goes: "I've been doing this for 15 years. You graduated college in 2017."
Wild times.
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2K
I collect No’s.
27 No’s from banks
118 No’s from venture funds
31 No’s from angel investors
9 No’s from accelerators
Some day, I’m gonna send all those folks thank you cards. Those no’s made me a crazy focused, intensely passionate and thoroughly resilient founder.
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1K
If I see one more tweet about “don’t dunk on
@fast
”…
Remember: $600k from $100m raised.
The propping up of white male charicatures of business leaders by VC is offensive to the REAL leaders who are constantly passed on for reasons as thin as fast’s traction.
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1K
Being a startup founder means that you literally never, ever, ever feel like "it's done."
About anything,
Ever.
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1K
0 to $6M run rate in 15 months.
Most unbelievable ride of my life.
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I write a founder email to my investors every month. I put a crazy amount of time into this message, because frankly, I see it as a part of my job.
I'm AMAZED at how few founders do this.
Founders: are you sending monthly updates?
Investors: do you like them?
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Sometimes I feel down about the fact that my startup has so much to fix and build all the time. It can feel relentless.
And then I remember that Fortune 100 companies have apps that barely function and I feel better about myself.
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A lot of the data is finally in...
"The Great Resignation" was NOT people leaving companies over WFH policies.
It was NOT people leaving companies to start new businesses.
It was 2M women leaving the workforce in droves because of the changing demands of work and home life.
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I hate to admit it… but it’s been months.
I’m genuinely beat down and sad in my bones about the amount of sexism in startups and VC.
My heart is so tired. My spirit so sad.
I will always keep going.
But it doesn’t mean women aren’t silently paying an emotional tax.
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18 weeks ago, my business went to $0 when we closed down our operations for COVID.
We spent a week re-building, re-thinking and re-optimizing.
Friday, we hit $2m ARR.
I’m exhausted. But that’s what happens when you invest in people who don’t have other options.
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Childcare is a category ripe for innovation and evolution as our work lives change.
Whose is working on this in the startup world?
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It's hard for me to admit this, but I find that the longer I'm a founder -- the more alienated I feel from my non-founder friends.
Our lives feel radically different in ways it's hard to bridge.
And most of the time, I feel pretty darn misunderstood.
Can you relate?
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I know women who are doing $600K in ARR who can't raise a seed round.
I know women with 5 people teams doing $600K in revenue.
Please tell me again you don't meet these women?
But you seem to have no issue meeting and funding an endless parade of mediocre men?
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In the last month, I have had several events for my investors' portfolio CEOs.
Guess how often I'm the only woman?
4 out of 5 events.
Only woman CEO.
It's lonely.
And it sucks that I don't really feel like I'm able to talk about that loneliness.
Here's trying to be brave.🧵
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I’m sad to report that my soul dog, Fran, has died.
All your help and amplification to try bring her home meant the world to me. It has renewed my faith in people.
On that note: never use
@WagWalking
- they will harm your faith.
@GarrPS
still waiting for a simple “I’m sorry.”
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I am once again reminding the tech press that a tech company can KILL DOGS and his name will never appear in a headline.
But a female founder fails to be nice for a week and she’s out of a job.
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Good morning founders,
Remember, being the darling of investors is temporary.
Being the darling of your customers is the definition of success.
Love,
Your fellow founder
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I literally LOL at the "problems" getting funded by VC... Defy and Apes...
When the earth is literally fucking burning.
Maternal morality's at a 20 yr high.
And we have horrendous childhood hunger in America.
The amount of self-importance you have to have...
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I am a college educated person who has built 2 multi-million dollar companies.
After three separate attempts that lasted more than 3 hours total - I still have not figured out why my printer is not working.
What the hell.
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I have an AMAZING early stage Latina founder and a GENIUS early stage Black female founder who need investment.
Who is writing checks RN for female founders who are underestimated?
They are proven builders and operators.
Who is putting their money on the line and taking bets?
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When I started
@soonastudios
- I approached 27 banks for a line of credit and credit card. I received not one offer despite running a profitable, multimillion dollar business for 7 years prior.
Then we got into
@Techstars
and
@SVB_Financial
stepped in to help us get started.
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It's Women's Entrepreneurship Day.
Instead of tweeting a bunch of female entrepreneurs today, consider writing one of them a check.
That's the move.
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I have met so many people who essentially are "founder vampires."
They love founders.
Maybe even were founders once upon a time.
Or wish they could have been.
And they just want to meet with you and suck your time and energy because they love startups.
Avoid these vampires.
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@billmaher
I’m sorry, are you comparing the fiscal policy of a former president to a movie about a doll?
That alone speaks volumes.
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A lot of advice from VC Twitter is: "We get SOO many pitches, you gotta do XYZ to stand out."
Trouble is: nearly every VC has a different definition of "standing out."
Here's what I recommend to actually get a raise done and not get whiplash from all the feedback:
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Life news: my husband and I welcomed a baby into our family last week. Eden Amelia Giorgi was born 11/22/22 at 10:47 pm.
I’m taking some time off thanks to the support of my cofounder and my exec team.
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Another example of how caring about people matters.
Today, I canceled Fran's pet insurance. How did
@Lemonade_Inc
react?
By addressing the email to me & my dog, Hazel.
AND!
Asking if I want to share any stories about Fran.
Hey
@WagWalking
maybe you could learn something here?
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The amount of white dude founders I meet who raised better seeds and Series A rounds with businesses with 1/10th the revenue and virtually no traction makes me want to throw my laptop out the window.
DO BETTER.r
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One reason
@usv
is literally OUTSTANDING compared to other funds?
Literally every partner at that fund makes it a priority to help any founder that asks in the portfolio. And quickly.
It's such a high integrity firm. And I am proud to be a portco.
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There are weeks in your startup where you feel like anything is possible.
And there are weeks in your startup where everything feels impossible.
The key is not to do something stupid during the first one.
And to not quit when experiencing the second.
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A story about fundraising:
I ran a Series A process at the beginning of 2021.
One of my super powers is storytelling.
Followed by script memorization. A side benefit of years of working in production.
This skill sets me apart as a founder and I lean on it. A lot.
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I am trying to write a eulogy for my father's funeral tomorrow. I have so many things I could say and want to say...
But as I torment myself trying to say something poetic or bigger than life... the words that keep coming out are so simple:
What a joy it was to be Rico's kid.
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Just 2 years in and we are only a few thousand short of a $5M run rate.
That's intense customer love.
That's second time founder focus.
That's soona.
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I am delighted to FINALLY be able to tell you that
@soonastudios
has raised a Series A from
@usv
led by
@rebeccakaden
We are so excited to unlock this next chapter of our growth and build the pre-eminent visual toolset for the ecommerce stack.
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This is how the
@WagWalking
call goes if they lose & kill your dog:
“I’m calling to report we have news on your pet.
Our local contact has informed us she has not made it. She has passed away.
These instances are incredibly rare, but do happen.
Do you have any questions?”
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Feel compelled to remind the tech press:
You’ve written countless take downs on female CEOs of startups for Slack messages.
@WagWalking
lost my dog. Didn’t respond for 25 hours. Dog’s still lost. Been treated like a casual nuisance.
As Kenan would say: What’s up with that?
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Big news:
@soonastudios
has raised our Series B from
@baincapvc
and
@sfriend37
and
@HeckDawit
Have you ever purchased anything on the internet with an ugly photo?
We believe you will never have to again.
soona is the visual layer of e-commerce.
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I’m having a rare spat of being really down.
Please note that my startup is working and we have had 8 consecutive weeks of record customer growth.
Your shit can be working and your mind and spirit can still be crushed.
Normalize just being human in the midst of startup hype.
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@moizali
Did this woman get equity? Is she able to call herself a vendor of Native?
While I love scrappiness, would be good to know if you went above and beyond in any way to support the female labor that proved out your idea and rewarded her appropriately.
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We lost our joyful and generous dad this weekend.
My dad was my biggest fan. And he always made sure I knew it.
That's kind of all you can really ask for from a parent.
Love your kids. And then never stop telling them how much.
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So I'm a:
@techstars
Boulder alumni, a Techstars LP, and I've "given first" to Techstars by doing 17 free speaking engagements for the programs since graduating in 2019.
I have a few things to say about the announcement. Buckle in.
1. Any leader undergoing the experience of
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Guess who erased all my messages with the caregiver that lost my dog?
@WagWalking
If you have nothing to hide, why hide it?
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Making my second investment as an angel in a company that I truly can't understand why they can't raise money.
Maybe that will be my investing philosophy some day: "I invest in female founders where the fact that they have not been able to raise capital quickly is stupid."
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No, I won’t help you copy my company.
But thanks for the head’s up.
I literally get this once a week. It’s astonishing to me.
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Who wants this intro?
Female founded d2c outdoor apparel company.
Co-founded by former Olympian who competed in men's gear because a female version wasn't available.
$500K in sales in 4 months.
A commit from a big national retailer.
Raising a seed now.
HMU.
FYI *I'm an angel*
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I know that
@WagWalking
was really hoping today was the day I shut up.
But nope.
Here is my dog in her rescue photo from her adoption agency.
Wag killed her.
I’d like to kill their SPAC.
Who else wants to help?
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Y’all endlessly tweeting about crypto when we literally can’t seem to solve paying the vast majority of the working class a living wage.
It’s so out of touch.
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On IWD, may I remind you:
- Maternal mortality is at a 20 yr high in the US
- Women earn $0.82 for every $1 a man makes
- Still no paid family leave in the US
- Female founders start 51% of US businesses but receive only 2% of VC
You can "support women" OR you can support women.
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You’ve made it as a startup CEO when you have to tell your company semi regularly that, no, in fact, you did not text everyone about Apple gift cards.
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I don’t know who needs to hear this, but not everything is solved with a startup.
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Idea: what if I started including a slide in my fundraising decks that shared all the emails I’ve received from investors who regret not investing?
Title: Don’t let this happen to you.
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Reviewing my Series A deck from December 2020:
We surpassed our AMBITIOUS AS HELL goals we shared with investors in 3 key areas:
- Average order value
- Marketplace take rate
- New customer
And we hit our projections on:
- Retention
- Revenue
So hard. So proud.
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I know I’m not the first one to notice: humans do a poor job preparing for, talking about and coping with grief.
We have countless resources/tools for birth.
But for dying? Or being left with death? There is virtually nothing.
What books did you read?
Podcasts?
Shows?
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I know I play it like... I am the queen bitch and whatnot.
But today we hired our 50th person at soona. And I could cry.
6 months ago we laid off half our team of 13.
TENACITY.
HUSTLE.
INGENUITY.
PASSION.
TEAMWORK.
CREATIVITY.
BELIEF.
You can do fucking anything, my friends.
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This dog of mine is something else.
We have a reported sighting at 9pm last night at Happy Canyon at Hampden. Waiting on secondary confirmation if I can get it but gives us a great place to start today!
We have nearly Found Fran, my friends. I appreciate all amplification. ❤️
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Please RT.
My dog, Fran, is missing. Our
@WagWalking
sitter lost her yesterday in Aurora, CO - she was last seen around Hampden & Hamilton. We live in Wellshire and fear she’s trying to cross town.
She’s has kept me going through losing my dad - please help me bring her home.
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I'm delighted to share that
@soonastudios
has brought on Dae Mellencamp, the former President and CEO of
@Vimeo
as our new COO.
Let's go build the next public creative company, Dae.
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We just hit our pre-covid revenue target for June. I could cry.
We are doing it.
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Here’s the whole
@WagWalking
+ Fran is missing story since my dog still isn’t home & I’m running out of patience with
@GarrPS
and co.
So it’s storytelling time.
I left for Africa on Tues, Jan. 4. Why? My dad died unexpectedly 6 weeks ago. I bought him this trip for Christmas.
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Listen, if you made it this far: thanks for taking the time to try to understand our pain.
It came out a little erratic because pain and loneliness are erratic. 🤷♀️
Help us make it better. Give a woman a shot because she deserves it.
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8/ A random startup CEO aside: If you’re my customer & find me on Twitter, I know why you’re doing that: you’re desperate. I respond. I follow up. And do my best to empower my team to make it right.
Customers should never feel desperate.
It means something isn’t working.
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Apologies in advance to all my employees.
I have gone on walks during meetings because PANDEMIC.
Oh, and I like having a white airy living room.
And also, I have a puppy.
Quick, someone call
@BusinessInsider
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If your concept of privilege is based on the interpersonal dynamics of a Calendly link, I invite you to be a woman or a non-white person for a week.
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Guess what we did today?
🔥Broke another single day revenue record.🔥
I will never stop celebrating these days.
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@cooper_clawson
Some that I think give context that don’t get asked enough:
If this works: what does the space look like 10 years from now?
How does this business move into new categories after current customer base is exhausted?
What are the core pieces of IP in the business?
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Just hit our single biggest sales day in our history.
The JOY.
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Startup world is full of false signals.
Lots of people will TELL you they love your idea - but never actually buy.
Listen to buyers.
They are not usually the loudest voices even!
But they are the ones who *DECIDED* to choose your company.
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This market is terrifying for founders.
If you are a non-white man, this fundraising environment is downright predatory for a founder to raise in. Literally, offensive terms on the table in some cases.
Real things I have heard second hand (note these have not happened to me
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It feels so personal to share - but here’s the deal:
@WagWalking
killed my dog.
They’ve treated it like a “rare occurrence.”
What’s not rare? Morning. Happens every day. My every morning started with Fran.
I’m a Leo Italian, enneagram 8 dog mom.
I will not stop
@GarrPS
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I’ve basically offered to pay for Apple TV for my entire leadership team just so they can watch Ted Lasso.
That’s how much I believe in the show and it’s epic telling of what compassionate leadership is all about.
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105
I hate to admit it: I resent folks who posted large family gathering photos today.
Today was lonely and weird. I tried to be cool about it but, duh, I’m just not a chill person.
Your posts with your families feel negligent and hurtful to those of us trying to do communal good.
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The next big thing...
It's not Web 3.
It's not the Metaverse.
It's not crypto.
It's going to be IRL.
Living Life In Real Life.
After being locked in our houses for years, with more pandemic mania ahead, we will all want to be FREE of the trappings of the internet.
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Calling a CEO "pretty" in a sales email.
Can we get more cringe than this?
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I think about IPO’ing every single day.
Even when I get drunk, I fantasize about what outfit I’ll wear when I finally reach that goal.
This is truly founder dysfunction at its best.
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Hey dude friends,
We need you to stand up for women right now.
We are so tired.
Please tell the Supreme Court that women shouldn't have to carry rapist's babies.
Appreciate it.
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So many founders poo poo small podcasts, giving local talks to small groups and just taking that random call.
Today we had a $3K transaction from someone I met in an 8 person online event.
Never underestimate the power of being a chief storyteller.
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Imagine raising $300M from a single investor.
Only to get to $42M in annual revenue.
Having the gall to SPAC.
And doing all that while killing people's dogs.
This is the story of
@WagWalking
Please tell me again there is no bias in tech.
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Y’all are amazing.
@WagWalking
approved keeping their tracker on site until Saturday.
You are my leverage. Thank you, thank you. 🙏🏼
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Got my first Series A rejection! Before I have even started pitching!
I know this may not seem like great news but it is. I’m one No closer to a Yes.
Oh fundraising. You sure really like to make the word fun feel confused.
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Just write checks.
That’s it.
Give female founders a shot.
For the first eight months of 2021, companies with solely female founders raised just 2.2% of all venture funding, per
@crunchbase
data. 😵💫😔🥴
That is *checks notes* the LOWEST its been 5 years. 📉⚠️
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The first step to being exceptional at anything at life is getting enough sleep.
This is your cue to go to bed.
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We have set scent signals for the night. The driveway is littered with hot dogs.
We know Fran is so close.
I am amazed and humbled by all the love and support for my dog. Gratitude is not enough for this amount of compassion and care. But thank you.
Come on, Fran. Almost home.
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I’m struggling with the idea of “funds for underrepresented founders”
I am a badass founder.
I’m tenacious as hell.
My business works.
💫with profitable unit economics right now
I don’t want your special accountability fund.
I want your regular I-FUCKING BELIEVE-IN-THIS fund.
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My husband has made me lunch nearly every day of the pandemic, because I have so many video calls and won’t eat otherwise.
He’s my
@alexisohanian
to his
@serenawilliams
and we need more marriages like this everywhere.
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A potential candidate asked me today: Why do investors want to invest in this business?
*This*Is*A*Fantastic*Question*
Choosing to work at a startup is an investment of time and an investment of your skills and career.
Understanding WHY others invest is a great lens.
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Early stage investors actually ARE the best.
Because they so often bet on founders first, they are also often the people that are there FIRST when you need them.
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My friends are on it.
@WagWalking
how long til we get that public apology?
Cause, my people, they ride hard with me.
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It’s my birthday.
I’d like an unsolicited Series B term sheet at a ridiculous valuation.
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The latest on
#findFran
Our girl still isn’t home. Staying positive though.
Our dog trackers are on it and we will have more soon.
You all amaze me with your compassion and care.
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Startups in a nutshell:
8 men on a leadership team.
Not one woman.
Could that explain why not a single member of the
@WagWalking
leadership team has reached out to me about the fact that they killed my dog.
Oh, it's cause of your SPAC, right?
Gentlemen, be people.
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Call it a tech bro elite problem all you want. This is the reality on the ground.
This is a crisis for female founded companies.
We aren’t asking for a handout. We are asking to be made whole in a system that has discriminated against us enough.
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Many of you have asked how you can invest in soona.
If we can get this to $1m - I’d open a community round on
@Wefunder
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I’ll be watching for the men in my circle to stand up if this Roe leak is true.
Women are tired.
Truly, every woman I know is weary to her bones by the injustice of her existence.
So yes, it’s a for us or against us moment.
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It’s a record year for fundraising in startups. And the worst year in a decade for women. What do we do about this?
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My dad died 6 months ago today.
I miss him more now than I did in that first shocking, awful month.
If you can, hang out with your parents this summer. Have that dinner conversation. Go to that National Park. Take those family photos.
I promise you’ll never regret it.
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