The Exchanges

Q How do you respond when people ask you, and then what do you prefer to ask, to be asked?

A Yeah, so I respond very candidly that I think the framing of that question is off, and that I prefer to ask founders and other investors, how does being a parent make you a better investor? How does being a mother make you a better founder? In fact, I just asked that question two days ago at South by to Julia Chi and Kate Ryder, who are two unicorn founders in the Luxe portfolio, both of whom are also moms. Frankly, becoming a mom made me a better, more effective, more efficient, more ruthless, more productive version of myself than I ever thought was possible. And I've worked hard my entire life, but it really makes you transcend That frankly is an asset.

AI assessment note: “I respond very candidly that I think the framing of that question is off”

Q How do you respond when people ask you, and then what do you prefer to ask, to be asked?

A Yeah, so I respond very candidly that I think the framing of that question is off, and that I prefer to ask founders and other investors, how does being a parent make you a better investor? How does being a mother make you a better founder? In fact, I just asked that question two days ago at South by to Julia Chi and Kate Ryder, who are two unicorn founders in the Luxe portfolio, both of whom are also moms. Frankly, becoming a mom made me a better, more effective, more efficient, more ruthless, more productive version of myself than I ever thought was possible. And I've worked hard my entire life, but it really makes you transcend That frankly is an asset.

AI assessment note: “I respond very candidly that I think the framing of that question is off”

Q On the negotiating side, Chris Sacker spoke a lot about how he negotiates with his children, and what lessons on negotiation have you learned from parenting?

A Oh, there are a lot. I mean, one example is around giving choices, giving options, so rather than trying to convince A child to change their mindset. You present them, do you want to eat the broccoli, or do you want to eat the carrot? Giving the sort of two options, which are both what you would like and you would want, but giving that sort of agency to the child. Learning to communicate at their level. When a little child has a tantrum, they do all the time, right? Talking to them from your height, even, and talking at them in that height of emotional rage is very ineffective. What it takes is to get them into a small space, a quiet room. Literally put yourself Sit down, put your face at their level, hear them. So instead of trying to convince them, stop crying. Why are you crying? This is irrational. I hear you. I know that really hurts. I know that you're very sad that you, your sock is missing or whatever it is that happened. And so those skills translate really well into the kind of high intensity, emotional type situations that you find yourself in the business world. And they're very effective skills.

AI assessment note: “those skills translate really well into the kind of high intensity, emotional type situations”

Q On the negotiating side, Chris Sacker spoke a lot about how he negotiates with his children, and what lessons on negotiation have you learned from parenting?

A Oh, there are a lot. I mean, one example is around giving choices, giving options, so rather than trying to convince A child to change their mindset. You present them, do you want to eat the broccoli, or do you want to eat the carrot? Giving the sort of two options, which are both what you would like and you would want, but giving that sort of agency to the child. Learning to communicate at their level. When a little child has a tantrum, they do all the time, right? Talking to them from your height, even, and talking at them in that height of emotional rage is very ineffective. What it takes is to get them into a small space, a quiet room. Literally put yourself Sit down, put your face at their level, hear them. So instead of trying to convince them, stop crying. Why are you crying? This is irrational. I hear you. I know that really hurts. I know that you're very sad that you, your sock is missing or whatever it is that happened. And so those skills translate really well into the kind of high intensity, emotional type situations that you find yourself in the business world. And they're very effective skills.

AI assessment note: “one example is around giving choices, giving options”

Q I never actually studied anything, so I'm incredibly impressed by any title, but that sounds even more impressive. I would look forward to saying that after a tequila or 10. Okay, so you studied at Harvard. What happened then?

A Yeah, so I thought I was going to be an academic. I went to Straight to grad school, which I really do not recommend, by the way, June of 2008 when I graduated. If you look it up, I wouldn't be surprised if you did, given the extensive research, you'll see that I actually gave the graduation speech for my class, but you'll also see that Ben Bernanke was the speaker right before me, literally two months before the financial crisis. At the time, literally 47% of the class before mine went into investment banking or consulting. And while I was in grad school, I was Exploring different career paths, and one of them, of course, as I mentioned, was journalism, and that's how I got exposed to covering the White House. Lowly intern with the BBC's Washington Bureau, and it was covering President Obama's speech in Cairo in 2009 that ultimately led me to abandon my nascent aspirations for journalism, and even my, well, I think there was a lot more to it, but also my nascent dreams of being an academic, and I actually decided I wanted to be a part of the story that I was writing, and I joined the administration. Join the administration specifically to work on the policies that came out of that speech. This is going to lead to venture, and you were probably in fourth grade or something at the time, so you may not remember it, but, or maybe less, I won't do the math, but what he talked about…

AI assessment note: “thought I was going to be an academic. I went to Straight to grad school”

Q Final one. What's the most recent publicly announced investment, and why did you say yes and get so excited?

A Well, the most recently publicly announced one was a company we had already invested in earlier on, and a founder that you talked to, which is Moss, and what's interesting about that is when we invested, it was a very different vision for the company, but it was fundamentally about Amira, about the founder, and regardless of the stage, if there's anything I've learned, It is, it's a people business, and it's about those humans, which is why making it personal matters, and now she's building a challenger bank for students, and it's absolutely on fire. They're doing super well. This is the one that Tiger led the Series B for, and we're excited to double down. We were smaller investors in the first round and did more in this round, and I'm very excited about the prospects of the company.

AI assessment note: “the most recently publicly announced one was a company we had already invested in”

Q On the negotiating side, Chris Sacker spoke a lot about how he negotiates with his children. And what lessons on negotiation have you learned from parenting?

A Oh, there are a lot. I mean, one example is around giving choices, giving options. So rather than trying to convince a child to change their mindset, you present them, do you want to eat the broccoli, or do you want to eat the carrot? Giving the sort of two options, which are both what you would like and you would want, but giving that sort of agency to the child. Learning to communicate at their level. When a Little child has a tantrum. They do all the time, right? Talking to them from your height, even, and talking at them in that height of emotional rage is very ineffective. What it takes is to get them into a small space, a quiet room, literally put yourself, sit down, put your face at their level, hear them. So instead of trying to convince them, stop crying. Why are you crying? This is irrational. I hear you. I know that really hurts. I know that you're very sad that you, your sock is missing or whatever it is that happened. And so those skills translate really well into the kind of high intensity, emotional type situations that you find yourself in the business world. And they're very effective skills.

AI assessment note: “one example is around giving choices, giving options.”

Q also think It's about being personal, just like, in the interactions, and what I mean by that is, you know, the intro with founders when you say, let me tell you a little bit about Lux, dot, dot, dot, every fund says the same thing. I'm interested, how do you think about putting yourself actually front and center first, kind of showing them who Dina is, not the corporate face?

A Yeah, I mean, you know how this industry works, it's a 10 year plus relationship, and the fact that these decisions can be made so quickly without any real insight into what that dynamic is Like with the investor, I think is really problematic. And so I very much bring my whole self. I talk about my kids. I talk about what's going on in my life outside of my role as an investor. I bring that authenticity because that's sort of just who I am. And I don't really know how to be any other way, but it's also what I expect and what I want in the relationship with those founders. I'm not a passive investor. I know a lot of folks are, and maybe that's what some founders prefer. That's not me.

AI assessment note: “I talk about my kids. I talk about what's going on in my life”

Q On the negotiating side, Chris Sacker spoke a lot about how he negotiates with his children. And what lessons on negotiation have you learned from parenting?

A Oh, there are a lot. I mean, one example is around giving choices, giving options. So rather than trying to convince a child to change their mindset, you present them, do you want to eat the broccoli, or do you want to eat the carrot? Giving the sort of two options, which are both what you would like and you would want, but giving that sort of agency to the child. Learning to communicate at their level. When a Little child has a tantrum. They do all the time, right? Talking to them from your height, even, and talking at them in that height of emotional rage is very ineffective. What it takes is to get them into a small space, a quiet room, literally put yourself, sit down, put your face at their level, hear them. So instead of trying to convince them, stop crying. Why are you crying? This is irrational. I hear you. I know that really hurts. I know that you're very sad that you, your sock is missing or whatever it is that happened. And so those skills translate really well into the kind of high intensity, emotional type situations that you find yourself in the business world. And they're very effective skills.

AI assessment note: “those skills translate really well into the kind of high intensity, emotional type situations”

Q Tell me, why did you decide to write a children's book?

A Well, it's because I, a few years ago, when my daughter, who's now in first grade, was in preschool, I got to volunteer to speak at their career week and try to imagine explaining venture capital to a bunch of three-year-olds, right? So I turned to books, which is what I usually do for complex topics with my kids, and there was nothing, not only about VC, but even about entrepreneurship and starting a business. There was nothing out there. The only thing I could find was a book about a lemonade stand, and there were some great books recently that have, you know, STEM and engineering, and so I kind of put together a combination of books, and I walked out that day realizing that we know these self-perceptions and biases can start at 18 months of age. We need to start modeling at the youngest ages that there are opportunities, especially for underrepresented communities and women, that financial literacy is a skill for life and not something you should figure out after you're 30, and that this is something that is achievable. So I did write it, and hopefully it'll be out in the world. These things take a long time. It's a lot longer than venture, but hopefully it'll be out in the world in the next year or so.

AI assessment note: “there was nothing, not only about VC, but even about entrepreneurship and starting a business.”

Q have to become more and more aggressive to get the ownerships and come earlier. The challenge I have now is I think venture's less collaborative than ever before. I remember when funds used to split rounds very easily. It doesn't really happen so much anymore without one really being impacted on their dilution requirements. Do you think venture is less collaborative than ever? And how do you see that dynamic?

A Well, I think it really varies depending on the round and the stage. We tend to see a little bit more collaboration up until recently at the very early stage. So you see a number of even these very large firms who wouldn't consider co-leading doing so at seed. Perhaps they have an indexing strategy and want exposure, but there's tends to be more of that at the really early stage. And then of course, at the later stage, there's so much capital that's needed. And some crossover funds and others who don't necessarily have as much ego, if you will, associated with it, and it's really more about economics, and you can kind of collaborate and bring more to the table. And we've had great collaborating with folks at the growth stage and really kind of complemented the resources and capital they bring to the table with the know-how and expertise that we as a multi-stage fund can bring. And Maven is a great example of that.

AI assessment note: “Well, I think it really varies depending on the round and the stage.”

Q What is it that makes you better with kids?

A Yeah, I mean, the ambition is part of it, but I think it's a couple of things. It's that ruthless prioritization because everything you do, every moment that you spend is a moment that you're not spending or something you're not doing with them, with these tiny little human beings that Who want nothing more, at least in the early years, than to be with you. In some cases, who need nothing more than to be nourished by you. Basically, you learn, nobody got time for bullshit. You spend so much better time on the things that matter, and you lose those qualms and that FOMO about things that are just not a good use of your time. So it's the ruthless prioritization. And there are other things, like, once your kids learn how to talk, the negotiation tactics you have to go through Those are actually a really good lesson in not only business negotiations, but the coaching, the leadership development. I mean, it's no surprise that some of the most iconic business books out there, in particular around negotiations, have a chapter on parenting. And one of the best books I love to have founders read about leadership is not a business book, but a book called How to Talk So Your Kids Will Listen and Listen So Your Kids Will Talk.

AI assessment note: “It's that ruthless prioritization because everything you do, every moment that you spend”

Q I love that from your daughter, and I think that's fantastic. I'm sure you have loads of young people wanting to get into venture email you. Not just women. I don't want to just constrain it to that. But, like, young people email you and say, hey, I want to get into venture from different backgrounds. We're both from different backgrounds. What do you advise them?

A Yeah, of course I do, as I'm sure you do as well. That started even when I was twenty-twelve. I joined Google before this, like, exodus of people from D.C., and I, between my husband, who was also in government, and me, we would get probably, like, 12 to 15 emails a week with the same sorts of questions. So I say a few things. As you've talked about before, venture is not as glamorous as it seems, and it's not for everybody, and kind of here are some of the aspects of the job that might not quite be obvious from the outside. I talk about not asking, but adding. So rather than asking for someone's time, for the love of God, please don't ask me to freaking pick my brain, which reminds me of the COVID test stick going up. I mean, that is like the worst words you can hear. Tell me something interesting. Tell me is a company that you are looking at now or a thesis that you might've developed. And some of the folks that I do respond to and engage with and ultimately end up mentoring, I don't have to tell them to do that. That's what they come with. And that to me shows the sort of gumption, the instinct, the intuition, the competitiveness that you need To succeed in this job.

AI assessment note: “I talk about not asking, but adding. So rather than asking for someone's time”

Q I never actually studied anything, so I'm incredibly impressed by any title, but that sounds even more impressive. I would look forward to saying that after a tequila or 10. Okay, so you studied at Harvard. What happened then?

A Yeah, so I thought I was going to be an academic. I went to Straight to grad school, which I really do not recommend, by the way, June of 2008 when I graduated. If you look it up, I wouldn't be surprised if you did, given the extensive research, you'll see that I actually gave the graduation speech for my class, but you'll also see that Ben Bernanke was the speaker right before me, literally two months before the financial crisis. At the time, literally 47% of the class before mine went into investment banking or consulting. And while I was in grad school, I was Exploring different career paths, and one of them, of course, as I mentioned, was journalism, and that's how I got exposed to covering the White House. Lowly intern with the BBC's Washington Bureau, and it was covering President Obama's speech in Cairo in 2009 that ultimately led me to abandon my nascent aspirations for journalism, and even my, well, I think there was a lot more to it, but also my nascent dreams of being an academic, and I actually decided I wanted to be a part of the story that I was writing, and I joined the administration. Join the administration specifically to work on the policies that came out of that speech. This is going to lead to venture, and you were probably in fourth grade or something at the time, so you may not remember it, but, or maybe less, I won't do the math, but what he talked about…

AI assessment note: “I went to Straight to grad school... and I joined the administration.”

Q have to become more and more aggressive to get the ownerships and come earlier. The challenge I have now is I think venture's less collaborative than ever before. I remember when funds used to split rounds very easily. It doesn't really happen so much anymore without one really being impacted on their dilution requirements. Do you think venture is less collaborative than ever? And how do you see that dynamic?

A Well, I think it really varies depending on the round and the stage. We tend to see a little bit more collaboration up until recently at the very early stage. So you see a number of even these very large firms who wouldn't consider co-leading doing so at seed. Perhaps they have an indexing strategy and want exposure, but there's tends to be more of that at the really early stage. And then of course, at the later stage, there's so much capital that's needed. And some crossover funds and others who don't necessarily have as much ego, if you will, associated with it, and it's really more about economics, and you can kind of collaborate and bring more to the table. And we've had great collaborating with folks at the growth stage and really kind of complemented the resources and capital they bring to the table with the know-how and expertise that we as a multi-stage fund can bring. And Maven is a great example of that.

AI assessment note: “I think it really varies depending on the round and the stage.”

Q I love that from your daughter, and I think that's fantastic. I'm sure you have loads of young people wanting to get into venture email you. Not just women. I don't want to just constrain it to that. But, like, young people email you and say, hey, I want to get into venture from different backgrounds. We're both from different backgrounds. What do you advise them?

A Yeah, of course I do, as I'm sure you do as well. That started even when I was twenty-twelve. I joined Google before this, like, exodus of people from D.C., and I, between my husband, who was also in government, and me, we would get probably, like, 12 to 15 emails a week with the same sorts of questions. So I say a few things. As you've talked about before, venture is not as glamorous as it seems, and it's not for everybody, and kind of here are some of the aspects of the job that might not quite be obvious from the outside. I talk about not asking, but adding. So rather than asking for someone's time, for the love of God, please don't ask me to freaking pick my brain, which reminds me of the COVID test stick going up. I mean, that is like the worst words you can hear. Tell me something interesting. Tell me is a company that you are looking at now or a thesis that you might've developed. And some of the folks that I do respond to and engage with and ultimately end up mentoring, I don't have to tell them to do that. That's what they come with. And that to me shows the sort of gumption, the instinct, the intuition, the competitiveness that you need To succeed in this job.

AI assessment note: “I say a few things. As you've talked about before, venture is not as glamorous”

Q also think It's about being personal, just like, in the interactions, and what I mean by that is, you know, the intro with founders when you say, let me tell you a little bit about Lux, dot, dot, dot, every fund says the same thing. I'm interested, how do you think about putting yourself actually front and center first, kind of showing them who Dina is, not the corporate face?

A Yeah, I mean, you know how this industry works, it's a 10 year plus relationship, and the fact that these decisions can be made so quickly without any real insight into what that dynamic is Like with the investor, I think is really problematic. And so I very much bring my whole self. I talk about my kids. I talk about what's going on in my life outside of my role as an investor. I bring that authenticity because that's sort of just who I am. And I don't really know how to be any other way, but it's also what I expect and what I want in the relationship with those founders. I'm not a passive investor. I know a lot of folks are, and maybe that's what some founders prefer. That's not me.

AI assessment note: “I talk about my kids. I talk about what's going on in my life”

Q Do you tell founders the same? And do they listen? Because they don't always listen to me.

A Oh, they don't always listen to me either. But yes, absolutely. I mean, I try to give them the advantage of What we have, we're not going to be the ones who are the experts in building whatever technology they're building, but we do this all day every day so we can give that vantage point. And I do say that I think you want the funds to have enough skin in the game. They will promise the moon, but if they're just barely giving you a couple 100,000 dollars, they're not going to have time. They're just not going to give a shit. It's not going to be a priority for them. And that's not anything personal. It's just like, there's literally only so much time in the day and they're going to put their resources, their, all the fancy services that they offer you to their larger holdings. And yet, that is also potentially going to conflict you in the future, and it's going to look badly if they were in your prior round and don't do the next round. That ends up being a flag in a lot of cases.

AI assessment note: “Oh, they don't always listen to me either. But yes, absolutely.”

Q What is it that makes you better with kids?

A Yeah, I mean, the ambition is part of it, but I think it's a couple of things. It's that ruthless prioritization because everything you do, every moment that you spend is a moment that you're not spending or something you're not doing with them, with these tiny little human beings that Who want nothing more, at least in the early years, than to be with you. In some cases, who need nothing more than to be nourished by you. Basically, you learn, nobody got time for bullshit. You spend so much better time on the things that matter, and you lose those qualms and that FOMO about things that are just not a good use of your time. So it's the ruthless prioritization. And there are other things, like, once your kids learn how to talk, the negotiation tactics you have to go through Those are actually a really good lesson in not only business negotiations, but the coaching, the leadership development. I mean, it's no surprise that some of the most iconic business books out there, in particular around negotiations, have a chapter on parenting. And one of the best books I love to have founders read about leadership is not a business book, but a book called How to Talk So Your Kids Will Listen and Listen So Your Kids Will Talk.

AI assessment note: “It's that ruthless prioritization because everything you do”

Q any young person with no other obligation is I just grind. I have little else in my life other than work. When you have these little people that need you and need your attention, you can't do the exact hours at your desk that you used to. What advice would you give to me who's actually just quite insecure about being mediocre with this incredible but new addition to life?

A I mean, I was worried about that too. I completely get it, and what I'll say to you is the reality of what happened to me, which is that time means something different after you have kids. The amount that you can produce in an hour changes, and I don't know if it's magical superpower or some hormonal thing. It's probably not, but I think it is that ruthless prioritization and that trade-off that enables you to do more with those same working hours than you did previously. But I'm not going to lie, I've never worked harder in my life, even at the day job, let alone at the kids. You might see the bags under my eyes. I am really freaking tired. A lot of the things that I could have done before having kids For self-care, and seeing friends, and frankly, hobbies. I don't have a lot of that now. This is a season in my life, and it's, it doesn't last forever, but I will say, like, I've never been more aligned and excited about and energized by what I'm doing professionally than I have during these also crazy years of parenting. They're not mutually exclusive.

AI assessment note: “it is that ruthless prioritization and that trade-off that enables you to do more”

Q Have you seen founder communication response change in competitive rounds? Now you are much more well-known, and now you do have your own brand in many different ways.

A Yes, a little bit, but at the same time, it's most competitive deals are going to have lots and lots of shiny objects thrown at them. I think I've also learned to lean a little bit more into that aggressiveness, if you will, which is not something that I felt was natural to me at first. Like, yes, I'm fiercely competitive, but I, I don't like smothering founders. I mean, ultimately, I want this to be their decision, and I want them to have all the facts laid out, but I've been into Situations where me trying to be more respectful meant that others came in and took up all the oxygen in the room, and so there's sort of a, an element of balance there that I'm learning over time to contend with. Yes, I think there's perhaps more receptiveness, but you will see, as I'm sure you have, and I certainly see this, even the most prolific Midas list awardees, they work their ass off to get into those best deals. I have so much respect for that hustle, and I hope I never lose it.

AI assessment note: “Yes, I think there's perhaps more receptiveness, but you will see”

Q Have you seen founder communication response change in competitive rounds? Now you are much more well-known, and now you do have your own brand in many different ways.

A Yes, a little bit, but at the same time, it's most competitive deals are going to have lots and lots of shiny objects thrown at them. I think I've also learned to lean a little bit more into that aggressiveness, if you will, which is not something that I felt was natural to me at first. Like, yes, I'm fiercely competitive, but I, I don't like smothering founders. I mean, ultimately, I want this to be their decision, and I want them to have all the facts laid out, but I've been into Situations where me trying to be more respectful meant that others came in and took up all the oxygen in the room, and so there's sort of a, an element of balance there that I'm learning over time to contend with. Yes, I think there's perhaps more receptiveness, but you will see, as I'm sure you have, and I certainly see this, even the most prolific Midas list awardees, they work their ass off to get into those best deals. I have so much respect for that hustle, and I hope I never lose it.

AI assessment note: “Yes, I think there's perhaps more receptiveness”

Q Brutal business model. But I want to start because you have one of the most Fascinating backgrounds for any guests that I've had on the show. So when we look at it, it's aspiring journalist, civil servant, Googler, and then partner at Lux and Rockstar VC. So how did you make your way into venture, and what did that entry for you look like?

A Yeah, I'm a Bay Area native, which is something that people often find surprising. I was born in Mountain View before Google or any of what we know now as Silicon Valley was a thing, but my story really starts before then. Both of my parents are immigrants from Iraq, and they I escaped in the midst of the Ba'ath party taking hold, and that journey really was a big part of my identity growing up, especially amidst one war after another, many years of sanctions, and growing up in this paradise of the Bay Area and seeing my parents' hometown of Baghdad being destroyed and invaded, and that really informed a lot of my own personal ambition and journey. I felt I had no choice but to somehow pay it forward and to be as Ambitious as I possibly could be because of the good fortune I had, and frankly, a lot of luck. And so that was really something that impelled not only my fierce competitiveness and my ambition, but also my desire to have impact in one way or another. I loved writing. I started in a magazine in high school. I did a lot of public speaking, helped pay for college through winning a bunch of scholarships through that. Really, I went to undergrad thinking I was going to go down one of those paths, and I never thought I would live in the Bay Area again, Harry, because Back then, there really wasn't a lot to do here if you weren't a chip engineer or maybe early days of softwa…

AI assessment note: “my story really starts before then. Both of my parents are immigrants from Iraq”

Q Brutal business model. But I want to start because you have one of the most Fascinating backgrounds for any guests that I've had on the show. So when we look at it, it's aspiring journalist, civil servant, Googler, and then partner at Lux and Rockstar VC. So how did you make your way into venture, and what did that entry for you look like?

A Yeah, I'm a Bay Area native, which is something that people often find surprising. I was born in Mountain View before Google or any of what we know now as Silicon Valley was a thing, but my story really starts before then. Both of my parents are immigrants from Iraq, and they I escaped in the midst of the Ba'ath party taking hold, and that journey really was a big part of my identity growing up, especially amidst one war after another, many years of sanctions, and growing up in this paradise of the Bay Area and seeing my parents' hometown of Baghdad being destroyed and invaded, and that really informed a lot of my own personal ambition and journey. I felt I had no choice but to somehow pay it forward and to be as Ambitious as I possibly could be because of the good fortune I had, and frankly, a lot of luck. And so that was really something that impelled not only my fierce competitiveness and my ambition, but also my desire to have impact in one way or another. I loved writing. I started in a magazine in high school. I did a lot of public speaking, helped pay for college through winning a bunch of scholarships through that. Really, I went to undergrad thinking I was going to go down one of those paths, and I never thought I would live in the Bay Area again, Harry, because Back then, there really wasn't a lot to do here if you weren't a chip engineer or maybe early days of softwa…

AI assessment note: “my story really starts before then. Both of my parents are immigrants from Iraq”