The Exchanges

Q Bree, what I'm looking at your portfolio right now of all these, what do you think is going to be the biggest hit?

A Right now, Hopin's the most obvious. Um, this is a really special company. Um, you know, when they initially raised their first round of funding, I believe they had around four employees. Um, I caught up with Johnny last week and they're at 808 120. Um, so I invested a little over a year ago. They're now valued at 5.65 B. Um, and so they're really building a, a really disruptive Platform. I say platform because initially they started out as a way for companies and festivals and publications to host conferences online. They've since then moved into streaming. They're moving into all forms of virtual collaboration and even hybrid collaboration where Hopin is being used at in-person events as well. And so I feel like this is a company that has uncapped upside. They're making a lot of acquisitions. Um, you know, they, I've only been around for two years. Um, you know, Johnny was initially based in London. He built Hopin because he had an illness where he had a compromised immune system. He couldn't go to networking events. He was, you know, in his, Early-ish, mid-twenties, um, and so he built the technology because he needed it, and so, like, the team itself is in it for the right reasons and moving really quickly, and so that's one that I'm super excited about, um, you know, but there are a couple of other ones where they're stealth, they don't have a website yet, they're building…

AI assessment note: “Right now, Hopin's the most obvious.”

Q Bree, what I'm looking at your portfolio right now of all these, what do you think is going to be the biggest hit?

A Right now, Hopin's the most obvious. Um, this is a really special company. Um, you know, when they initially raised their first round of funding, I believe they had around four employees. Um, I caught up with Johnny last week and they're at 808 120. Um, so I invested a little over a year ago. They're now valued at 5.65 B. Um, and so they're really building a, a really disruptive Platform. I say platform because initially they started out as a way for companies and festivals and publications to host conferences online. They've since then moved into streaming. They're moving into all forms of virtual collaboration and even hybrid collaboration where Hopin is being used at in-person events as well. And so I feel like this is a company that has uncapped upside. They're making a lot of acquisitions. Um, you know, they, I've only been around for two years. Um, you know, Johnny was initially based in London. He built Hopin because he had an illness where he had a compromised immune system. He couldn't go to networking events. He was, you know, in his, Early-ish, mid-twenties, um, and so he built the technology because he needed it, and so, like, the team itself is in it for the right reasons and moving really quickly, and so that's one that I'm super excited about, um, you know, but there are a couple of other ones where they're stealth, they don't have a website yet, they're building…

AI assessment note: “Right now, Hopin's the most obvious.”

Q Hang on, hang on, is that, uh, like, is the vibe, like, comedy, because she's a comedian? Like, is this called her daddy, or is this, like, uh, you know, how I built this, or what is this?

A It actually, that's a really great, that's a really great point. Uh, we're somewhere between the two. Um, we wanted to make it interesting and educational, and it is more of a business audience. I think in this new era of working from home, unless it's interesting and entertaining, people don't want to listen. And so it's not corporate, it's not boring. Um, one of the most challenging parts of the podcast for me is that it's very hard to get business people off script. They've all gone, gone through comms training. They all have, you know, their executive coach to get them to really open up and share vulnerable moments or to be really open and authentic has been surprisingly really hard.

AI assessment note: “we're somewhere between the two. Um, we wanted to make it interesting and educational”

Q I can. I'm like, wow, this is kind of amazing. So I think we're getting, uh, We're getting, we're getting closer to where that's, that's like, um, it's like the Anthony Bourdain thing where, of course, it's not going to be fully accurate, but damn, it's like, it feels like magic. It wasn't, this wasn't really a thing five, 10 years ago. Bri, what have you seen in that space?

A Yeah, I mean, one point in that with the Bourdain piece, I mean, what's interesting there is, you know, he The question is, are you building a legacy and are you carrying someone's story forward? I think that's really cool. I think if there are sound bites or old songs, or if you can take a book that was written a decade ago and then put it in the voice of someone who's already passed away, that can be really cool. I mean, that's really like a strong storytelling angle in a way to really continue their legacy. The kind of the gray area for me is, you know, for the guy that's created a fake girlfriend that's It's, uh, using previous text conversations. Like, I'm a little bit concerned for him in, in the long, the long term. You know, I think he's maybe staying in the past as opposed to, like, you know, going through therapy or, you know, spending time with family and friends and then, like, getting back out there again, and so it probably depends on the use case and some of the scenarios for these technologies, but I agree. I, uh, love Black Mirror. I've watched them all, binge-watched them all, And it's really creepy to see that a lot of these things are actually proving to be true.

AI assessment note: “if you can take a book... and then put it in the voice”

Q Hang on, hang on, is that, uh, like, is the vibe, like, comedy, because she's a comedian? Like, is this called her daddy, or is this, like, uh, you know, how I built this, or what is this?

A It actually, that's a really great, that's a really great point. Uh, we're somewhere between the two. Um, we wanted to make it interesting and educational, and it is more of a business audience. I think in this new era of working from home, unless it's interesting and entertaining, people don't want to listen. And so it's not corporate, it's not boring. Um, one of the most challenging parts of the podcast for me is that it's very hard to get business people off script. They've all gone, gone through comms training. They all have, you know, their executive coach to get them to really open up and share vulnerable moments or to be really open and authentic has been surprisingly really hard.

AI assessment note: “we're somewhere between the two. Um, we wanted to make it interesting and educational”

Q I can. I'm like, wow, this is kind of amazing. So I think we're getting, uh, We're getting, we're getting closer to where that's, that's like, um, it's like the Anthony Bourdain thing where, of course, it's not going to be fully accurate, but damn, it's like, it feels like magic. It wasn't, this wasn't really a thing five, 10 years ago. Bri, what have you seen in that space?

A Yeah, I mean, one point in that with the Bourdain piece, I mean, what's interesting there is, you know, he The question is, are you building a legacy and are you carrying someone's story forward? I think that's really cool. I think if there are sound bites or old songs, or if you can take a book that was written a decade ago and then put it in the voice of someone who's already passed away, that can be really cool. I mean, that's really like a strong storytelling angle in a way to really continue their legacy. The kind of the gray area for me is, you know, for the guy that's created a fake girlfriend that's It's, uh, using previous text conversations. Like, I'm a little bit concerned for him in, in the long, the long term. You know, I think he's maybe staying in the past as opposed to, like, you know, going through therapy or, you know, spending time with family and friends and then, like, getting back out there again, and so it probably depends on the use case and some of the scenarios for these technologies, but I agree. I, uh, love Black Mirror. I've watched them all, binge-watched them all, And it's really creepy to see that a lot of these things are actually proving to be true.

AI assessment note: “it probably depends on the use case and some of the scenarios for these technologies”

Q Let's switch gears to ideas. So what spaces, what ideas, uh, do you have that you think people should be building in or you see interesting stuff? So give me a sense of like, it can either be a specific idea or it could be kind of like a trend you're noticing. What do you got?

A Yeah, it's interesting. I tend to look at what are the smartest people that I know thinking about or working on. I consistently see, um, a lot of people are moving into crypto and into climate change. I think these are two areas that you can't really ignore. Um, and I'm also seeing people leave very well-paying jobs that have a lot of equity to work on things like climate change, and so I do think that there are trends that are starting to bubble up that have maybe been either underserved by venture, underfunded rather, and so it does seem like there's a lot of things that are happening, especially during COVID. I feel like during the pandemic, people started re-examining what matters, like you take away the fancy office, you take away all the perks, you Take away the ability to, you know, physically see your team. And so I'm, I'm seeing a lot of people that are leaving to work on things that they actually care about, which is really interesting. Not to say that they won't make a lot of money, but to say that there are new opportunities and new types of companies that people truly want to build. And so that's been something that I've been thinking about.

AI assessment note: “I consistently see, um, a lot of people are moving into crypto and into climate change.”

Q Let's switch gears to ideas. So what spaces, what ideas, uh, do you have that you think people should be building in or you see interesting stuff? So give me a sense of like, it can either be a specific idea or it could be kind of like a trend you're noticing. What do you got?

A Yeah, it's interesting. I tend to look at what are the smartest people that I know thinking about or working on. I consistently see, um, a lot of people are moving into crypto and into climate change. I think these are two areas that you can't really ignore. Um, and I'm also seeing people leave very well-paying jobs that have a lot of equity to work on things like climate change, and so I do think that there are trends that are starting to bubble up that have maybe been either underserved by venture, underfunded rather, and so it does seem like there's a lot of things that are happening, especially during COVID. I feel like during the pandemic, people started re-examining what matters, like you take away the fancy office, you take away all the perks, you Take away the ability to, you know, physically see your team. And so I'm, I'm seeing a lot of people that are leaving to work on things that they actually care about, which is really interesting. Not to say that they won't make a lot of money, but to say that there are new opportunities and new types of companies that people truly want to build. And so that's been something that I've been thinking about.

AI assessment note: “a lot of people are moving into crypto and into climate change.”

Q of work, what's, um, what's an idea that, that are a company that you're excited about that's not already, like, well-known? It hasn't, hasn't had that breakout moment where raises a huge round, so people in tech find out, or everybody's already using it, like Slack or something like that. So what, what's an example of a company that you think is super cool? Give us one from your portfolio.

A Yeah, absolutely. One thing that's not obvious about the work life portfolio is I do spend a lot of time in education and reskilling. I think this is a really important thing where even from your earliest days, like kids are brought up being asked by their parents, like, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I think this is sort of a question that historically, you know, kids have been taught to do very normal jobs. They're like, well, you should be a teacher. You should be a doctor. You should do like these very traditional things. There was an interesting, um, Study that I read when I was, ah, just thinking about work life, building out the first version of the pitch deck, where kids today are, you know, kids would rather be YouTubers than they would be astronauts. Like, maybe that changes, that changes today because we're now going to space, and so space is very cool again. But what's interesting there is there isn't really education that aligns to that. You know, I think the textbook education is you memorize something, you take the task, and you forget about it.

AI assessment note: “One thing that's not obvious about the work life portfolio is I do spend a lot”

Q of work, what's, um, what's an idea that, that are a company that you're excited about that's not already, like, well-known? It hasn't, hasn't had that breakout moment where raises a huge round, so people in tech find out, or everybody's already using it, like Slack or something like that. So what, what's an example of a company that you think is super cool? Give us one from your portfolio.

A Yeah, absolutely. One thing that's not obvious about the work life portfolio is I do spend a lot of time in education and reskilling. I think this is a really important thing where even from your earliest days, like kids are brought up being asked by their parents, like, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I think this is sort of a question that historically, you know, kids have been taught to do very normal jobs. They're like, well, you should be a teacher. You should be a doctor. You should do like these very traditional things. There was an interesting, um, Study that I read when I was, ah, just thinking about work life, building out the first version of the pitch deck, where kids today are, you know, kids would rather be YouTubers than they would be astronauts. Like, maybe that changes, that changes today because we're now going to space, and so space is very cool again. But what's interesting there is there isn't really education that aligns to that. You know, I think the textbook education is you memorize something, you take the task, and you forget about it.

AI assessment note: “One thing that's not obvious about the work life portfolio is I do spend a lot”

Q to get this, this type of a personal Personal win out of it, which makes your average over the 10 years look really good. I guess. Can you walk us through the numbers? Because I think for most people, this is just a black box. I don't really understand. They don't really understand how the money would, what the money could look like in this, uh, if things work out.

A Yeah, I, I'm hearing all sorts of variations to this model. I mean, I have friends who are running early stage startups, and they've raised, you know, five to twenty million dollars, and they're deploying capital while they're operating. I think that's the best case scenario. I mean, if you're ready to start a startup, and you have CEO potential, and you know exactly what you want to build, that is going to have a much higher, um, you know, your, your Building a legacy there. You have the ability to hire people. Like, those people will even start startups. Like, I just think there's so many great things when CEOs are active angel investors. Um, that's why I chose to raise from a lot of founders and not traditional LPs or, you know, traditional finance financial institutions. Um, I think they have a lot more access and they have the ability to Invest in startups opportunistically, not as their full-time thing, while they still have really great access and mindshare in the ecosystem. You know, for individuals like myself, like, you know, I had ten-ish years of, of tech company experience. I don't even want to say startup experience, because I was at a big company, and then I was at a second, more medium-sized tech company. In those scenarios, you know, you, your investors are looking for your ability, you know, have you already built a track record? Do you have an ability to inve…

AI assessment note: “I'm hearing all sorts of variations to this model.”

Q to get this, this type of a personal Personal win out of it, which makes your average over the 10 years look really good. I guess. Can you walk us through the numbers? Because I think for most people, this is just a black box. I don't really understand. They don't really understand how the money would, what the money could look like in this, uh, if things work out.

A Yeah, I, I'm hearing all sorts of variations to this model. I mean, I have friends who are running early stage startups, and they've raised, you know, five to twenty million dollars, and they're deploying capital while they're operating. I think that's the best case scenario. I mean, if you're ready to start a startup, and you have CEO potential, and you know exactly what you want to build, that is going to have a much higher, um, you know, your, your Building a legacy there. You have the ability to hire people. Like, those people will even start startups. Like, I just think there's so many great things when CEOs are active angel investors. Um, that's why I chose to raise from a lot of founders and not traditional LPs or, you know, traditional finance financial institutions. Um, I think they have a lot more access and they have the ability to Invest in startups opportunistically, not as their full-time thing, while they still have really great access and mindshare in the ecosystem. You know, for individuals like myself, like, you know, I had ten-ish years of, of tech company experience. I don't even want to say startup experience, because I was at a big company, and then I was at a second, more medium-sized tech company. In those scenarios, you know, you, your investors are looking for your ability, you know, have you already built a track record? Do you have an ability to inve…

AI assessment note: “I'm hearing all sorts of variations to this model.”