Should I apply to the Kauffman Fellows program?
When I first heard of Kauffman, I assumed it wasn’t for me. For one, I knew it was “elite” and “expensive.” Those are not things I associated with my life path. I did a little digging, and I learned it was over $100K. I gave up.
It wasn’t until someone pushed me, a year later — Trish Costello — that I tried for it. Her perspective was, if I wanted it, and money was a problem — solve that problem when I got to it. She made sense.
Kauffman doubled down on that, and taught me to ask, why not? Who am I, and why would being elite or expensive be an issue? Even if it is an issue, just sitting with the problem is something Kauffman has taught me to do much more comfortably.
Accepting and naming unknowns is an amazing tool to make mountains disappear into mist.
It’s this type of self-awareness I believe is at the core of Kauffman. I’ve learned to examine not just my assumptions about the industry of venture capital, but the why of it, as well as the entire network of impact. I’ve learned to even examine my assumptions about myself.
How much of me did I let the culture create, and how much is me as I wish to be?
Who would I show up as, if I didn’t allow the culture to dictate its norms? This is Kauffman core value learning for me — that you need to know your own first principles.
So, I applied to Kauffman with hope, thanks to the encouragement of Trish Costello and Jewel Savadelis. (I wonder, would I have gotten to Kauffman through a guy? Probably not. No man ever mentioned it to me, much less championed me in.)
I remember why I applied: because I want to be a great investor. It is a burning drive in my heart — really, I feel it in my whole body. Not just a decent investor — a great one. In addition, I want to build a lighthouse firm, and that takes lighthouse people. I had hope that Kauffman’s beacon would illuminate the path. I was also braced to be told I wasn’t good enough.
When I did get invited into the program, a member of Kauffman Fellows Class 23, my first feeling was disbelief. Quickly followed by some financial fear, and also, well-buried elation. My dream just might be coming true. As a few days went by, the elation grew and the fear faded. It felt like sunrise on the inside. You know the feeling. Ultimately, I examined my desires, and I so wanted to learn . . . My husband and I spoke, and we took out a second mortgage on our home to pay for the program. Kauffman let me make payments quarterly, and that helped too so I did not have to draw down the debt all at once. Problem, solved.
The first Kauffman module, I was scared that I was too much of a guppy in a region, the South, no one knew about, and that I would not be able to add value...
This is a quick photo of our class then, at that first module, packed with leaders from firms like Sequoia, Blackrock, Intel, Maveron, Two Sigma… and my firm, Valor.
Quickly, I learned to leave self-doubts like that behind. Kauffman’s learning module put me into a phase of accelerated personal growth. The “light side and dark side” discovery modules were incredibly meaningful. I got to pause, reflect, and decide not ‘who I am’ — but who I am now, and where I want to go from here. It felt almost as if I was invited to rebirth myself, with my adult perspective, and all of my experiences. This was life-changing.
I never was told to seek a “mid life” reboot, and it’s not common in our culture. Because of Kauffman, I got one. Instead of a mid-life crisis, I had a mid-life renaissance. Everyone should have this change to re-evaluate who they are, and why, mid-way. It’s a gift.
I loved the quarterly rhythm of the program, because there was enough time to reflect and grow before going full speed into the next topic. Another highlight for me was hearing from other managers — in our case, we learned from Eurie Kim at Forerunner, Mark Suster of Upfront, Clint Korver of Ulu, and Charlie O’Donnell of Precursor, just to name a few. The real experiences of people who’ve built their own firms was inspiring. I could see elements of myself in them, and my path just grew beneath my feet. I felt like I was coming out of a venture capital jungle foot path and onto a sidewalk — my understanding of the possibilities before me just opened up. This feeling is indescribable — but you know it when you feel it. It’s joy.
There were, and are, always fine points around venture capital that the modules don’t fill in. That’s where I learned the true Kauffman superpower — the network. I remember one of my first superpower moments was noticing one of the partners in my class was fundraising — he had to miss a lot of sessions to take calls. I asked him to join me for a work out so I could dive into his tactical fundraising mojo. This partner at a SE Asian venture firm (I’m keeping his name private) shared the arc of how you phase a fundraise, and it’s helped me ever since.
Walking the Beltline in Atlanta with a top global healthcare investor, having dinner and talking about ESG with an ESG fund of funds leader in our class, grabbing cocktails in Atlanta with a notable Miami VC, talking late in the evening from my AirBnB in Memphis with an edtech VC in Palo Alto over “old fashioned cell phones,” dining with an LA leading investor talking about how identity in a city evolves around startups, having family dinner around another San Francisco classmate’s beautiful table, pulling on a hookah in Dubai with one of the Nigerian ecosystem VC leaders in our class, getting a detailed email from my forum mate on what needed to change in my last deck, walking the California coast with one of Mexico’s top GPs. . .
My momentum team became, and is, legion — powered by the intense, intelligent experiences of each Fellow and our shared commitment to show up for each other.
Kauffman is with me daily. It’s the global VC mind, on tap, 24/7. Yet unlike other professional networks which are “neutral” — Kauffman has a point of view, and it’s about better. MUCH better. The best you, the best deal, the best approach — not just on the numbers, but all encompassing — the best expression of who you can be right now. We’re all such overachievers that this kind of energy is pure empowerment. When I think of the Kauffman phrase “connected capital,” I think the first connection Kauffman makes is to connect you to yourself more strongly, and then from there, you have the integrity to truly connect in a meaningful way with others.
Kauffman did not teach me “everything about VC,” which I may have falsely believed they would, before I applied to the program. In fact, when I came into Kauffman, I was already a visionary, and that’s part of why they chose me. As I graduate from Kauffman, I am a pace setter. That acceleration is thanks to a hundred tiny pushes from the hands, minds and hearts of Fellows on my flywheel.
The question I was asking myself when I joined Kauffman was still, “Can I?” The question I ask myself now, as we graduate is, “How fast can I…?” And that only comes after asking the question, “should I?”
This network removes limits, and puts the focus on how hard can I dream, dare and do. My commitment to the Fellows, present and future, is to be there for them too — to reserve time to share my experiences early and often, so the glimmer of light from my broadened path illuminates the next. There are lots of paths that need broadening in venture, and I’m here for that. I am still learning, still growing, and looking forward to how I will grow from this network over time. It’s a lifeline and a lifetime of learning.
Should you apply to Kauffman? If you are consumed with funding innovation and becoming the best version of yourself as an human being— there’s only one answer. Let’s connect if you need a recommendation.
