Renu Agrawal

Looking forward to meeting women entrepreneurs who are on their journey to create some pathbreaking ideas and inspiring others to do the same. #advaitawomenentrepreneurs #womeninbusiness #entrepreneurship #womenentrepreneurs #EmpowerWomen #womenleaders #businesswomen

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I recently had the pleasure of joining the ChangeJar team for a podcast as part of their #jarexchange series. During the discussion, we touched upon an insightful comparison between the US and Indian VC ecosystems. A fascinating look into the world of venture capital. #venturecapital #india Jar

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I first met Mike Maples, Jr in 2010, when Founders Network was just an idea. Over the years, Mike and his team at Floodgate (special shoutout to Arjun Chopra) have been great mentors, sharing their insights and guiding our founders. Most recently, their advice played a pivotal role in helping us launch Founders Network Fund. Today, Mike shared the key ideas with FN'ers from his new book Pattern Breakers (https://a.co/d/buKBd5O ), which explores the insights he’s gained from backing companies like Twitter, Twitch, and Okta -- and which put him on the Forbes Midas List 8x. This is the most important book on startups in the last ten years, according to Steve Blank. My notes on the key concepts of his talk: 1) Inflections – "not a trend but a change event that represents a turning point in our ability to provide empowerment." e.g. The GPS chip in iPhone 4s 2) Insights – "a non-consensus and right insight about the future that's powerful and non obvious and leverages inflections." e.g. Lyft = GPS + strangers driving you 3) Founder future fit – "Living in the future before other people live in the future and then try to build what's missing in the future." If you're a founder, check out the book. Grateful for the impact Mike and Arjun continue to have on both me and the Founders Network community!

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"A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world." Shining the light on the dark side of corporate governance. Companies that suffer from nepotism, old networks, favoritism, and a "we use each other" mentality. Understand your rights and options as a stakeholder if you get stuck in a "grab first, ethics later." situation. This post is also added to the "Entrepreneurship Collection," with the link available in the comments. "In a civilized world, law floats on a sea of ethics." In corporate governance, the interplay between regulatory frameworks and ethical responsibilities often finds itself strained by the actions of certain "legalized lawless operators." These entities or individuals operate within the legal's technical boundaries yet engage in ethically questionable or socially harmful practices. The existence of legalized lawless operators highlights a crucial dichotomy between legality and ethics in corporate behavior. While legality pertains to adherence to the letter of the law, ethics concerns the broader spectrum of moral principles and societal expectations. This dichotomy becomes particularly pronounced in areas where regulations or contracts are outdated, insufficient, or deliberately designed with loopholes that can be exploited. Learn and share your experiences in the comments. Alph Keogh Jeff Broz BS, RT(R)(CT)(MR) Don Fowler Morris Panner Achaiah P M Sudhir Bahl Ashim Purohit Ashok Kakkar Rohan Prabhu Vivek Mehrotra Manikandan Bala Kumar Satyam Manusha Chereddy Vijayarajan Alagumalai https://lnkd.in/evKTvrU7

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I had a lot of fun recording a podcast episode with Shiva Singh Sangwan. We discussed the evolution of Humba Ventures & Susa Ventures; tips for raising and building a fund; how to improve investment sourcing & picking; the role of luck in investing, and so on. https://lnkd.in/eiqsStej

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In the latest article, "Bridging Boardroom Divides: Conflict to Consensus," the intricacies of boardroom conflict resolution processes and their significant impact on corporate governance are explored. This piece provides insights into effective boardroom management and how strategic conflict resolution can enhance decision-making and governance. It discusses how transforming inevitable conflicts into constructive dialogue can strengthen board dynamics. Discover more about navigating boardroom challenges and fostering a conducive environment for organizational growth. #CorporateGovernance #BoardroomDynamics #BoardConflict #ConflictResolution

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I often feel like "Future of Work" means everything and nothing all at the same time. But what does it mean when we say we are investing in the future of work at Reach Capital? In general, I like to think that we are investing in products and tools that help to elevate workers and create pathways for economic mobility, wherever they are in their careers - exploring careers, landing the job, up killing / Reskilling, supporting and augmenting them throughout their work, providing the benefits/enablers they need to thrive in the workplace, and more. We've invested in companies, including WorkWhile (a worker-first on demand labor marketplace for hourly workers), Replit (collaborative IDE for developers), Stepful (training for the allied healthcare workforce), Take2 AI (simulation-based talent acquisition), Hopps (on-demand expert help marketplace), and so much more. As the concept of work, continues to change rapidly we've surrounded ourselves with an amazing advisory board that supports us and our portfolio companies (Maisha Gray-Diggs (MGD), Dermot O'Brien, Gordon Trujillo, Ekpedeme "Pamay" M. Bassey, Guillermo Miranda, David Landman, Ph.D., Q Hamirani) and have committed to continuously learn (check out our latest ReImagineWork report linked in the comments).  If you're building a company that is focused on improving the future of work, please reach out! You can find me at [email protected]. Some areas I'm personally interested in right now: 👩‍⚕️ Tools to augment clinicians and reduce burnout (e.g. workflow automation tools, business-in-a-box for self employment, health system focused retention and engagement tools) 👩‍🏭 Products that help to increase supply / liquidity or improve the productivity of existing supply, through learning in the flow of work, in supply constrained markets (e.g. manufacturing) 💻 Skills inference tools that surface skills insights from the work people actually *do* and help large enterprises with workforce planning

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Join us tomorrow for a panel discussion on the complex relationship many FirstGens have to money and how that affects founders, investors, operators and others. See you tomorrow! https://lu.ma/9rixyzgs

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Christina Farr authored the excellent article (with helpful contributions from Nathaniel Lacktman) on the potential impact of California's proposed law (California AB 3129) banning the MSO-Friendly PC business model for healthcare organizations. The description of the law as a "blunt instrument" is apt and the article is a useful read here: https://lnkd.in/gsDDqGNn The primary concern prompting regulators to pursue such drastic laws is that investor-funded healthcare businesses are driving healthcare costs up and reducing patient care quality. Blanket bans like the proposed law throw the baby out with the bathwater--a very concerning move given the size of California and the tech presence involved with healthcare in the state. I encourage investor-funded healthcare providers to evaluate meaningful strategies to combat this growing perception, sadly abetted by some notorious bad apples. In my work, we have helped organizations adopt the Value-Based Enterprise structure to both align the incentives of management and clinicians with #ValueBasedCare goals and build a governance structure suited to demonstrating progress in controlling costs and increasing medical care quality. There are a lot of great resources to reduce the time and capital investment needed to adopt this business model. We recently participated in a podcast with attorneys from Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough addressing just this topic. I will link to it in the comments if you are interested in learning more. #digitalhealth, #valuebasedenterprise, #healthcareinnovation

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Is the Era of Fairer AI Finally Here? Fintechs like Fairplay are leveraging artificial intelligence to balance the scales in credit underwriting, potentially ushering in a new era of fairer financial services. I dive into this topic with Fairplay's CEO Kareem Saleh in the latest episode of The Pnyx, the world's most interesting podcast (according to Alexandre Lazarow only). Catch the episode wherever you listen. I share the link below and will add our Forbes article discussing our conclusions in the comments. Bryson Hearne #fintech #ai #vc #resilience #startups #fairness

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On this week’s episode of Silicon Valley Impact, we have four remarkable women discussing Femtech, startups, leadership, and forging strategic alliances. Joining us in the studio are Mariane Bekker, Nola E. Masterson, Ariel Watson, and Shagun Maheshwari. Nola is the lead investor of the Portfolia Femtech Fund and a seasoned board member for public, nonprofits companies. With 25+ years of experience, she has served on audit, compensation, and nominating/governance committees, playing a pivotal role in guiding companies through IPOs and startup growth. As Co-chair Emeritus of the Women Corporate Directors Northern California Chapter, Nola has global experience as an investor, entrepreneur, and executive in sales and marketing for scientific products, ranging from diagnostics to genetic analysis tools. Known for her ability to simplify complex scientific concepts for investors and analysts, she brings deep insights into synthetic biology and human nature, paired with a strong sense of market trends and social needs. Shagun is the Founder and CEO of Papaya, a company dedicated to women's health and sustainability. A mechanical engineer from Duke University, Shagun has a passion for solving complex problems. Before launching Papaya, she worked at Applied Materials in semiconductor manufacturing, Mojo Vision in AR contact lens development, and a stealth-mode biotech startup focused on wearable biomarker monitoring. Ariel is the Founder & CEO of Red Tent PMDD, and a passionate advocate for mental health. She is dedicated to designing digital products that prioritize user well-being while balancing business goals. Currently, Ariel is developing the first fully comprehensive management tool for PMDD, a hormonal mood disorder affecting over 60 million women, which often takes up to 12 years to diagnose due to limited research. Her mission is to empower women by shortening diagnosis timelines, improving PMDD management, closing the gender research gap, and providing valuable data to support further research.. This and much more on Silicon Valley Impact, KPCR 92.9FM in Los Gatos; and 101.9FM in Santa Cruz Tuesdays at 3pm! Not in the South Bay or Santa Cruz, you can listen online at: https://kpcr.org/ Follow us on Spotify and listen to all our episodes at: https://lnkd.in/gAi9hz-U Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the host and guests on Silicon Valley Impact are for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or solicitation. Listeners are encouraged to consult with a professional before making any financial or business decisions. Katherine Sakovich Saki Oshima Eva Galant Faz Bashi Hadas Ziso Piotr Zając Svetlana Kazantseva Silvia Damen, MBA Malgorzata Jaremko, PhD, FACMG, FACB, MBA, MSc, Eng Robin Farmanfarmaian Ira Evdokimova Kristen Carbone Hayley McLaughlin Bridgette L. Smith 🦋 Jennifer Ames Hoskins

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Have a story to tell... Use Narratize AI Co-Authoring platform to tell your stories in an impactful manner. Katie Trauth Taylor, PhD and the entire team is committed to helping you in becoming amazing storytellers. Check out their impressive work at https://lnkd.in/gnNYHSSX Start telling your stories with Narratize AI as your co-author. #generativeai #storytelling #innovation #aicoauthoring #innovators #researchers #impactstories #startups #problemsolvers #AI #AIStartup

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One of the things we see quite often at Grit Capital Partners, is a newly minted CEO. We see a big difference in the transition to CEO based upon the historical lane the CEO is coming from. There are different new muscles if you are coming from Product, Engineering, Finance, etc. In this article, we go deep on the CRO to CEO transition, which includes some thoughts from Rosie O'Meara, a particularly fine example of someone who has made the transition quite well. What were your biggest transition moments? https://lnkd.in/eEB-K2ZU

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Company vision ≠ financial targets Does your value creation plan spell out the vision for the company? ▶️ Awesome conversation with Shiv Narayanan on the PE Value Creation Podcast! Thx for having me Shiv. #PrivateEquity #PE #ValueCreation #First100

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Participating in Cohort 14 of the VC Lab has been an energizing experience so far. I am learning so much about the ins and outs of being an emerging fund manager and how to succeed in this space. Today they hosted a panel for Women in VC that provided some real world advice from some fantastic panelists. The curriculum is rigorous for sure, but rewarding. If you are curious about why this is such an exciting area check out this article. #venturecapital #vc #investing https://lnkd.in/gMMM_mwp

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Divestment requirements have a very real cost. This reduces the ability of endowments and foundations to support their mission driven enterprises. As the list of divestment demands grow, at what point do the consequences outweigh the perceived benefits? Hiding at the end of this article is the below quote: Golden admitted the divestment had undermined Princo’s returns, saying the endowment “would have been better off” otherwise. But he pointed to a bigger concern: the pressure to “keep adding things to divest from”. “Fossil fuels are necessarily part of getting to where the overall economy needs to be [and] it would be impossible for the world to not use fossil fuels tomorrow,” he said. “Divestment is a pretty weak tool to change the economy.” https://lnkd.in/g3SeC8rg #energy #investing #vc

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