Kaego Ogbechie Rust & Shea Tate-Di Donna describe themselves as entrepreneurial and experimental. They discovered that breaking into the venture capital world was a challenge, so they wanted to help other people (especially women) by giving them practical steps to do what they were able to do. Their book, “The Venture Fund Blueprint” was written with this in mind.
Kaego & Shea noticed that people expected only capital when they sought funding from them, and they wanted to provide more. In this podcast, they talk about the pay-it-forward culture of the venture capital world. Their roots are in helping businesses grow and launch, and they share with us how to ask other people for help. First of all, you want to give more than you get, and secondly, you want to make it easy for others to help you (think craft the email for them.)
We also learn from these successful women how to not take rejection personally. When asking for something like funding, you’ll hear an incredible amount of no’s to get to that yes, and that takes perseverance. In this podcast, you’ll also hear about strategies for building trust and how to prioritize your personal life. Diversity in the fund management field is a priority to Kaego & Shea, and they also share what they’re doing to promote this important topic. Even if you aren’t familiar with the venture capital world, you’ll learn a wealth of information about managing your own business in this podcast.
-
Highlights
[02:40] How Shea & Kaego got into the venture capital world
[05:40] Challenges they overcame to find space in the funding industry
[06:46] Leveraging community to overcome barriers
[14:50] Making the easy ask
[16:31] Overcoming fears
[20:20] Moving past limiting beliefs
[24:58] How to deal with no’s and setbacks
[28:11] Getting to the yes
[32:07] Keeping boundaries
[37:28] Diversity in fund management
[42:45] Lightning round questions -
Quotes
“One of The things we love about the VC industry is the pay it forward culture.” – Shea Tate-Di Donna
“You only build a community by giving much more than you receive.” – Kaego Ogbechie Rust
“If you want to learn how to take rejection and get a no and move on, fundraising is the perfect way to do that.” – Shea Tate-Di Donna
“Trust is a key element of brand building.” – Kaego Ogbechie Rust
“How can we give back to our community? Sometimes it’s just sharing what you know.” – Kaego Ogbechie Rust
“I’m trying to divorce myself from the word should.” – Shea Tate-Di Donna -
Lightning Round Questions
What book has greatly influenced you?
“The Lord of the Flies” by William Golding (Kaego)
“The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership” by Diana Chapman and Jim Dethmer (Shea)
What is your favorite inspiring quote or saying?
“There are two types of people in this world, the energy givers and energy takers.” (Kaego)
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” (Shea)
What is one word or moniker you would use to describe yourself?
Entrepreneurial & Experimental (Kaego & Shea as a team)
Tenacious (Shea)
Paced (Kaego)
What power song would you want playing as you walk out onto a stage?
“I’m Every Woman” by Chaka Khan (Shea)
“I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston (Kaego) -
About
Kaego Ogbechie Rust is a career business advisor, entrepreneur, and author — with more than a decade of financial services experience in the public and private markets at Goldman Sachs and her consulting practice, KHOR Consulting, Kaego has worked with hundreds of companies in alternative investing, venture capital, private equity, small business, and startups.
Shea Tate-Di Donna is a career venture capitalist, entrepreneur, product creator, and author. With more than a decade of early-stage high tech venture experience, she has advised hundreds of emerging fund managers. Shea was part of the founding team at True Ventures, creator of Founder Services, and originator of Venture Productization.
Links:
Website: https://www.venturefundblueprint.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaegorust/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheatatedidonna/
A new Best Selling book, The Venture Fund Blueprint, helps emerging managers in venture capital learn to launch, grow, and scale funds. The book’s pages are filled with tangible examples, real peer advice, and step-by-step guides from building pitch decks and fundraising to running operations and legal. Co-authors Shea Tate-Di Donna and Kaego Ogbechie Rust are long-time collaborators who have brought together their learnings from Shea’s time on the founding team of True Ventures and with Melinda Gates' Pivotal Ventures, plus Kaego’s decade at Goldman Sachs in alternative investments and with KHOR Consulting. This book aims to empower a diversity of intellect across emerging venture capital managers, to establish a precedent for operational excellence, and to facilitate peer-led knowledge exchange amongst GPs. We see a future where GPs and LPs are even more aligned around shared values, desired impact, and meaningful returns — where the ladder of capital, from investors to fund managers to startups, is constantly driving towards mutually beneficial outcomes.
Learn More: www.venturefundblueprint.com
Get The Book: https://amzn.to/3YkMF7E