Everybody needs a place to put their love. - Karina Dresses tagline, circa 2012 In 2012 I made my first investment in a #femalefounder who also happened to be 50+. At the time I had no idea how unusual these founder traits were. I just knew the founder was passionate, authentic, experienced, perfectly aligned with both the product and the market. Most importantly there was a strong emotional bond between the product and the customers who bought it. 🤷🏾♂️- it just seemed like the smart thing to do. Not a lot of my investor buddies agreed at the time- probably not so surprising. Fast forward 10+ years and the value of my investment is ~20x & the amount of free cash flow distributed to equity holders is substantial & still increasing YOY. My takeaways: ✅Invest in authenticity, passion and intimacy (customer)- no matter what the founder profile looks like relative to others. ✅Follow your gut. ✅Not every deal is venture scale worthy. But there’s a potential investor for every deal. ✅Be the best version of you, not a lame version of someone else. Works for both investors & founders. :) Congratulations to Karina and the team at Karina Dresses! Proud as punch to be on this journey with you all🚀
I recall all the great things you’ve had to say about the company and founder over the years. Another outlier trait - you backed a company based in the NY upstate Hudson Valley. Congrats to them (and you) for being winners!
Fantastic read and passion is not defined by age!
Innovation Maestro + Growth Advisor | TEDx Speaker x2 | Board Member | Host, 'A Few Things' Pod | Super Connector | Nurturing Ecosystems + Driving Collaborations | Author | AI Strategist/Educator | Girl Dad
1mo💯Garnet S. Heraman I'm seeing a bunch of similar entrepreneurs as I type in Hudson Valley