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- Soapbox Issue #2
Welcome back to Soapbox! 🫡
Our feeds in January were full of Planes, “Pookie,” and Partnerships. Here’s a quick recap of the most memorable things that happened this month:
Sam Altman got married to his long-time bf, Oliver Mulherin, this month. Family members came forward to say the images of the wedding were not AI-generated, just screenshotted from his personal Instagram, lol. (we def. Googled “Sam Altman married???”) 🤵🏼
Maria flew out of the Portland airport on the day the door plug ripped off an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight - thank god she’s a Delta girlie for life. 🛩
The beef was brewing this month in business and pop culture. Nikki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion’s diss tracks are hot topics of discussion on TikTok, and Founder Karri Saarinen’s post about Carta selling shares of his company without permission was all over Linkedin. 🎤
Everyone found out that the “Pookie is looking absolutely fire” guy from TikTok is a Private Equity superstar with an MBA/JD from Penn. ✨
The SKIMS x Lana Del Ray collab launched this month, marking yet another successful viral campaign for Kim Kardashian. Jeremy Allen White’s Calvin Klein ad had the internet buzzing, and now the couch from the AD has become Facebook marketplace's hottest item. 🛋
Here’s the quick on what we’re looking forward to in February:
February is Black History Month!
Leap Year - what are you doing with your ~extra~ day this year?
The Super Bowl - will Miss Taylor make an appearance?
Valentine’s Day!
We want to know more about our readers! ⤵
Soapbox of the Month:
Decoding LinkedIn Titles: Should VC Analysts Rebrand as Investors?
Written by Emily
In venture capital, many analysts and early-career associates are changing their job titles to “Investor” on their LinkedIn profiles and social media bios. Is this a move you should make, too?
So why would some analysts brand themselves as “investors” on LinkedIn, despite lacking the decision-making power necessary to be considered an actual investor? There are a few reasons:
You’ll likely get increased visibility on LinkedIn through keyword searches.
As an analyst, you are probably doing a ton of cold outreach to founders and investors. You might have more successful outcomes and a higher response rate if your profile says investor.
While I wish this wasn’t the case; being seen as an investor can garner more respect than an entry-level analyst. Some people will overlook analysts or treat them differently.
It provides simplicity. In the complex landscape of venture capital job titles, calling yourself an investor can reduce confusion.
WAIT! Before rushing to update your profile, consider these risks:
Founders may get frustrated if they think they’re dealing with a decision-maker, and later find out that you are not one. I think this only becomes a problem if something goes awry during the outreach and due diligence process. You should never be deceitful, and always tell the founder what your true role is within the investment process.
You might run the risk of upsetting a senior partner at your firm. I imagine that not many firms will care about this, especially the early stage firms with small teams. But it’s best to ask if you’re unsure.
If you’re not interested in calling yourself an investor, here are alternative titles you could consider:
VC at My Venture Fund
Investing at My Venture Fund
Scout at My Venture Fund
Junior VC at My Venture Fund
Overall, it’s a great idea to get creative with your job title where it makes sense. Sometimes, general titles like “Analyst” don’t give people a clear picture of what you really do at work all day. But, it is perfectly okay to keep your original job title.
Read the full version here:
Career, Culture, & Capital
Career 🧑💻
Did you put “Get on Forbes 30 Under 30” on your 2024 New Years Resolutions? In early January, you probably noticed a bunch for Forbes 30U30 lists all over your feed. It may be a more attainable goal than you originally thought!
If you didn’t already know, you have to be nominated to begin the selection process. (Yes! You can nominate yourself.) Forbes tells you how they make their selections here.
We love this step-by-step guide by Meagan Loyst, founder of Gen Z VCs and Forbes 30U30 VC in 2023.
Special shoutout to Maria’s boss, Brett Calhoun @ Redbud VC on this year’s list:
Culture 🌈
Hyper Studios dropped their best of 2023 awards for the best consumer brand campaigns, collaborations, experiences, and community! There are some real gems in there. 💎 Yes - Maria is still trying to get her hands on the CAMPARI x Percival collab, and Emily has her eye on the Nepo Naby fridge.
Now for some actual notes:
Last month, we reflected on Matt Klein’s 2023 META Trends Report, and now the 2024 META Trends is hot off the press. We will let you dig into the individual trends that are pulled because the biggest takeaway for us is how trends have lost their meaning.
“I created a simple quiz: 2018 or 2024? ‘Can you tell when each of the following trends was published?’ To make it even easier, I clustered four trends and their descriptions together, which were all 2018, or all 2024.”
Klein launched the quiz for 200 global cultural research and strategy professionals, and before seeing the headlines, they rated their confidence 6.5/10. After finishing the quiz, but prior to seeing their results, the average confidence dropped -27%. Turns out, you have the same odds guessing 50/50 then you do actually determining if something was from 2018 or 2024.
We loved Matt’s insights on trend lifetimes, the loss of bravery, and what is in store for the future of human trends.
Capital 💸
Chicago:Blend released thier new data on the state of venture for underrepresented founders. Since 2018, they’ve published annual reports about the state of diversity in Chicago’s venture capital and startup ecosystem in comparison to nine other U.S. metro regions.
A few highlights 💫
Within the 307 Chicago startups that raised a total of $2.9 billion in VC funding:
112 startups (36.5%) had at least one woman founder
75 new startups (24.4%) had at least one founder of color
Check out the full report below ⤵
The Monthly R.E.P.O.R.T
What We’re Reading, Eating, Playing, Obsesseing, Recommending, & Treating
Reading 📚
 Emily’s Reading: Down the Drain by Julia Fox I’ve technically been listening to the audiobook version, but we’ll count it. But I am LOVING this celeb memoir. Julia shares many intense stories throughout her life and her path to becoming an actress, fashion influencer, and social media icon. If you don’t have the time to read it, listen to this podcast episode giving you the highlight reel. Someone left a review saying, “None of these words are in the Bible. Iconic.” Couldn’t have said it better myself. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 |  Maria’s Reading: Old Bessemer Venture Partners Memos I didn’t finish a full book this month 🥲 but I have fallen down a rabbit hole reading old investment memos from Bessemer. 📣Yelp - the early product pictures are crazy; the company used to make money each time someone called the restaurant from Yelp. Phone calls were the business model. |
Eating 🍴
 Emily’s Eating: Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl I can’t stop craving this salad bowl from Sweetgreen. Order it Emily’s way - extra chicken and goat cheese 🤤 BRB need to figure out how to make this at home. My other favorites in the rotation include the Hot Honey Chicken Plate and the Crispy Rice Bowl. |  If there’s one thing imma do, it’s eat a donut! One of my favorite local restaurants, Beetbox, unveils a Donunt of the Month that is only available on Fridays. The thought of not having a Coconut Creme donut as a little treat this Friday is one I can’t bear. All this to say go get a donut this week. |
Playing 🎲
 Emily’s Playing: The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Some of you may have watched RHSLC season 4 finale this month, but SHHHH! Don’t spoil it for me. I just finished season 3. 🙃 Patiently waiting to see who gave Heather that black eye. I want to binge this show so badly, but sometimes I gotta take a break from the constant fighting. Heather is my fave RH!! |  Maria’s Playing: Running in the Snow I spent the last weekend of January in Chicago and ran** my first 10k! It wasn’t just a race; it was an obstacle course…in the snow… yeah, I was super cold and muddy at the end. Shoutout to my team #pookienation couldn’t have made it without them🫡 **the run was very much a jog + power walk FYI |
Obsessing 🤩
 Emily’s Obsessing: Her First $100k by Tori Dunlap I’ve been following Tori for a loooong time now and have always loved her content. Tori is a personal finance expert who advocates for feminism and ✨ modern ✨ personal finance tips! Say goodbye to Dave Ramsey 😒 |  Maria’s Obsessing: Olive Oil I know Olive Oil is a weird thing to obsess over, but here I am🧍🏼♀️ |
Recommending 🏁
 Hot Yoga Towel Emily’s Recommending: Hot Yoga Towel 🧘♀️ I recently got this hot yoga towel and it’s a lifesaver in my hot yoga classes! If you find yourself slippin’ and slidin’ around on your yoga mat during class, definitely check out this product on Amazon. 🤸♀️ | Maria’s Recommending: Notion Calendar (frm. Cron Calendar) I switched to Notion Cal and have been loving it. The integrations with Notion are 👩🏼🍳 💋, and the scheduling capabilities have a much more personal touch. |
Treating 💫
 College Station, TX Emily’s Treating: Vacation!!! I have a few trips lined up in the next couple of weeks! I just got back from Texas, where I was visiting one of my college friends. 🤠 I’ll also be visiting Arizona and Florida soon! 🌴🌵 |  Maria’s Treating: Olympics This was a big treat this month (my bank account is reeling 😵💫)! |
Resources
Funding 💰
Podcasts, readings, and other fun things on the VC funding landscape
Never Express Your ‘Use of Funds’ Slide As Percentages, Why? by Sahil S.
The Art of the Memo by Jesús Salas from Slauson and Co.
A Founder’s Guide to Non-dilutive Funding by Afshan Qureshi
Good Reads 📖
A few of our favorite articles, short stories, and writings that we read this month
Betting on Unseen Forces: The Role Individual Experiences Play in Molding Outlier Founders by ✨Maria Heyen ✨
You Don't Need To Document Everything by Freya India
Crucible Moments: The Pivotal Decisions That Define Us by Roelof Botha
Quitting Time by Scott Galloway
Your Career in VC 👩💻
Check out these links on helpful tools, tips, and resources for starting or advancing your career in VC
A Crowdsourced List of Books and Resources for New Venture Capitalists by Charles Hudson
AI for VC newsletter by Venture5 Media & John Gannon
Apply to the Gen She VC Scout Program
From Our Feed to Yours 🤝
Tweets, Memes, and other things from our feed that gave us a laugh.
When I say I got that dog in me, this is what I mean
— litquidity (@litcapital)
3:34 AM • Jan 18, 2024
“wow your job is so cool”
me, 99% of the time:— maha (@mahaaaay)
3:46 PM • Jan 30, 2024
you're not a "generalist" you're 23
— Cat (@CatOrman1)
3:28 PM • Jan 17, 2024
I thought this was from a meme page
— Mountain West Tax, CPA (@mountainwesttax)
12:33 AM • Jan 20, 2024
My Gen-Z Analyst just got off a lender call.
He told me “the vibes were off” but declined to elaborate any further.
— High Yield Harry (@HighyieldHarry)
6:47 PM • Jan 11, 2024
Thanks for reading Soapbox! We appreciate your support. Have something you want us to talk about? Drop us a note at [email protected] and [email protected].
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