Episode 41 - Questioning the Status Quo for the Greater Good with Sarah Kunst
Feb 25, 2022
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:
With a list of accolades and awards that spans multiple pages, Sarah Kunst is one of the guests who we were most excited to talk to! Tune in today to find out how this impressive entrepreneur has challenged the status quo by empowering other women to find opportunities to invest. Sarah talks to us about her childhood, how her parents shaped her views on gender roles and hard work, and why she feels that getting perfect grades at the expense of other experiences is not always beneficial. Sarah takes us through her journey from campus rep for companies like Apple, to her passion for consumer products at Chanel, to entering the world of venture capitalism unintentionally. We learn why it's so hard to be an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist, and Sarah shares some valuable advice for female entrepreneurs. From how she intentionally find balance in her life to why your wellness time should not be prescribed by an influencer, you won't want to miss this exciting episode.
Key Points From This Episode:
- An introduction to Sarah Kunst, managing director at Cleo Capital, contributing editor at Marie Claire magazine, venture capitalist, and all-round go-getter
- How Sarah’s parents shaped her and her appreciation for stay-at-home mothers
- Find out the type of child Sarah was, as well as her attitude to schoolwork
- How Sarah ended up in finance: working hard to have fun in college
- Why moving to New York in 2008 was a well-timed decision
- The difference between a luxury brand and an expensive brand
- How Sarah moved from consumer products into startups and venture capitalism
- Why being a venture capitalist and entrepreneur is so difficult
- Sarah’s views on bitcoin, trusting your instincts, and why regrets aren’t worth having
- Why women tend to put things off (to their detriment)
- The reason Sarah started Cleo Capital: empowering women to help find deals to invest in
- Sarah’s experience raising money
- Leading a balanced life: why Sarah’s priorities shift as times and goals change
- Sarah’s advice to women entrepreneurs on raising capital
- Why Sarah takes off one or two days at a time, rather than a week or two of leave at once
Tweetables:
“[My Mom] had a job that probably is the only job I'm pretty sure I couldn't do, which is wrangling kids all day long. I would go crazy, probably by lunchtime. Then I'd have to make lunch for everybody, then I would really go crazy.” — @sarahkunst [0:04:39]
“There are a lot of things in life that are far more important than getting a 4.0 in high school.” — @sarahkunst [0:08:44]
“It is much harder to be a founder than an investor.” — @sarahkunst [0:23:59]
“Everybody's already shortchanging you. Don't shortchange yourself. Whether it's making money or saving money, or whatever it is. Being selfish about it is also just not selfish.” — @sarahkunst [0:30:32]
“The reality is if you want to do several things pretty intensely, or hands-on, you probably don't have time to do everything at the same time. I think celebrating that is perfectly OK.” — @sarahkunst [0:35:39]
“You have to recharge your batteries. You should do it in a way that works for you, not in a way that whatever wellness guru you follow on Instagram is telling you to do.” — @sarahkunst [0:43:04]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
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