VOLITION TO LEARN: Bringing My Entrepreneurial Lens to Investing
I am excited to share that I am joining the Volition partnership alongside Larry, Roger, Sean, and the rest of the incredible Volition team. I first became interested in investing working alongside our lead investor at Rent the Runway, Scott Friend. Scott, a former operator himself, was keen to dig into the nuts and bolts of our business, knew the right questions to ask and related to the journey we were on as first-time founders. While my Co-Founder, Jenn Hyman, and I had no technology, fashion or logistics (and certainly no dry cleaning!) experience when we started the company, Scott saw in us the hunger to learn and act. Entrepreneurship is the sport of constant learning and the best way I’ve found to succeed is to find the someone who has themselves has mastered a skill set.
In the next phase of my career, I hope to share the learnings of the companies I have founded and network I have built, to help other entrepreneurs go after their dreams and experience the same magical, often dizzying, and infectious journey of entrepreneurship that lets you wake up each day feeling that anything is possible. I want to do this with my unique lens of a female operator, adding momentum to an era of female empowerment and another proof point that having women in senior investing roles leads to better business outcomes. And, I want to learn from the best.
Through my own investing in companies at various stages and industries, I honed in on the type of fund I wanted to join, but everything clicked when I met the Volition team. Their smiles, warmth and a genuine interest in melding my unlikely background with theirs made me feel at home. The non-hierarchical, direct and collaborative approach was authentic, enjoyable and sparked an energy in me that was strangely familiar. It reminded me of Jenn’s infectious passion to democratize the fashion industry as we co-founded Rent the Runway, Marc Lore’s larger than life ambitions which inspired me to innovate at Walmart, and the power of the teams we built that brought friendship, confidence and fun to each day. The people are what have enabled me to be my best self, and have fun in the process.
The founders of Volition are entrepreneurs in their own right, taking the bold step to leave Fidelity to build this firm from the ground up. They are risk takers who keep an eye on the downside as well, work hard, aren’t afraid to go against the grain and don’t settle for anything less than the best. Learning from Volition’s discipled process and partnering with founders to build is where I can best marry my perspective on digital market trends, founders, and operating in high scale environments, all while continuing to learn from the best and enjoying my career.
One of my favorite expressions is ‘where there’s a will there’s a way.’ Volition means ‘will’ — the mentality that with effort, passion, and determination we can make great things happen. I look forward to this next chapter of my career with a team that laughs as hard as they work, dreams big, and puts their head down with the will to make it happen. Thank you to Larry, Roger, Sean, Andy and the whole Volition team for betting on people above all else — crafting a role around my skillset, making this thoughtful investment in me, and welcoming me into this family you have built.
