Ep 113: Katie Rae, CEO & Managing Partner of The Engine

The benefits of partnering with MIT in founding The Engine

The mission and vision of The Engine

The Engine’s focus on “tough tech” and the role it plays as a backer of it

How The Engine compares with a typical VC firm and important differences that makes it unique

How Katie landed at The Engine after a long career in technology and investing

The role MIT plays at The Engine

The relationship between The Engine and its portfolio companies

The cross-functional resources The Engine brings to bear on behalf of its companies

Katie’s perspective on balancing investor returns and organizational mission

The criteria The Engine uses in selecting companies in which to invest

How VC has become more MBA-driven than science-driven and the neglect of “tough tech”

The biggest gap in the financing landscape for “tough tech”

The overlap between The Engine’s style of investing and the style popularized on Sand Hill Road

What The Engine’s LPs think of the incubator’s hybrid impact and returns mission

What Katie thinks of “impact investing”

How Katie would allocate a $100B to deliver impact

The durability of “tough tech”