Executing as a Best-In-Class Firm: Operational Excellence From The Inside of Over 50 VC Firms with Kristen Ostro of Strut Consulting

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Jun 12, 2025

Kristen Ostro, Founder and CEO of Strut Consulting, has a rich background in venture capital, trained under industry icon Dick Kramlich at NEA. She discusses the importance of establishing a clear mission, vision, and values (MVV) framework for venture capital firms to align their cultures and attract talent. Kristen highlights common pitfalls when firms neglect the MVV exercise and shares actionable tips for embedding these principles into hiring and branding. Her insights offer a transformative roadmap for building resilient and values-driven organizations in a competitive landscape.

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ANECDOTE

Kristen Ostro's VC Journey

Kristen Ostro entered venture capital accidentally through a job at NEA, gaining foundational experience in operations and marketing.
She then helped emerging funds like Homebrew launch and later founded Strut Consulting to support new VC firms operationally.

ADVICE

Build Your Mission, Vision, Values

Do a formal mission, vision, values (MVV) exercise early to achieve clarity, alignment, and a roadmap for your firm's growth.
Use MVV to differentiate in fundraising, set culture, and guide decision-making consistently.

ADVICE

Use MVV as Decision Filter

Use your mission, vision, values as a filtering framework for every firm decision to avoid wasted effort on misaligned initiatives.
Establish clear success metrics especially for new activities, preventing distraction and resource dilution.

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Jacob Mullins, Venture Partner at Village Global, welcomes Kristen Ostro, founder and CEO of Strut Consulting, to discuss the foundational elements that set venture capital firms up for long-term success. Kristen shares how her career began under the mentorship of Dick Kramlich at NEA, where she was trained in the core values and operational excellence that have shaped her approach to supporting dozens of VC firms across Silicon Valley. Drawing on this experience, Kristen explains why establishing a clear mission, vision, and values (MVV) framework is essential for firm alignment, decision-making, and building a resilient culture.

Kristen outlines the common pitfalls firms face when they skip the MVV exercise, such as misalignment, wasted resources, and cultural drift, and offers actionable advice for integrating MVV into hiring, branding, and succession planning. She emphasizes that it’s never too late for a firm to revisit and refine its core principles, and shares practical tips for making the process collaborative and authentic.

Listeners will gain valuable insights on how to differentiate their firm in a competitive market, attract top talent, and create a legacy that stands the test of time. Kristen’s reflections, inspired by her early training with one of venture capital’s founding fathers, offer a roadmap for building a values-driven organization that can thrive for decades.

VC Mastermind is a private podcast for VC Managing Partners. Designed for senior decision-makers at VC firms managing $50 million to $5 billion of institutional capital, VC Mastermind delivers premium insights, peer exchange, and operational best practices across all stages of a firm's life cycle. It was founded by Jacob Mullins (@jacob on X / twitter) – a 20-year veteran of the Silicon Valley startup tech and venture capital industry based in San Francisco.

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