The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR

169 - Everything a Spreadsheet WON’T Tell You: Colleen McCreary, 6x CPO (Credit Karma, Zynga, Twilio, & more) turned VC

Mar 29, 2024

Colleen McCreary, a 6x Chief People Officer turned VC, discusses the importance of looking beyond spreadsheets in VC, the lesson of profitability giving freedom, and the need for more HR professionals in VC. She shares insights on thinking like an investor, similarities between recruiting and deal-making, and the state of HR. The podcast unveils the value of human judgment in decision-making, emphasizing the limitations of data-driven analysis in HR and venture capital.

01:02:41

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Episode guests

Colleen McCreary

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Importance of looking beyond spreadsheets in VC investments

Profitability leads to business freedom, critical lesson for success

Advocacy for bringing more HR professionals into the VC world

Deep dives

Diverse Talent Recruitment at Microsoft in the Late 90s

At Microsoft in 1997, campus recruiting was vibrant despite company challenges. Noteworthy talent interviewed included Drew Houston of Dropbox, Andrew Bosworth now CTO at Meta, and others who went on to significant roles in tech. Despite market fluctuations, these connections with budding talent helped shape future industry leaders.

Introduction

3min

Balancing Workload and Skiing Excitement

5min

Exploring the Impact of AI on HR and Work Future

2min

Journey of Transitions and Professional Growth

15min

Experience at Rivet Capital: Emphasizing People and Community

4min

The Value of Human Judgment in Decision-Making

32min

Final Reflections and Gratitude

2min

Colleen McCreary, a 6x Chief People Officer turned VC, joined us on The Modern People Leader.

We talked about how her superpower as a VC is being able to look beyond just the spreadsheet, the lesson she learned early on about profitability giving you freedom, and why the VC world should be bringing in more people from HR.

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(1:42) Good news stories

(9:52) Colleen’s story and how she ended up in the VC world

(22:14) People from her Microsoft days that went on to do big things

(25:28) What she does at Ribbit Capital and why we should be jealous she gets to work there

(28:49) All of the things the spreadsheet WON’T tell you

(33:14) Learning to think like an investor

(36:37) The steps to bringing in a new deal is very similar to recruiting

(41:30) Colleen’s view on the state of HR

(46:38) The lesson she learned early on about profitability giving you freedom