Trailblazers

This week we chat about why our host, Erica Wenger, decided to move from LA to NYC!It's a tough decision to leave comfort (family, friends, amazing apartment, great weather), but after lots of consideration, it was time to make the leap. The tech scene in NYC these days is buzzing and for those of you looking to be in the heart of the energy, a move may be in store.On this episode Erica talks through the rationale behind her decision and what she's most excited about when she gets to NYC. For anyone thinking about making the move to NYC or another city based on your current priorities, this episode is for you!Follow Us!Erica Wenger: @erica_wengerDear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething

This week we’re talking all things public relations for founders & VCs with the knowledgable Jenna Birch. Jenna Birch is the founder of Sisu Brand & PR, a communications consultancy serving both venture capital firms and startups. She has previously worked as the VP, Narrative & Communications at NFX, as well as the Head of Content & Communications at Forerunner, crafting inventive marketing and PR strategies for both firms. In those roles, she's also worked with startups across sectors like consumer, enterprise, SaaS, bio, digital health, travel, crypto, fintech/e-commerce, and more. Prior to working in-house at VC firms, she was a longtime journalist and published author (THE LOVE GAP, Grand Central Publishing, 2018).In this explained episode, Erica and Jenna talk about Jenna's windy journey from being a freelance journalist to writing a dating book to uncovering her passion for storytelling which landed her in the world of venture capital. Jenna has since left venture capital and kickstarted her own firm to support mostly female founders and fund managers with everything PR related. She's a wealth of knowledge and we're so glad she shared her time with us!Twentysomethings, listen now for an hour of inspiration with Jenna Birch!Follow Us!Jenna Birch: @jennabirchEmail Jenna at: jenna@sisubrandpr.comErica Wenger: @erica_wengerDear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething

This week we chat with Miri Buckland! In this episode, Miri and Erica talk about how they each define creativity and how Miri's business, Landing, was created to help members find their inner creative voice. She shares the origin stories of the business (originally was targeting interior designers!) and what it's been like to scale their community and uncover trends before the rest of the world sees them (ex. tomato girl summer, which you can learn about in the episode)!Miri Buckland is the COO and co-founder of LANDING, an online social commerce platform that allows users to tap into daily creativity, discover collective inspiration, deliver authentic expression, and nurture meaningful connections. As someone who discovered her identity as a 'creative' later in life, Miri is on a mission to empower everyone to be and feel creative. Together with her team, she is developing LANDING’s platform to ignite creativity across its growing +200k global LANDING VERSE community.Landing is backed by leading investors including Cowboy Ventures, Defy VC, DreamMachine Ventures, and Progression Fund. By trade, Miri is a marketer, community builder and consumer tech operator. Prior to co-founding LANDING, Miri held roles at Sky TV in London and in venture capital in San Francisco. Miri was a 2022 Forbes 30 under 30 recipient and a Graduate of Stanford University School of Business.Follow Us!Miri Buckland: @miribucklandLANDING: @landing__space, website hereErica Wenger: @erica_wengerDear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething

This week we chat about the investing thesis that our host, Erica Wenger, has crafted for her venture fund! She's backing the next generation of elephant companies (not unicorns) and she walks explains the thesis here in her foundational essay.She shares why every VC (and even founder too!) should craft a thoughtful long-form foundational essay with a unique, clear point of view. It's not easy to be differentiated in an industry with so many businesses and so many funds, so it's essential to craft your own terminology and stand out from the crowd. Erica walks through the process of writing the essay with an amazing collaborator and her plans for the future of writing content.For anyone going out to fundraise (whether they're a VC or a founder) or anyone looking to kickstart their investing career as an angel or LP, this episode is for you!Follow Us!Erica Wenger: @erica_wengerDear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething

This week we chat with Christie Pitts! In this episode, Christie and Erica talk about the maternal health crisis that's facing the United States and is significantly worse among POC. Christie has taken this passion and kickstarted an ops role at the startup Mahmee and co-founded VCs for Repro to build a coalition of VCs who are united to support access to abortion. She's a wealth of knowledge on the topic and was open about her journey into the tech world.Christie Pitts is VP of Operations at Mahmee, a maternal healthcare company on a mission to make the US the best place in the world to give birth. She co-founded the VCs for Repro initiative, focused on the intersection of the economy and reproductive justice, and hosts the Moms at Work liveshow to build community, raise awareness, and advocate for better experiences for working moms.She is also an experienced early-stage investor formerly at Backstage Capital having invested in more than 200 companies led by underrepresented (women, people of color, and LGBTQ) founders. Christie led company sourcing, diligence, portfolio management, and investor relations for the firm. Additionally, Christie led the launch of the first global accelerator for underrepresented founders. Backstage Capital’s Accelerator operated in London, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Detroit. Christie is a high-achieving mom, and hosts the live show Moms at Work, where she speaks on a weekly basis with people who are achieving amazing things while raising amazing humans. Christie is motivated by representation, and is dedicated to amplifying unheard stories in her work.Follow Us!Christie Pitts: @imchristiepittsMahmee: @joinmahmee, website hereVCs for Repro: @VCsforrepro, website hereErica Wenger: @erica_wengerDear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething

This week we chat with Steph Mui! In this episode, Steph and Erica talk about how Steph was an inventor/entrepreneur from a VERY early age (shoutout to her school system for encouraging it!) and why she accidentally fell into being a founder after starting a community-based fund at business school. She has an amazing story and she's just getting started!Steph is the founder of PIN (Power in Numbers), a VC-backed company that enables communities of people (including people from Stanford, YC, Coinbase, and more) to invest in startups together. She's passionate about enabling more people to become founders and startup investors by increasing access and education with PIN. She was formerly on the venture capital investing team at NEA and helped invest over $150M. She studied at Stanford GSB for her MBA and at UChicago for her BA in Economics. Follow Us!Steph Mui: @stephmuiPIN: @getpinxyz, website hereErica Wenger: @erica_wengerDear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething

This week we chat with Robbie Shattuck! Robbie Shattuck is the Founder & CEO of ATHOS Private Wealth, a multi-family office and premier financial services community for innovative venture-backed early-stage founders. ATHOS guides entrepreneurs and venture investors through the multiple stages of building their family offices by advising on estate planning, financial management, and other personal financial needs well before others are willing to work with them. Robbie is an active private investor, managing four hybrid venture funds and investing in dozens of venture funds, companies, real estate projects, web3 businesses, and private credit funds per year. Prior to founding ATHOS, Robbie was an early employee at ICONIQ Capital, an $80 billion+ multi-family office for the tech elite. Robbie managed $2 billion in assets and oversaw more than $20 billion in net worth for over a dozen family offices for some of the most influential minds of our lifetime. In Robbie’s career he has worked with the founders and CEOs of Twitter and Dropbox and helped guide them through some of their largest financial decisions. Before that, Robbie cut his teeth in his investment career at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. He graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah with a Bachelors Degree in Actuarial Science, and Minors in Business Management and Portuguese. Robbie’s greatest joys in life are spending time with his wife and three daughters and spending time outdoors, away from screens.In this episode, Robbie and Erica talk about Robbie's windy journey from a small town in NorCal to the wild world of managing money for billionaires. Robbie is open about the the mysterious world of family offices and tells us all the details behind why he decided to take the plunge and start his own multi-family office. So refreshing to hear from an investor who doubles as a founder! Enjoy!Follow Us!Robbie Shattuck: LinkedInATHOS Wealth website: hereErica Wenger: @erica_wengerDear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething

This week we chat with Dr. Catherine Chang! Dr. Catherine Chang, a board-certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon and craniofacial specialist, takes an uncommon approach to cosmetic surgery, combining artistry with technical expertise to produce the most natural, harmonious results. In her private practice at Privé Beverly Hills, Dr. Chang describes her work as “surgery that doesn’t look surgical.” She hides incisions to make them undetectable to the naked eye. She is a powerful female surgeon with an incredible roster of clients in an industry filled with men. In March 2023, Dr. Chang launched NakedBeauty MD with the debut product; Damask Rose Revitalizing Eye Masks, developed from her patients' need for a post-procedure regiment that would help heal the skin effectively. Since launch the eye masks have become a beauty authority favorite being used by names such as Hung Vanngo while working with Cara Delevingne during the 2023 Oscars. Dr. Chang earned degrees from Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard Medical School. She is also a student of art history, a concert pianist who performed at Carnegie Hall, and a competitive tennis player.In this episode, Dr. Chang and Erica talk about how she pivoted into the world of plastic surgery, what it's been like to grow two businesses - her own practice and her beauty line, and how the world of plastic surgery and beauty are interconnected. They also coincidentally recorded this episode on the same day Erica's sister was taking her medical boards in hopes of becoming a plastic surgeon herself, so good vibes were sent to her sister Danielle throughout!Twentysomethings, listen now for an hour of thought-provoking chats about becoming a physician with the inspiring, Dr. Catherine Chang!Follow Us!Dr. Catherine Chang Instagram: @catchangmdPrivé Beverly Hills website: hereNakedBeautyMD Instagram: @nakedbeautymdErica Wenger: @erica_wengerDear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething

This week we chat all things CRMs (aka customer relationship management platforms), with our host, Erica Wenger!It's hard to keep track of your personal and business contacts when you're meeting so many new people all the time. That's where a CRM comes in handy! You can keep track of all contacts with detailed notes, to do items, and all synced up with email, calendars, social platforms, and more.On this episode Erica offers the detailed walkthrough of how she uses her CRM platform, Close. For anyone kickstarting a fundraising process or just wanting to get a better handle on their contacts, this episode is for you!Follow Us!Erica Wenger: @erica_wengerDear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething

This week we chat with Dr. Shereene Idriss! Shereene is unlike her peers. In a time when top-name dermatologists have signed on as corporate-brand figureheads, joining in on false marketing hype to appear relevant, Dr. Idriss has become a household name for doing just the opposite. She rose to organic fame through her #PillowtalkDerm series on Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube for candidly speaking about skincare, sharing the science-based truth behind it all. In doing so, she amassed a following of 1 million+ “skin nerds” across IG, YT and TT, who called on her to create her very own skincare line minus any of the B.S. and with that, PillowtalkDerm was born. In this episode, the talk about what led to the start of Shereene’s world of dermatology. The two uncover stories from studying days, her journey to Tiktok, and the jumpstart that fueled her entrepreneurial approach to skincare! Conversations on challenges, choices, and determination are just the beginning…Twentysomethings, listen now for an hour of pure entrepreneurial spirit with the incredible, Dr. Shereene Idriss!Follow Us!Shereene Idriss Instagram: @shereeneidrissShereene Idriss Tiktok: @shereeneidriss & @pillowtalkdermShereene Idriss Youtube: @pillowtalkdermPillowtalkDerm: website hereErica Wenger: @erica_wengerDear Twentysomething: @deartwentysomething