Ariana Thacker (Founding Partner @ Conscience VC) on raising a first-time fund
Fundraising is a game of endurance.
Peacocking: standing out in the most authenticate way you know how
Find creative ways to grow an audience —> unlock more opportunities
On LinkedIn, many people select “self-employed”. Ariana owned this page and authenticated all of these followers and rolled them into Conscience’s following.
The intersection of science and consumer is underserved.
Consumer allows you to get immediate signals. There are no internal startup competitions. More clear signals.
Helping founders close rounds quickly is one of the best ways to build good will with the founder community.
Some deal breakers when evaluating founders: a lack of integrity, lack of passion, lack of confidence
Understanding founder psychology is incredibly important at the earliest stages. Understanding a founder is 70% of the diligence process.
“VC is one big game of telephone.” People talk so make sure that you are memorable when you get a first impression.
Doing your diligence before a call make you memorable to those you connect with.
Overdeliver and people will keep bringing opportunities to you.
Decompressing is critical in order to separate work from life. Ariana does this by matchmaking, writes poetry, and listening to obscure musical artists.
Fund I is for parents, Fund II is for me, Fund III is for everybody else.
Changing your time horizon changes your perspective.
More time in the process = more work going into the pass email.
How do you take action? Create something that adds value and opportunities will come to you.
