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Q&A With New Hires at f7 Ventures
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By Marc Vartabedian, WSJ Pro
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Good day. San Francisco-based f7 Ventures, a pre-seed and seed firm launched in 2019, recently hired for two jobs that aren’t normal fixtures at venture firms: executive in residence and chief of staff.
To serve as executive in residence, f7 hired Emma Rodgers, who spent 11 years at Facebook and Meta Platforms. The firm hired Kaley Sirak Harder as its chief of staff. Harder previously spent eight years with the U.S. Air Force Special Operations.
Seven female ex-Facebook leaders, including general partners Kelly Graziadei and Joanna Lee Shevelenko, founded f7 as an angel firm. The firm invests out of a $50 million fund and has made 37 investments since April 2021.
WSJ Pro spoke with Rodgers and Sirak Harder about their roles. Here are edited excerpts of the interview.
WSJ Pro: Explain your role and function and how it will benefit f7 in a way that other firms are missing out on.
Rodgers: I led commercial and product teams [at Meta/Facebook] and building from zero to one and scaling so as I look to partner with founders and advise founders, I'll be going deep with them on helping to find product-market fit, providing counsel on go-to-market strategy and brand building and then I will also be thinking about how we can scale this type of support across the f7 portfolio.
Sirak Harder: Firm building is my focus area. So working on operational organization as well as scaling at the f7 level. And what that looks like, more of my day-to-day would be working within a management strategy as well as figuring out event organization.
WSJ Pro: How will your background help you in your current role?
Rodgers: I'm really passionate about building and so as I was thinking about my next chapter and planning for my next chapter, getting closer to the startup ecosystem, is something that is really energizing for me. I had had the opportunity during my time at Facebook to work alongside a number of the operators of f7.
Sirak Harder: As I was transitioning out of the military there was an internship program for veterans transitioning into the tech community. So luckily, I met up with Kelly and Joanna and they took a chance on me and I interned with f7 a couple years back and that was my first foray into VC. In the military, I was in Special Operations for eight years and some of that was as an intelligence analyst and leader and then also some of that was as an advisor. That relates more to the consulting type of work and getting to see scaling when we're working with partner nation countries, or partner nations’ military forces, and figuring out how to like, responsibly grow things as well as manage both the team of consultants as well as working with our counterparts and ensuring that everyone stays on track.
WSJ Pro: What effect is the current VC climate having on your work?
Sirak Harder: There are a lot of big tailwinds going on. Looking at the future of work, for example, it's cool to see the startups that are building and also the VC opportunities in how the workforce is changing.
Rodgers: Thinking about the value that I will add to the f7 portfolio—it's more important than ever for founders to have clarity and a path to revenue growth and a clear business plan.
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And now on to the news...
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ILLUSTRATION: EMIL LENDOF/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ISTOCK
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AI hiring law. It has been six months since New York City began enforcing the nation’s first law requiring companies to disclose how algorithms influence their hiring decisions. So far, disclosures are rare, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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The law requires employers that use software to assist with hiring and promotion decisions—including chatbot interviewing tools and résumé scanners that look for keyword matches—to audit those tools annually for potential race and gender bias, and then publish the results on their websites.
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Eighteen of nearly 400 employers analyzed in a new study had posted the information as of earlier this month, according to researchers at Cornell University.
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38001.81
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Gains in everything from technology heavyweights to Goldman Sachs shares on Monday pushed the Dow past 38000 for the first time.
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WeWork Wrestles to Amend Leases as Landlords Seek Clarity on Restructuring Plan
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WeWork entered bankruptcy looking to reject or amend leases that were fueling billions of dollars in losses at the flexible-workspace company. But more than two months into chapter 11, WeWork remains saddled with hundreds of leases that are straining its finances, WSJ Pro reports. The company has managed to reduce at least 16% or $3.7 billion of its long-term lease expenses through rejections and amendments, according to interviews with WeWork officials and its financial statements.
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WeWork received court approval to reject dozens of leases since filing for bankruptcy in early November. But the company is looking to stay in many of its locations with better terms, and the threat of lease rejections has motivated landlords to come to the table to negotiate.
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Google Cloud Eliminates a Switching Cost
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A decision by Google’s cloud-computing unit to eliminate certain data fees highlights ongoing complexities of cloud pricing as businesses seek to cut tech costs, WSJ reports. The move coincides with greater regulatory oversight of cloud competition, but may not go far enough to satisfy some critics. Google Cloud this month removed fees customers pay to move their data out of its cloud platform and into another provider or a data center—becoming the first among major cloud providers to do so.
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Amer Sports, the company behind sporting goods brands including Arc'teryx, has filed for an IPO. PHOTO: JEENAH MOON/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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The IPO market has two big tests coming up. Many bankers are hoping for a healthy IPO market in 2024. This week and next will be big tests to see if this yearslong dream may become a reality, WSJ reports. BrightSpring, a health-services company backed by private-equity firm KKR, is set to start trading Friday, people familiar with the matter say. Next week, Amer Sports, the maker of Wilson tennis rackets and Arc'teryx apparel, plans to list shares.
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Funds
London and Tallinn-based venture firm Plural raised €400 million, or about $435 million, for its second fund to invest in early-stage companies in AI, frontier tech, climate tech and other sectors. The firm was founded in 2022 by partners who were previously startup operators, including Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of payments company Wise.
Toronto-based climate-tech venture firm ArcTern Ventures secured $335 million for Fund III from limited partners including TD Bank Group, Allianz, Church Pension Group, OPTrust, and Credit Suisse Asset Management. The firm typically invests in Series A and B rounds and evaluates potential greenhouse gas emissions of businesses before investing. It invests in North America and Europe.
People
Aibidia, a transfer pricing and cross-border business management startup, appointed Matthias Grabellus to the post of chief product officer. He was previously at Celonis and SAP.
Data observability platform Bigeye appointed Eleanor Treharne-Jones as chief operating officer. She was previously chief executive officer of Kensu.
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Vertice, an integrated SaaS and cloud spend management platform, collected $25 million in Series B funding from Bessemer Venture Partners and others. The company has offices in London and New York.
Ansel, a New York-based insurance tech startup, raised a $20 million round of funding led by Portage, with participation from Two Sigma Ventures and others.
Doppel, a San Francisco-based AI digital risk protection company, raised a $14 million Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Strategic Cyber Ventures and others.
Cyrano Therapeutics, a Delray Beach, Fla.-based startup developing treatments for smell loss, fetched $9 million in Series B funding from investors including Lumira Ventures.
Erie Strategic Ventures, the venture arm of Erie Insurance, said it has made three new investments: Wagmo, Roots Automation and Trust & Will. Wagmo sells pet-wellness and pet-insurance products designed for employers. Roots Automation uses artificial intelligence and other tools to automate manual processes for claims, underwriting and insurance operations. Trust & Will is an online digital estate-planning and settlement platform that helps individuals establish an estate plan or navigate probate. Erie Strategic Ventures, launched in August 2022, invests in the personal and commercial-insurance value chain and in adjacent markets, the firm said.
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Yangwang, a BYD brand, makes an electric vehicle that resembles a Lamborghini. PHOTO: IMAGO/ZUMA PRESS
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