What To Look For In Early Stage Consumer Startups with Sara Thomas, Principal @ Maven Ventures

Sara is a seed-stage investor in consumer startups at Maven, where she works with 20+ companies in the Maven portfolio and manages the Maven mentor network. Prior to joining Maven, Sara ran early-stage startup programming at The Idea Village, an entrepreneurship engine in New Orleans. While at The Idea Village, she built and managed a team of over 40 employees, contractors, and mentors to deliver direct services to over 1,200 companies. An enthusiastic supporter of entrepreneurs, Sara launched her own business in 2014 to help founders and investors launch and build networks that help startups thrive. She shares some of these experiences in her TEDx talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uR4-aEk5lQ). In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Sara made her way into the world of tech and investing? 2.) What does Sara believe is the most important value add to startups and portfolio companies? How can investors differentiate themselves from fellow angels? 3.) What does Sara make of the importance of startups for being located in a tech hub? Does it really matter? What are the disadvantages, what are the advantages? How does it affect startup valuations? 4.) What are the determinants of a successful incubator? How can incubators differentiate themselves in the sea of incubators on the west coast? 5.) How can entrepreneurs learn to not get confused and disheartened by the famous investor whiplash? Is it right to hear feedback and not react to it? 6.) What does Sara believe is the optimal way for angels and incubators to act? How can angels get the most from the accelerator process? 7.) What Sara make of Sam Altman’s famous incubator hopping essay, where do Maven stand with regards to multiple accelerator startups? Items Mentioned In Today’s Show: Fave book and why: The Alchemist Fave Blog or Newsletter: Mattermark Daily Most recent investment and why you said yes: HomeMade As always, you can learn more about SyndicateRoom here: www.syndicateroom.com and see Sara's latest tweets here: www.twitter.com/saraannet