In this episode, guest host Venkatesh Shankar sits down with Forerunner Ventures Partner Nicole Johnson to discuss the state of venture capitalism, the trends she's seeing in the DTC and DNVB space, and what she looks for in an executive team when seeking out new potential investments.

About the guest: Nicole is a partner at Forerunner Ventures, a leading commerce-focused venture capital firm that supports trailblazing companies like Chime, Dollar Shave Club, Faire, Glossier, Away, Warby Parker, The Yes, Curated, and dozens more.

Prior to Forerunner, Nicole worked with SapientNitro, a leading brand and digital strategy consultancy where she supported Fortune 500 retailers on their global retail strategies. Nicole is a graduate of Princeton University and was named one of Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 in 2016.

About the host: Venkatesh (Venky) Shankar is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer, a Professor of Marketing and Coleman Chair in Marketing and Director of Research at the Center for Retailing Studies, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University. Shankar has a Ph.D. in marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University and has corporate experience in the areas of marketing and international business development.

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