The Two Percent

Anu chats with Female Founders Fund portfolio founder, Holly Whitaker of Tempest, a modern, digital approach to helping individuals change their relationship with alcohol. Holly shares her personal addiction story and what she saw missing from the existing sobriety landscape that inspired her to create her own holistic recovery plan. They dive deep into the challenges and advantages of building a product through personal experience, the unique societal pressures women face to drink alongside a growing sober-curious movement, the power of community and more. 

To kick off Season 2, Anu chats with Serena Williams, tennis champion, entrepreneur and founder of Serena Ventures, a fund with a mission of investing in early-stage companies that embrace diverse leadership, individual empowerment, creativity and opportunity. Serena shares what she is excited about as an investor, tips for investors looking to diversify their portfolios, the biggest lessons she learned as a founder, her entrepreneurial start selling donuts and much more!

Anu chats with Arlan Hamilton, founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, a fund that is dedicated to investing in high-potential founders who are traditionally underestimated and underrepresented in the VC world. Arlan shares her experience building a network, the impact she hopes to have on the ecosystem, areas she is excited about as an investor, what still surprises her in the industry and what it will take to change the status quo. They discuss investing in diversity as an alpha strategy, performative activism vs lasting change, investor FOMO, Arlan’s new venture and much more.

In this exclusive mini-episode, Anu chats with Melinda Gates, FFF limited partner and founder of Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company created to advance social progress in the United States. They discuss innovation outside the Silicon Valley bubble, her decision to invest in diverse founders and funders, her advice for LPs looking to improve diversity in the venture capital industry, and ways society might benefit from this change of strategy and perspective.

Anu sits down with Mariah Chase, CEO of Eloquii, the category defining fashion brand for women’s sizes 14-28 that is inspiring positive change through the transformative power of fashion. Mariah shares the ups and downs of spearheading the brand's revival, from what to do when the roof of your warehouse collapses to celebrating like Will Smith on launch day. They discuss her experience fundraising ahead of Eloquii’s four year acquisition by Walmart, tapping into the historical neglect of the plus-sized customer in the fastest growing market in fashion, and lessons she’s learned as a second time entrepreneur.

Anu chats with Female Founders Fund portfolio founder, Lisa Skeete Tatum of Landit, a personalized career pathing platform on a mission to democratize career success. They discuss the secret sauce to accelerating your career, a paradigm shift in mentorship, building a product for scale, and world domination. Lisa shares key advice for individuals, brands, entrepreneurs, and investors looking to unlock human potential and maximize professional development.

Anu sits down with Female Founders Fund portfolio founder, Jen Batchelor of Kin Euphorics, the first innovation in a 10,000 year long social drinking tradition. They dive deep into the growing “sober-curious” movement, her experience setting industry standards in a new category, building a brand consumers are passionate about, marrying concepts from Western and Eastern traditions, what it means to be well within, and reclaiming the meaning of the world euphoria.

Anu and Sima Sistani, founder and CEO of social group video app Houseparty, discuss everything from managing the enormous surge of coronavirus video demand and adding 50 million new users in 30 days, how the app has responded to consumer needs during lockdown, putting user safety above growth and monetization potential, the loneliness epidemic we are experiencing today, and what to do when you accidentally like your ex-boyfriends instagram.

Anu chats with Female Founders Fund portfolio founder and Scorpio, Banu Guler of Co-Star, an astrology app with a cult-like following among celebrities, millennials and Gen Z. They discuss what modern consumers are looking for in the next generation of social apps, creating a distinct voice and brand presence, how we talk about love around the world, COVID’s impact on the future of connection and more.

Anu and Anne Wojcicki, founder and CEO of 23andMe, discuss disrupting the drug development industry, COVID-19’s long term impact on digital health, bad-ass lesbian pirates, and why with data - there’s no such thing as taking a secret to the grave anymore.