Tiger Sisters

VC 101: How Venture Capital Really Works (No Finance Degree Needed)


Listen Later

🎯 This episode is sponsored by Read AI, a meeting co-pilot that takes notes, analyzes meeting sentiment, and shares smart next steps for you and your team. Try our favorite productivity tool for free for 30 days here: www.read.ai/tigersisters

👀Sign up for our newsletter: https://cherieluo.substack.com/

🎁 Win a $100 gift card — and help shape our next episodes: https://forms.gle/jJWK219wzztjRc8W9

💌 Want to partner with us? Sponsorships and brand deals: [email protected]

🧠 Think venture capital is just for tech bros and finance guys? Think again.

In this Tiger Sisters episode, we break down how venture capital really works — and how you can borrow the frameworks VCs use to make billion-dollar bets (and apply them to your own career, finances, and love life).

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲:

◦ What VCs actually do (explained in plain English)

◦ How investors evaluate startups — and how to evaluate yourself the same way

◦ Why venture capital is a power game, not just a money game

◦ The dark side of VC nobody talks about (and the pressure that comes with it)

◦ 3 frameworks you can steal from investors to level up your own life decisions

🎙️ Subscribe to Tiger Sisters on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube

📩 Fill out our listener survey (linked above!) for a chance to win a $100 gift card

Subscribe & tap the 🔔 so you never miss a new episode. And if you love it, drop a review and rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!


⏰ Timestamps

00:00:00 What even is venture capital?

00:01:14 Case studies from HBS, GSB & real angel deals

00:03:35 Pre-seed to Series E: The VC funding ladder 🪜

00:05:53 Airbnb’s $600K seed round to $100B IPO

00:09:40 How VCs really evaluate startups (3-part framework)

00:13:06 TAM: Total Addressable Market vs. actual market

00:14:29 Why VC is a power game (not just a money game)

00:17:48 Burn book of venture capital 😈

00:19:10 The real pressure that comes with raising VC money

00:21:23 The biggest mistake founders make, according to Stanford

00:26:07 3 ways to apply VC thinking to your own life

00:29:56 “I turned down Harvard Business School” 🤯

00:30:46 Your mini-exercise: Make the bet you’re scared to make


❤️ Check out this video's meeting report and transcript by Read AI: https://app.read.ai/analytics/meetings/01K04XRBE4G4HQ6Q0ATCSETWHY?utm_source=Share_Nav


🐯👯‍♀️ Tiger Sisters — Your Wall Street & Silicon Valley Big Sisters Decoding Money • Power • Love

✨ New episodes every Monday | Shorts all week ✨

What you’ll get (and keep):

▫️ 🚀 Ivy League Cheat Sheets – no $250K tuition required

▫️ Personal Finance Playbooks – salary jumps, investing, money psychology

▫️ Networking Scripts – behind $100M+ deals, job offers & VC intros

▫️ Real talk with unicorn founders, VCs, and billionaires

▫️ Mindset Resets – career clarity minus the pricey life coach

▫️ Fashion, Wellness, and Time Hacks that actually work

Why trust us?

▫️ Cherie Brooke Luo – 100M+ views demystifying big tech, finance & MBAs

▫️ Jean Luo – ex-Goldman, ex-Snapchat exec, 50+ AI patents, startup investor

▫️ Together: 4 Ivy degrees built billion-dollar product lines • two startups – decoded for you


💛 LET'S CONNECT:

~ CHERIE ~

🤳🏻 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cherie.brooke

📱 TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@cherie.brooke

✍🏻 My Substack – https://cherieluo.substack.com/

👩🏻‍💻 LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherie-luo/


~ JEAN ~

🤳🏻 Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jeanluo_/

👩🏻‍💻 LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanluo

🎵 Music by Sammy Signal: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2HsyknHuxhT8RoZfn5rqMS

🍵 Sisters Matcha & SISTERS Merch – www.sistersmatcha.com

🌀 Everything else – https://amzn.to/3z0dx5b

👀 Read AI's downloadable guide to Agentic AI and Generative AI: https://shop.beacons.ai/cherie.brooke/e60ea9c0-0630-4d48-81c6-70708b2c205c

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Tiger SistersBy Cherie Brooke Luo and Jean Luo

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

68 ratings


More shows like Tiger Sisters

View all
TED Talks Daily by TED

TED Talks Daily

11,182 Listeners

The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

The McKinsey Podcast

388 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,781 Listeners

TED Business by TED

TED Business

1,111 Listeners

hot pursuit by AsianBossGirl by Emily, Madelyn, Jen

hot pursuit by AsianBossGirl

1,514 Listeners

Eat Your Crust by Crystal Jiao, Jeesoo Kim

Eat Your Crust

216 Listeners

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques by Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

806 Listeners

No Stupid Questions by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

No Stupid Questions

3,657 Listeners

Coaching Real Leaders by Harvard Business Review / Muriel Wilkins

Coaching Real Leaders

665 Listeners

The Austin and Arthur Show by Austin and Arthur

The Austin and Arthur Show

25 Listeners

Business English from All Ears English by Lindsay McMahon

Business English from All Ears English

82 Listeners

Fixable by TED

Fixable

228 Listeners

HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Leadership

156 Listeners

CNN 10 by CNN Podcasts

CNN 10

50 Listeners

Hot Smart Rich by Maggie Sellers

Hot Smart Rich

88 Listeners