Career Cheat Code
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Career Cheat Code
071 | A Career in Venture Capital with Christian McKenzie
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Christian McKenzie shares her experiences and insights from the venture capital world, explaining the risks and rewards of investing in startups. The episode highlights her journey from the fashion industry to venture capital, the importance of networking, and how supporting entrepreneurs goes beyond just funding.
• Exploring the nature of venture capital and its high-risk, high-reward dynamics
• Discussing how Lofty Ventures supports startups beyond investment
• Identifying ideal profiles for entrepreneurs seeking funding
• Networking strategies and relationship-building in venture capital
• Navigating personal journeys and adapting career paths
• The role of compensation in venture capital and long-term investment strategies
• Emphasizing the importance of diverse perspectives in entrepreneurship
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Host - Radhy Miranda
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My parents are preachers. They met in seminary and, you know, my dad immigrated here from Jamaica for school and so, you know, like most immigrant parents, you know, my dad is like, yeah, I need you to be a doctor or, you know, go into computer programming. And I was not interested in any of those. So I kind of wanted to prove him wrong, like I can make a living, you know, in fashion, which they didn't think I could. And so it was kind of like, you know, going into the green and saying, ok, I want to take care of myself. They're not going to support me going into fashion. I have to figure it out.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Career Cheat Code. In this podcast, you'll hear how everyday people impact the world through their careers. Learn about their journey, career hacks and obstacles along the way. Whether you're already having the impact you want or are searching for it, this is the podcast for you. All right, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 1:Thanks.
Speaker 2:How are you doing today?
Speaker 1:Good, you know I'm not much of a fall person, I prefer summer. But you know it'll be okay, Awesome.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm happy to get you on the show today and, you know, let's just dive right in, let's tell the world what it is you do for a living.
Speaker 1:For sure. I'm Christian McKenzie. I am the director of a fund called Lofty Ventures, so we're based in Chicago and we invest in early stage startups. We're a generalist fund, so any industry, we invest across industries. Just they need to be pre-seed to seed stage and be based in Chicago preferably, but we've also made some bets in the Midwest. I manage those deals. We also do a ton of programming. We have free classes for people who want to break into angel investing. We have an angel syndicate so we can spin those up. If people want to invest in companies, either, you know, send us deals or make individual investments themselves. And you know, we host networking events, we host off sites. So we kind of do a lot of things, I think, for you know a company in this space. But yeah, I've been in venture for a few years. It's my third career, but I enjoy it Awesome.
Speaker 2:So what does that mean to be in venture capital world, right Like, how does your day look, how does your week look like, what are you looking for and how are you able to connect with some of the organizations that are looking for some of this funding?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So venture capital is it's high risk, high return kind of investing right. So it's kind of for people who already have a well-balanced portfolio and want to add something different in. This is kind of like super high risk, super high return, so you could lose all of your money. You can make it rich. It's kind of runs the gambit.
Speaker 1:And so what we do is we scout privately held small companies in the startup space, so usually tech backed right. So a software company is normally what we invest in and with that investment we build a relationship with the founder. So we help them along the way with any support we can provide, whether it's introducing them to other investors, getting them some specialists to help them, maybe with sales or operations or some of their legal needs. That's kind of the support we provide and the goal is to help them get to a bigger stage so that they're ready for bigger companies right. A growth stage venture capital fund that makes bigger bets than we do. Our average check size is 100K into a company. So once they get to the size where they need a million dollars or $5 million and they're following that path, the end goal is either being acquired or going public. So either getting acquired by another company or a private equity firm or IPO-ing, and when they hit that exit, that's when everybody who invested in the company gets their return.
Speaker 1:So that's an ideal exit. But you know it's high risk. Most startups fail and so if it fails you lose all of your money. So it's a very specific asset class. But it's exciting because you get to bet on people's dreams, right? A lot of people. When we meet them, they just have an idea. I don't think you can necessarily make your idea happen without some support. You know it doesn't have to be venture capital, it could be loans, it could be crowdfunding, but it's exciting to play a role in getting something off the ground.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and this is, you know, as you said, high risk, high reward, but also kind of has to be a little patient right. Like this capital should not be expecting a return within a few months. How long do you typically see for some of these organizations to start turning some returns?
Speaker 1:On average, people wait about 10 years for their venture capital investments to actually show some sign of you know some financial event that they can benefit from. So since I'm three years into this career, I have not personally made bets that I've had exits. Not big exits actually would be more accurate. So, yeah, it's the long game and it's for people who, you know, have a little extra cash to do something, I guess, exciting with or a little more risky, a little more you know, I don't know dramatic, because you know obviously a safer thing is the stock market.
Speaker 1:This is not the place you go to like put your money and keep it safe. This is a place you go because you want to be part of something that could be big.
Speaker 2:That makes sense. So tell me more about some of these additional supports. Right, so it's not just the funding. Tell me more about some of the support that you all provide or work with the entrepreneurs on.
Speaker 1:I would say me personally. I think my one of my superpowers is networking. So I've had people approach me and say I need help with I need a general manager, I need a chief of staff, I need someone to do content and marketing, helping them locate those people and hire them. You know, and maybe it's fractional at first until they have enough money to bring them on full time, we can help them with their hiring needs. Outside of that, you know, helping introduce them to other investors that are early stage and looking to work with early stage companies. Also getting them just like access right If they need clients, if they need to be put in front of more people that could use their service or product. We do that as well. And you know kind of standard things most firms offer are AWS credits or you know an opportunity to use HR software at a fraction of the fee you normally would. Those are the type of things we can also lend to entrepreneurs if they need it.
Speaker 2:So what's your kind of ideal type of profile? Right, If I'm an entrepreneur listening to this, how do I know if I should contact Christian?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean we like to be the first check-in, so we like being contacted super early. I would say someone who kind of knows a venture capital is right for them. Which would you know? To make it clear they have some sales, they have some customers. They've been, you know, at it for probably at least a year. They're reaching product market fit, which means that you know, sometimes you launch something and it's very hard to find the right customer, it's very hard to find the right niche. Right, you are marketing your service to people in Kentucky, but really New Yorkers are the ones that like it more. Right, like finding all of that out. You're at like a turning point where you have identified those things and really you know you've exhausted all of your options to make it grow and you just the capital is really what's holding you back and you can explain the business case as to why that's a good time to contact someone like us.
Speaker 2:How are you also then proactively finding some entrepreneurs, like in the tech space, right? Is this going to conferences? Is this like hosting events?
Speaker 1:Like, how do you, how do you just find folks out there? I would say we, um, we don't struggle to find companies to invest in, to be honest, but we do do a little of the networking, just, you know, to make sure we're not overlooking, um, anybody who would be a good fit. So we do speaking engagements, we sponsor events. Last weekend, a company called Event New War, which we haven't invested in but we have a great relationship with, hosted a curator summit, and so I moderated a panel. Lofty Ventures sponsored that event just to kind of get in front of people building cool things. So we do some of that outreach and we also host our own events.
Speaker 1:Last, well, no, I'm thinking we're in 2025, but we're still in 2024. Last, well, no, I'm thinking we're in 2025, but we're still in 2024. Over the summer, we had a glamping retreat for founders and investors, and so it was three days at OffMap, which is a glamping location we invested in, and so we took people out there. We had a former contestant from three survivors. Do survivor theme challenges, just do some bonding, do you know? Have some fun and get to know some new people. So we definitely do stuff like that, um, as well.
Speaker 2:Okay. So it seems like a a really kind of two-way communication that happens, where you all are either hosting or, uh, joining events where folks are already gathering, um, and also just having a call for call for folks to contact you all. Tell me, how'd you get into the venture capital space?
Speaker 1:That was. I would not recommend doing it the way I did it. It took a very long time. I think it took about five years for me to do so.
Speaker 1:So my background is fashion retail. I was a buyer, so I was selecting products to go in stores and I really loved working with entrepreneurs and getting to know their story and getting to help them. But you know, when you're in a corporate job, you just kind of have that one role and so I was like, okay, I gotta do something different. And one of the speakers was an executive coach and I said, hey, I have a big idea, can you help me with that? And he's like, absolutely. So I worked with him to this day.
Speaker 1:But what we did was I pivoted to a startup in the retail space because I was like, if I don't have tech experience, who's going to take me seriously as an investor if I've never actually worked for a startup? And then I went to work for Meta in New York, specifically on consumer accounts, which was aligned with my background. And then I applied to business school. I went to NYU Stern unfortunately, unfortunately during the pandemic. So I had six months in person and then a year and a half remote. And then, after I graduated, I landed a role at an institutional fund called Red State Adventures and I was there for two years and I joined Lofty about six months ago, got it.
Speaker 2:So just to make sure I understand that path right. So did you go into business school knowing that you wanted to get into venture capital, or did you have another goal in mind?
Speaker 1:I was going to kind of upskill and make that pivot. So I went with the intention like I want to be in venture capital and I'm using this opportunity to intern. I had probably about five internships at funds when I was in business school to intern, to build that case, to focus on the skills that I would need to be in venture. That was, you know, like the number, the main goal.
Speaker 2:Did you know someone in the space or like what kind of planted that seed for you to think that this was a space that made sense for you?
Speaker 1:Loosely. I have a family friend who went into venture Very different story than me and he did it after going to business school as well. He went to Kellogg and he has his own funds in the suburbs of Chicago. So like I had exposure to like high net worth individuals who went into it. I am not a high net worth individual, I'm a child of an immigrant. I didn't grow up with excess in that way to kind of launch my own thing. So I did have exposure but it was nothing like it is today. Like Shark Tank wasn't a big deal, you know, it wasn't fuzzy and cool. There weren't a ton of people that looked like me launching funds when I went into it. So I think I just I knew like something was happening and I wanted to be a part of it in that space and so I think I actually pivoted at a really good time, because I think it would be much harder for me to get it now than it was when I did break in.
Speaker 2:Do you have advice for folks that are looking to break in today?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think what worked for me and a lot of my friends that were bringing in venture at the same time is having great deal flow and sending those deals to funds. So, just to take a step back, the bread and butter of every venture capital fund is having access to really great deals and the top tier firms. They get exclusive access. Grads straight out of Stanford or dropouts who launch something very cool through their networks already, but they're obviously you know, that is one I don't know prototype that people try to. It's called pattern matching. They try to say, okay, a lot of Stanford dropouts had unicorns, let's go after Stanford dropouts or grads. But that doesn't that means it could be overlooking a ton of other people, right?
Speaker 1:So if you are following, you know the Entrepreneurship Center on your campus or you are talking to maybe economic development corporations and resources like in your local, your county, your city, and you can say, hey, I think this deal would be a good fit for you guys, you want to take a look at it. That means something and that resonates with people. If you're sending them good deals, that's a good way to get the conversation started. Like, hey, I can scout, I don't work here, I don't have the resources to go to every single conference or be in every room I need to be in, but I'm doing what I can. So I think that is a way to kind of start the conversation.
Speaker 1:Get internships or, you know, get a, get a. It's called a venture scout If you want to do that just for a fund as a freelancer, so that really helps. And I think also, building your personal brand matters more than ever. So writing articles, you know, doing thought pieces, letting people know what you think, if you have a unique perspective, you know, or a take on a sector or a movement or a trend, I think that could definitely help build your credibility in this space and people will start seeing it was. You know. This is a great resource for us. We should consider, you know, bringing them on or working with them in some capacity.
Speaker 2:What's your favorite part of your role?
Speaker 1:The networking, the meeting new people, the hearing about their hopes and dreams, the rush, when you know the excitement, that you see that they're really excited about solving a problem. Or you know, I think we try to at our fund. We prefer to work with people who are solving a problem, that they have not trying to get rich or become famous, because they just kind of can't sleep until that problem is solved, right, like just anything that bothers you and you're just like up day and night, like I got to make sure I have a solution for this thing. Those are the people we kind of love to work with and so just the excitement and the rush and just helping, trying to play a role in helping them get there, I think is the part I like. The most.
Speaker 2:That makes a lot of sense. What is the most challenging part of your?
Speaker 1:role. I would say maybe difficult people who are unnecessarily difficult, right Like we're here to help. And I've definitely met people who feel entitled to work with us or demand money from us, or you know it's not a reciprocal relationship, it's they're not going into it thinking, okay, they want to be helpful and I also you know it goes both ways We've met people who just kind of want the money but don't want to really tell us what's going on with the company or work with us or be transparent. You know it's really hard to make an investment in a company if you don't actually know how the company's doing, and so I guess managing those expectations and trying to find really great people to work with I think is rare. So if you run into somebody who doesn't really want to work with you and doesn't want it to be a two-way relationship, that kind of is not my favorite part, but it happens.
Speaker 2:In venture capital right. As someone that is part of a fund like this, how does someone like you make money in the interim right I know you mentioned? Typically it's about 10 years before a successful exit or some returns start coming back into the fund. So how does someone like you continue to be employed or continue to make money in the interim between year one and nine?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So just like most desk jobs, you have a salary right that comes out of management fees. So you know you do have compensation while you're waiting to for the investments to pan out. So that's how you would support yourself. But you know, I think another thing that you have to keep in mind is that you know you are investing other people's money right. So if you don't perform well, people won't give you money for your next fund and your next fund, because you have a certain amount of time that you deploy that capital and then it's gone and then you have to fundraise Again.
Speaker 1:Our model is a little different. We function more like a family office. So that just means that we're not necessarily going out and asking people for money. We have like a family that we represent and we invest their money. But in most funds, like an institutional fund, you have to kind of make those numbers to get to the next level and people aren't going to work in no matter who you are. People don't want to work with you if you don't have the great returns right. If they're losing money working with you, they're not going to keep working with you. So I guess that's a motivator. If you're motivated by stress. You always have to keep that in mind. It's not oh great, I got this job, I can just sit here for 10 years. No, you have to perform or this company will cease. So it's not like I'm doing it for free, out of the goodness of my heart, and I can only get paid if the bets do well. But we can only stay in business if the investments do well.
Speaker 2:That makes sense. So you have your salary. Are there additional financial incentives if some of the investments pan out really well?
Speaker 1:Yes, so, based on you know, whatever percentage equity you take in a company, depending on how well it does, you know, ideally, you'd want a 10X your investment rate. That's how a lot of the big funds continue to exist and have billions of dollars of assets under management because they betted on something that did really, really well. I think it's just waiting for those bets to do well.
Speaker 2:That makes sense. Yeah, so it sounds like as an organization or as a fund, the fund definitely makes the additional returns. I think what I'm hearing also is as the person who found the deal. There's also some upside to you as an employee of the organization to continue to find some good fits.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I would say that back to the venture scouting that I mentioned. If I were an outside venture scout and not a full-time employee with my company, venture scouts also should get a cut of the deal if it does well. So there are other levers. I don't know if lever is the right word, but there's other things you can tap into for compensation.
Speaker 2:That makes a lot of sense and I think accordingly. So you're out there finding the right folks. People shift jobs and everything, but for the most part if you're the folks that are actually bringing in good deals, there should be some incentives for that. So that makes a lot of sense. So how much money can someone make in this type of field, in venture capital generally?
Speaker 1:Like salary ranges. I guess it depends on what level you're at. I think entry level. I think you should expect a hundred K when you're moving up to, you know, associate, senior associate the range is wide, that could be. You know, your associate, the range is wide. That could be, you know, $125,000 to $250,000. But again, you know, I think this isn't a job that you can just sit at for forever. If you don't return the fund and have a profit, you can't raise a second fund. So I think that's probably why the compensation structure is that way. And then I would say most of the people I know that are entry level don't get carry, which is a percentage of the deal, but once you're higher up you get carry. So that's the additional incentive. Right, the base is that salary, but if the deal pans out, then you get a percentage of equity in the company and that's, I think, where you could make more money potentially, because you know you put in $10,000 and they have a 10x, you know 10 times that you could walk home with.
Speaker 2:So I know earlier you mentioned starting a career. More on the buyer side of things Would love to hear about how did you even get there right? So tell me, where'd you grow up, where were you born, what was your upbringing like and what did you want to be when you were like 15 years old?
Speaker 1:It's going to sound very shallow and silly. I loved fashion my whole life. I lived for prom and dressing up and, just you know, I did some modeling. You know nothing big. And so I was like I need to live in New York City, I need to work in fashion.
Speaker 1:So, from New Jersey, my parents are preachers, they met in seminary and you know, my dad immigrated here from Jamaica for school and so, you know, like most immigrant parents, you know, my dad is like yeah, I need you to be a doctor or go into computer programming, and I was not interested in any of those. So I kind of wanted to prove him wrong. I can make a living in fashion, which they didn't think I could. And so it was kind of like going into the green and saying, ok, I have to take care of myself, they're not going to support me going into fashion, I have to figure it out. So I went to Spelman College in Atlanta for undergrad and the school across the street, clark Atlanta, had a fashion major program. So once I finished my core classes, I was taking classes across the street as elective credits, and when the recruiters came to campus that were from New York and with retail, you know I should. I signed up for every interview and you know I got an offer from Macy's in New York and I was like, yeah, I'm in, that's exactly where I need to be, I'm in the right city, that's what I want to do and it was I didn't know it at the time right, I was just trying to get to New York.
Speaker 1:It turned out to be a wonderful experience, training wise A lot of retailers have training programs, but at the time Macy's was known as having one of the best ones. So I think for about three months I went into it, became a trainee and it was a rotational program, so you shadowed store managers, you work with buyers, learn retail math. You went on buying appointments, which means you go to like a brand showroom and see what their collection is coming out and how you make those decisions based on trend reports or based on previous sales. So I really think I got like a really great crash course in breaking in for free, because I picked, you know, to work for Macy's and I served for five years. So it was a great foundation, you know allowed me to be in New York and go to fashion week and volunteer and attend events and network, and you know I sat on junior boards of organizations that supported the arts, so that's that's how I started, not knowing I would end up here, but you know it was an experience I really loved.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. So Jersey, originally Atlanta, so Spelman for school and then back to New York. So what then brings you to Chicago? How'd you end up there?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I think I am at the stage in life where, to your point, when you're 15, what do you want? And I was like New York and fashion, and you know, when you're no longer 15, and you know all your money is eaten up with rent, just to be in New York, it just kind of feels. It didn't feel like I want it to sacrifice my retirement and being comfortable just to say I live in New York anymore. It was. It was purely just like I had just kind of moved on to okay, how do you get smarter? You know, if you want to be able to angel invest, if you want to be able to go to conferences and have new experiences, you have to have extra money to do that. And I just didn't think I could do that in New York at the time.
Speaker 1:So purely it was, you know, looking for a major city, looking for a nice quality of life and looking for the ability to have money to do interesting things. With All of this exposure I have to entrepreneurs and investors who really, in their free time they're building something in addition to the day job they have. They're working with their friends to create professional development groups and services, and I couldn't do that with if I didn't have extra cash. So I said, you know, where else could I thrive? And Chicago has turned out to be, you know, a really good choice for me. And also you know that first job I got after business school was in Michigan, so I was kind of learning the Midwest and you know where I might want to live or where I might want to build a life. So you know, that's where I am now.
Speaker 2:You know it's interesting because when you look at just purely what you want to do when you were 15 to where you are now, they seem pretty far apart. But when you walk us through the story it actually makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1:I'm glad it does to you Tell, please can I have you call my family. Because, they're still worried about me, definitely.
Speaker 2:That's great. That's great. No, I think there's definitely a theme there, and you became an entrepreneur to some of that as well, and now being on the other end of also kind of supporting entrepreneurs is just, you know, I think it definitely. There is a theme there, there is a thread and something that makes it all make sense. Are there any books, podcasts, forms of media that you've consumed that have helped shape you personally or professionally that you just think people should check this out?
Speaker 1:It's hard to pick one. I definitely love to read and love Audible. I guess some of the classics for me that I probably pick up every few years and read again and again are the Richest man in Babylon or the Alchemist, because I think when I don't, I read for information, not for entertainment, so they're really nerdy and boring. But the common thread between the two is, you know, your life journey is not linear, right, and if you get too hyper-focused on a specific outcome and a specific way to get there, you miss life, and so and they, they have an undercurrent of, like you know, building wealth and and just, you know, basic things that you can do to kind of prepare for a future.
Speaker 1:But really it's about, like, learning to just allow the journey, you to be led on a journey, and not be so prescriptive about how it looks, and that I find that comforting because I think you know, I feel like I've had a lot of lives right, when you're a childhood immigrant and you really only have enough to like you have a roof over your head and food to eat, but you might not have enough to like go to the best school in the world or, you know, go to France with your friends for fun, right Like you get creative and you might feel like, oh, why don't I have that?
Speaker 1:Or that's holding me back from where I want to be. You're not allowing yourself to be open, to be surprised by a different way to get there. You know, I've had a lot of people kind of look out for me and do things I didn't expect and got me places I never thought I would be, and so those books remind me of that. And then I can't say I listen to a lot of podcasts but there's like one or two sub stacks that I'm like that's pretty good.
Speaker 1:I can't say a lot of people's are a lot of people's you know and just kind of like stuff I already know or already heard. I want to say it's called Feed Me is my favorite one right now. It's like a fashion journalist but she has like she covers politics, culture, all the things, and that one I like. Every time I read it I'm like I'm so glad I like came across this. But Emily Sunderberg, feed Me is her subsect, so yeah.
Speaker 2:Are there any career hacks or career cheat codes that you feel like you've acquired or mastered along the way that you're like if folks knew this earlier, they would do this or they should consider doing this.
Speaker 1:I feel like I'm a little proud of, like my cold email game. It's you know iterations of it. But there are two things I still do if I'm trying to get in front of somebody that I'm having difficulty getting in touch with. One is you know, sometimes you go to a conference and you can't make it to every single breakout session or every single you know speech. You know, either you can't afford the ticket to go to those or it was just there was a conflict in all the things you want to go to, and so sometimes what I'll do is like, oh man, I wish I could have gotten in front of that person. I will go on LinkedIn, even though I think they might be doing away with the hashtags, but I'll click the hashtag from the conference and I will look up that person, like what their, how their panel went, what were some of the takeaways, what people are posting about it, and you know I'll message them and I'll be like hey, I saw this conference, I saw that you spoke. I'm so sorry I missed it. These are some of the things I took away just from based on the LinkedIn conversations about it. It sounded impactful. Do you mind if I do a follow-up with you just to get the information. I didn't have a chance to get it and I'm so sorry it was scheduled at this time and I was in this room, but I promise I was there just personalizing it.
Speaker 1:I get a lot of cold messages that are just like hi, we have things in common and we know people in common. Do you want to chat for 30 minutes? And I'm like, oh my God, I get those like five a day. There's no way I can just chat with random people because they feel like it Right, like tell me why, tell me what I can do for you, tell me what you're trying to get at specifically and I can opt in or not. So that's kind of worked for me. And then I tell this to like my mentees all the time. I'm a mentor with this organization called Gen Z VCs for people who want to break into venture and are early in their career. A lot of people aren't going to turn down a speaking engagement. Right, that's free press for them.
Speaker 1:So say I did this when I was at Stern. I created a series of fireside chats with venture capitalists in the specific industries I wanted to work in with one of our entrepreneurship centers and I moderated them and so my name is now aligned with GPs of funds and so that allowed me to have the conversation, to get internships, to get in front of them, to network with them, to get introductions. So I would say, be thoughtful and have something to offer and not just say, hey, I want your time, just because I want it. To say this is why I want your time, this is why I could feel it was beneficial and I did my research before even reaching out to you, so you don't even have to fill in the blanks. I'm going to actually ask some kind of hard hitting questions because I know who I'm talking to and I know what I want to talk about.
Speaker 2:These are some great cheat codes. I appreciate that, and it also goes back to the networking piece of your role being your favorite part. It all comes together when you give away the cheat code, so that's helpful. Thank you, yeah. Is there anything else we haven't discussed that the world should know about? Christian?
Speaker 1:I think I'm in a stage where I'm getting in touch with my roots and allowing that to kind of be shared outwardly. So you know, not that I was ever like embarrassed by who I was, but I just never talked about being Jamaican or being the child of an immigrant. And, depending on where your family's from or you know what you guys are going through, some families ask you to assimilate right, and so an example of that is that my, the dialect of Jamaica, is Patois, and my father never spoke it in front of me as a kid because he wanted me to speak proper English, and you know not have any issues with my pronunciation or you know being treated a certain way based on how I pronounce things, and you know, I think I can't speak Patois today, which I wish I could, and I actually, you know, have like a text. It's like an app that changes my text back and forth from Patois, just to like send my friends who are also Jamaican, and so I'm leaning into my heritage a little more. That being said, so now when it's Caribbean American Heritage Month, I post about all of the people in the venture and startup space who are of Caribbean descent, just if you want to follow them or learn more about us.
Speaker 1:I host a dinner party series for investors. It wasn't Caribbean specific at first, but the more people I talked in the space are like I didn't know that about you. That's really cool. It's like huh, maybe we should have like a Caribbean VC event. So I'm hosting one coming up soon with people that I've been sharing about who I am and my journey, which has been kind of fun. And then in Chicago, which you know obviously doesn't have as large a Korean population as the East coast, I've had to go out of my way to find great Jamaican food or make friends with my same background and I have like a little crew now we have a group chat and we go to movies and we have dinner parties and it's been a fun thing that I never leaned into, but I am now and it just makes you know Chicago feel a little more like home. It's not New Jersey or New York, but it's still a special place and so that's been fun.
Speaker 2:Thank you for joining us on Career Cheat Code today. I really appreciate your time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did and believe on the mission we're on, please like, rate and subscribe to this podcast on whatever platform you're using, and share this podcast with your friends and your networks. Make sure you follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn at Career Cheat Code and tell us people or careers you would like to see highlighted. See you next week with some more cheat codes. Peace.
