Sarah Kunst
Sarah Kunst is the managing director of Cleo Capital, a venture capital firm. An investor and entrepreneur, Sarah has worked with several venture-backed start-ups, as well as at Apple, Red Bull, and Chanel. She is a contributing editor at Marie Claire.
The best career advice I’ve ever received is “your excuses suck.” Decide what you want to do and go do it—don’t let excuses and obstacles be a crutch or a spirit killer. Acknowledge reality, then build around it.
One thing I wish I had known when I began my career is that if you don’t have money, your choices are much narrower. Anytime you can get money—that includes investing in your 401K or putting a little into index funds and letting it grow—you are buying yourself a future lifeline.
A major challenge I’ve faced was the systemic racial bias and sexual harassment in the tech industry. I am helping to change that with investment dollars, activism, and mentoring and advising women and people of color.
The women who changed my life are those who came before us. From Rosa Parks starting a bus boycott to Ellen Pao refusing to quietly take abuse in the tech industry, these women have made it possible for a woman like me to have a shot at the life of my dreams.
The most common mistake anyone launching a startup should avoid is overspending and underexecuting. Just get stuff done. And don’t hire expensive consultants to do it. Set up your own web site, hire your own intern, get your own first thousand customers. Execution is what startups live and die on.
The thing I’ve achieved that I am most proud of is becoming a black female venture capital investor in 2013, when almost no one who looked like me was in the field. It’s slowly,
slowly changing and I’m so honored to be a part of that change.
The biggest gamble I’ve ever taken is turning down safe jobs in marketing to pursue venture capital, then starting a company and now a fund. It’s been terrifying and exciting all at once, but it’s been groundbreaking for women who look like me and personally far more rewarding than playing it safe in an office job.
The one thing I would like to say to every woman in the world is own your agency. We are socialized to think we need to be polite or play small or be careful. But in holding back we miss out on the chance to help each other. Take up every inch of space you want. Demand to be treated with respect. Help others. When you get a chance, sit on the scale to tip it in favor of the world you want to see built. Don’t worry that you’ll offend someone or ruffle feathers. You have no less a right to change the world than any man. Go do it.