E12: Rachel Coffman from Footwork

The Value-Add

I had the privilege of sitting down with Rachel Coffman who is the Operations Manager at Footwork.vc. Together, she answered 25 of my questions about VC Platform and VC Operations from experience working at Footwork.vc and Susa Ventures.

This is the most colorful episode we've ever recorded on the pod, and I'm so proud to present this to you. Here are the topics we talked about:

- Rachel, why venture capital of all things? And how did you enter the industry?
- What motivated you to move from such a large VC fund (Susa Ventures) to a smaller one (Footwork.vc)?
- What's your day-to-day like as the Operations Manager at Footwork.vc? And how is this different from say, a "Platform Lead" at a similar sized fund?
- Talk to us about how you and your team provide Platform services for your portfolio. And how do you split your Platform responsibilities with your team at Footwork.vc?

- When it comes to arranging dinners, how do you determine which founders/investors/advisors to put in the same room?
- How involved does your team get when helping your founders make their hires? How do you measure the effectiveness of your Platform's Talent efforts?
- Do you help your seed founders raise their Series A and B rounds? How exactly do you support them?
- What's your go-to tip for early-stage founders who want to pitch themselves to reporters?

- What have been your 3 biggest learnings doing Operations and Platform in the last 5 years at Susa and Footwork?
- How do you "market" Footwork and its Platform capabilities to founders prior to cutting the check?
- How do you keep track of your founders' needs today in real-time?
- What's the best advice you've gotten for leading VC Platform?
- What's the most misunderstood topic in VC Platform today? And what's one thing you wish VC Platform people did better?
- How do you see the Platform space evolving over the next 2-3 years for everyone in venture capital? What's your vision for improving Footwork's Platform capabilities?
- What's your advice for newcomers who want to get a job in VC, particularly in Operations?

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