Claudia Laurie from Uber and Madison McIlwain from Defy VC launch a podcast about the breakthrough moments founders experience. Women and Black entrepreneurs receive just 2.8% and less than 1% of venture capital respectively. They're bringing the hidden creation stories of consumer and tech products to light through conversations with founders and funders.
Chapters
Come on into The Room. The Room is a series that lets you get a view into the room where it happened. I'm Claudia Laurie.
And I'm Madison McIlwain, your co-hosts. Claudia and I have had the pleasure of knowing each other for the past 2 years in San Francisco. We immediately bonded over our mutual jobs in product management, our passion for retail technology, and a love of matcha. Claudia's journey to SF mirrors many of our guests. She immigrated to America when she was 6 from Australia and has spent a lot of time in China with her mother and family. Growing up outside of New York City, Claudia went on to Harvard where she double majored in architecture and computer science. Right out of college, Claudia joined Uber as a product manager just 4 months before their IPO. Today, Claudia runs the Uber Associate Product Manager program and owns Driver Earnings.
Madison McIlwain grew up in Seattle as one of the only Seattleites who doesn't drink coffee. At Dartmouth, Madison majored in history and human-centered design. Having had internships at Theory and Rent the Runway, Madison joined Gap Inc. as the company's youngest product product manager after graduating, owning products such as customer communication platforms and returns. Madison spoke on her experience building Gap Inc.'s first chatbot at Dreamforce last year. In early 2020, Madison left Gap to join Defy VC, an early-stage venture firm in the Bay Area. Earlier this year, Madison was named and is a rising star in venture investing by Business Insider.
Aw, thanks, Gladys. What or where is this room we're talking about?
Well, I'm literally in my living room right now, but in our podcast, the room is where founders had their first aha moment, where they jammed on the product that got to product market fit, where their first venture capital check got delivered. However, these conversations and the creation stories historically happen behind closed doors to groups across age, gender, and race. We're inviting you to listen to the founders and funders of your favorite consumer and technology products. So Madison, tell me, why are we starting The Room now?
It is important to bring to life the stories behind the products that shape our world in an inclusive way. Claudia and I both are navigating our early careers in venture and technology, asking a lot of questions. Our roles are in the heart of Silicon Valley, and they have given us a unique access to answers that our guests can help provide. Quite frankly, we've just been discouraged when we look at our future by the numbers. Female-founded venture-backed startups hit an all-time high in 2019 at 2.8% of overall capital deployment. Yikes. These numbers get even smaller for racial minorities. For example, Black entrepreneurs account for less than 1% of overall venture allotment. In seeking resources to help answer our own questions, we found that the podcast today left us searching for more. With 2 out of 10 every podcast moderated by women, it's no wonder. As curious digital natives on the ground in the technology industry, we're asking the same questions you are and discovering the answers along the way.
Our series will consist of interview-style discussions with visionary leaders, founders, and funders across consumer and technology products. We are going to be diving into themes that first-time founders might not get a ton of insight into, such as raising your first venture round, finding product market fit, or navigating a pivot, learning what makes a good board, and sticking with your gut and vision during times of uncertainty.
We are excited for you to join us in the room. Our guests have built products such as the Nest thermostat, funds like Insight Ventures, newsrooms such as The Information, and productivity tools like Coda. Our conversations with all of our guests, including Matt Rogers and Swati Malaverrappu, Jessica Lessin, and Jasheer Marotora, were full of relevant and insightful comments we can't wait to share. Our first episode is coming to you next Tuesday, November 17th, at 7:00 AM Pacific, wherever you listen to podcasts. See you soon.
