On November 7, 2024, Lowenstein Sandler partners Ed Zimmerman and Meredith Beuchaw moderated a panel discussion at Lowenstein's most recent VentureCrushFG event in New York (and via web simulcast), which featured these distinguished guest speakers:
- Erica Duignan Minnihan, Founder and General Partner at Reign Ventures
- Sheena S. Iyengar, Ph.D., a critically acclaimed author, an expert on human choice and innovation, and currently the S.T. Lee Professor of Business at Columbia Business School.
For those who may have missed it, partner John Wayne Horton and law clerk Christina Erickson, both from Lowenstein's Palo Alto office, offer several highlights from the thought-provoking discussions. The session, which touched on innovation, valuation, workforce culture, inclusion, and leadership (among other topics), left a lasting impression on VentureCrushFG attendees.
Math as a Universal Language
Through personal experience, Minnihan offered her personal
counterpoint to an assertion that venture capital valuations are
largely an exercise in creativity, optimism, and gambling (rather
than real-world financial and mathematical analysis). At a time
when the finance industry was overwhelmingly male dominated,
Minnihan's Wall Street investment banking experience and
instinctive numerical focus allowed her to spot a material error in
the forecasts used in modeling the valuation of a prospective
portfolio company. Her discovery spared the parties from likely
embarrassment, and her story reinforces the practical implications
and importance of critical numerical analysis in venture
investing.
Commitment Culture
Iyengar shared findings from a Stanford University study that
spotlighted the unifying significance of a "commitment
culture" at the most successful Silicon Valley emerging growth
companies. A commitment culture generally indicates fundamental
alignment on collective long-term goals within an organization,
creating a sense of purpose and meaning for its employees and
fosters a sense of shared ownership and a commitment to achieving
collective success.
Breaking the Local Maximum
The achievement of peak performance for a business
operating within a particular framework can be referred to as the
"local maximum." To achieve additional growth or broader
success, and for the opportunity to achieve greater success,
business leaders need to be willing to consider certain risks to
disrupt the stability of an established comfort zone. For example,
hiring new talent generally involves up-front costs and short-term
setbacks in the productivity of a business. However, a shift in
strategy or prior framework, to break the local maximum, may
ultimately lead to greater (and possibly unforeseen) benefits and
overall success.
Remote Workforce Trends
As remote working has become more commonplace, companies
face challenges in balancing the resulting flexibility and
efficiencies with the established benefits of in-person
collaboration. Minnihan highlighted the advantages of an in-office
dynamic, such as spontaneous idea-sharing, which often leads to
faster team alignment and maximized productivity. A remote
workforce also raises questions about accumulated social debt, the
loss of company culture, and the professional development of junior
employees who may miss out on crucial hands-on learning
opportunities early in their careers. Companies will likely need to
innovate and adapt in order to battle the disadvantages associated
with remote work arrangements.
Building Inclusivity
Iyengar, who has been blind since grade school, shared a
thought-provoking and inspiring revelation related to implicit bias
and inclusion. While acknowledging that a lack of vision can be a
disadvantage at times (for instance, she expressed feeling
embarrassment over mistaking someone's gender or failing to
readily recognize a prior acquaintance) Iyengar described one
positive consequence of her own blindness—a perspective that
most people do not experience. Because she does not receive visual
impressions of others, she feels that she has been naturally
blessed with a filter from certain implicit biases based on visual
traits (such as skin color, ethnicity, age, or fashion). She
observed that when we dispose of implicit bias, we foster a culture
rich in diversity and inclusion, which has been proven to result in
greater organizational success and achievement. If this approach
can be encouraged and addressed early in a company's life
cycle–by, for example, appointing qualified women and
minorities as board members and in management positions–an
inclusion culture is established and can grow with the business.
Iyengar said, "It's easier to turn a small boat
around."
The panel offered one departing request of the audience: "This week, help one woman take a step closer to her dreams. Share her work. Make an intro. Speak her name in the room. Small actions add up; let's be the momentum."
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