Molly Fowler (CEO @ Dorm Room Fund)

In this talk, we ask Molly about her unusual path into venture, the thesis behind investing in student-run startups, and how DRF has built an unfair advantage over other similar initiatives

October 13, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

This week we brought on Molly Fowler, CEO of Dorm Room Fund.

DRF was the first to see the benefits of partnering with student-run businesses, and since launching eight years ago, the fund has invested in 200+ companies that have raised over $400 million from the likes of First Round, Sequoia, GV, and others. Molly runs the show for this group that now consists of over 300 founders and 50+ mentors, and we are extremely grateful for her giving us 30 minutes of her valuable time.

In this talk, we discuss:

  • Molly’s unusual path into venture

  • The original thesis behind investing in student-run business

  • The struggles of evaluating talent from an increasingly-large applicant pool

  • How the DRF network has grown into an accidental compounding advantage

Check out the full episode below:

📺 Great essay on how to create content communities

🚵‍♀️ Thoughts on consumer subscriptions

🏰 Notes on moats

🔮 Breakdown of the investment strategy of one of the greats

🔢 My new favorite DTC metrics primer

Zetta Venture Partners is hiring an associate in San Francisco.

FirstMark is hiring a platform associate in New York.

Route 66 Venture is hiring an associate in DC.

NextView is hiring a senior VC associate in New York.

Thanks so much for reading! We began this initiative because of personal struggles we experienced while settling into venture roles, and we want to continue to make this newsletter a resource rather than a burden to your inbox. We’d would love any feedback on things you might have liked / not liked / wanted to see. If you have any suggestions or would like to connect offline, please reach out directly to either Tyler ([email protected]) or Clay ([email protected]).

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