Navigating the World of Venture Capital: Breaking Barriers and Achieving Success with Check Warner

The First Buck

In this episode of the First Buck podcast, host Nic Cary interviews Check Warner, an early stage VC and one of the founding partners of Ada Ventures. Check shares her journey from her early jobs in telesales and advertising to her pivotal switch to venture capital. She discusses the importance of taking risks, the value of sales skills and the significance of diversity in venture capital. She also shared her approach to building and developing teams. The episode concludes with Check stressing the importance of looking after yourself and recommended reading.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• The importance of sales skills that are crucial for fundraising and pitching ideas.
• -Advise to aspiring entrepreneurs to start immediately and build momentum even in small ways.
• The importance of validating ideas with real customers and solving genuine problems before seeking funding.
• The critical role of team dynamics and the importance of working with inspiring and motivating individuals.
• The significance of evaluating potential jobs based on the quality of management and the potential for growth.

In this episode…

Nic Cary interviews Check and they discuss the lessons learned during her career journey including:

• How learning to communicate effectively and understand customer needs has been a cornerstone of her success in venture capital.
• Why actively seeking mentorship, following industry leaders, and taking bold steps is important in pursuing career goals.
• Why addressing systemic issues and fostering a more inclusive environment is vital. As one of the few women in venture capital, she felt the need for diverse perspectives in the industry.

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by Sky’s The Limit, one of the largest nonprofit programs for underrepresented young adult entrepreneurs in the US. Sky’s The Limit is a quick-growing digital platform that connects entrepreneurs with their peers, volunteer business mentors, training resources, and funding. Our goal is to develop the social capital that founders need to chase their business dreams. To learn more, visit https://www.skysthelimit.org.