We are grateful to have navigated a challenging environment with our community of visionary entrepreneurs, co-investors, business partners, and staff. Everyone has worked exceptionally hard and we’re immensely proud to lock arms with such a resilient bunch.

In 2023, as in all preceding years, our commitment remained steadfast — to walk this journey together with our founders, CEOs and their teams, offering guidance and support as they traverse the ever-changing economic landscape. As much as we revel in their successes, we are at our best partnering with our companies as an invited guest to navigate and overcome obstacles.

Helping Our Portfolio Get Ahead of the Generative AI Explosion

Navigating the generative AI wave. As generative AI hit the mainstream, we acted quickly to help our portfolio companies – and ourselves – evaluate and thoughtfully adopt the technology. With access to AI experts – among our investors, portfolio companies, and the broader ecosystem – we tapped into deep knowledge and diverse perspectives.

We are especially grateful to our portfolio founders and AI luminaries, Richard Socher of You.com and William Ballance of Lavender, for sharing their insight into the tools and entrepreneurial mindset needed to navigate the AI landscape. In a wide-ranging conversation led by tech writer Stephanie Palazzolo, our community got a view of the promise and pitfalls of AI for startups.

Our partners also shared their learnings and insights more broadly. Norwest Partner Scott Beechuk opined on the opportunities for AI startups in The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Quartz. Xembly investor Priti Youssef Choksi shared the three criteria she looks for when evaluating companies in the AI space and spoke at startup competitions and events throughout the year, including a panel on the AI gold rush.

In addition, Norwest CMO & Operating Executive Lisa Ames also hosted a roundtable with AI expert Barak Turovsky for marketers to learn more about generative AI and share their own experiences, creating a forum for best practices across the portfolio. The collaborative spirit of that event inspired us to find out how marketers in the broader community view generative AI — its benefits, challenges, and potential. So we fielded our Generative AI in Marketing Quick Pulse Survey, a resource for marketers to ground themselves in the latest thinking of their peers. Some of the survey findings and insights from Lisa’s conversations throughout the year even made it into TechCrunch, a testament to the appetite for shared knowledge on emerging technologies.

Community Strengthened by Collective Wisdom and Support

Benchmarks to drive decision making and planning. One of the privileges of working with so many companies is the broad perspective we get into how businesses of different sizes and stages operate across sectors. Portfolio leaders often rely on us to draw on that perspective to provide them with insights into key business functions. Our investors and portfolio services teams do this every day through their conversations with portfolio leaders — additionally, this year we developed two robust benchmark reports to help our companies.

• Talent & People Benchmark Report: a pillar of our HR knowledge sharing, the report provided a beacon of insight into how our portfolio companies foster culture, retain talent, and address common challenges in today’s ever-evolving workplace.
• Sales & Marketing Benchmark Report: our inaugural survey of GTM leaders, fielded in late summer of 2023, measured benchmarks and current practices around marketing and sales budgets, team sizes, team reporting structures, and program priorities.

More support from operational experts. We also added operational expertise to support our portfolio companies — and the timing couldn’t have been better. In March, we welcomed Cloud Product Executive Eyal Manor as an Entrepreneur in Residence. Eyal, an accomplished technologist and former VP/GM of engineering and product at Google Cloud, continues to explore new opportunities in cloud data, infrastructure, and applications.

In June, we brought on “sales whisperer” David Rudnitsky as CRO operating executive and principal. Although our 2022 Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey results showed a world-class score affirming that we serve our CEOs well, the responses also revealed a need for more sales support. We listened and acted by bringing on David and his legendary CRO experience to give our companies the scaffolding they need on sales and GTM strategy.

Supporting Our Portfolio Through Market Ups and Downs

Resources for a stormy journey. One of the ways we empower our portfolio leaders to meet their business challenges head-on is by sharing insights and guidance from experts in our community. In 2023, a year marked by market fluctuations and challenges, we built even more resources designed to help them see their way through a downturn.

Here are a few resources from our blog that resonated in navigating the challenges of 2023:

• Capital Efficiency: 3 Best Practices for Using Capital Efficiency to Drive Major Growth
• Cash Flow Management: Conquering a Cash Crunch: 5 Cash Flow Management Strategies to Extend Runway
• Options Repricing: A Guide to Repricing Underwater Options
• Enterprise Sales Pipeline: How to Keep Winning Enterprise Software Deals in a Downturn
• Marketing Program Optimization: 5 Low-Cost Ways to Optimize Your Marketing for Challenging Times

Building our Portfolio for a Lasting Impact

A stream of healthcare investments. This year we “quintupled down” on our mission to partner with innovative companies that demonstrate a positive impact on all three “Ps” in the healthcare system: Patient, Provider, and Payor. Solutions that align incentives and deliver benefits for all three stakeholders are all too rare in the U.S. healthcare system.

We’re delighted to have found and invested in multiple healthcare companies that fit that description this year, including SetPoint Medical, Vertos Medical, Diana Health, and Cytovale. In fact, our team allocated 5x more capital into venture-backed healthcare companies year over year — a fantastic testament to the hard work of our healthcare team, which doubled in 2022. We kept that momentum rolling this year as we welcomed Philip Fleischman, vice president on our healthcare growth equity team.

Together for the Journey in 2024

As we set our sights on 2024, we’re placing an even greater focus on our founders, walking shoulder-to-shoulder through hyper-growth phases and challenging environments alike. We will help at all stages of the journey and provide the resources, contacts, and experience needed.

There is no substitute to being in person with each other and next year we’re planning even more opportunities to bring the Norwest community together. We’re appreciative of everyone who spent time with us (whether at events, webinars, or huddles), brought forth their insights and learnings, shared their challenges and leaned in. We can’t wait to facilitate more of that in 2024.

We wish you a safe, healthy and happy holiday season.

The post 2023 In Review: A Year of Community appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

Our annual Talent & People Benchmark Survey – a pillar of our HR knowledge sharing – provides a beacon of insight into how our portfolio companies foster culture, retain talent, and address common challenges in today’s ever-evolving workplace. Collecting insights from 128 portfolio companies, the 2023 Talent & People Benchmark Survey uncovered pressing questions, including:

• How are companies balancing competing return-to-office (RTO) pressures?
• How did people leaders address compensation and bonuses in the uncertain economy of 2023?
• With most layoffs behind us, how have hiring plans been impacted?

Norwest’s Talent and People teams analyzed the survey responses for insights into how Norwest portfolio companies are adjusting to the changing landscape of the 2020s. I’ve compiled our takeaways below and hope the survey results provide timely guidance for people leaders as they adjust their forecasts and set their strategies for 2024.

Let’s dive into the key findings.

The End of Full-Time Office Work

One striking revelation from this year’s survey is that the era of full-time office work seems to be over.

A mere 8 percent of companies now require employees to be in the office full time. Companies are adapting to evolving expectations around workplace flexibility, offering adjustable arrangements and remote work options.

More companies are offering fully remote work options. The number of companies whose employee base is over 80 percent fully remote has nearly doubled since 2022.

When it comes to hybrid work models, companies stick to 2-3 days in office. What does this new work landscape look like in practice? Our survey data paints a vivid picture: the most common hybrid work model involves employees spending two days a week in the office, closely followed by three days. They view this hybrid model as the best blend of in-person collaboration and the flexibility of remote work.

Here’s the kicker — with many in the C-suite wanting more in-office time, companies are pulling out all the stops to entice employees back into the office. They’ve recognized that the traditional office draws of yore (hello, water cooler chats) are no longer sufficient. Among other creative perks, they’ve turned to the universal language of food and beverages. Coffee machines, snack bars, and catered lunches are, once again, the sweetener of choice in the efforts to attract employees back to HQ.

One portfolio company, Exabeam, uses their time together in the office to celebrate different cultures, often curating unique experiences for their employees.

“We’ve received very positive employee feedback about our remote-friendly, hybrid approach to work,” Exabeam Chief Human Resources Officer Gianna Driver said. “Our carrot (not stick) approach entails partnering with ERGs monthly to sponsor fun, collaborative events in the office. Employees love it, and it’s done wonders for culture. We’ve had lion dancers for AAPI month, a live mariachi band during Hispanic Heritage month, a Diwali festival, a sound bath meditation, and more. The in-person relationships employees make during these culture-building events lead to more engagement both in the office and remotely.”

“We’ve received very positive employee feedback about our remote-friendly, hybrid approach to work. Our carrot (not stick) approach entails partnering with ERGs monthly to sponsor fun, collaborative events in the office. Employees love it, and it’s done wonders for culture.”

– Gianna Driver, Chief Human Resources Officer, Exabeam

As more people come back to the office, companies are finding ways to keep employees engaged no matter where they’re working.

The pandemic may have ignited the remote work revolution, but current hybrid models may no longer be a matter of convenience. Not only are employees relishing in the newfound flexibility, it’s a critical tool for attracting and retaining talent.

Julie McCorkle, Vice President of People at Qventus, says the company fully embraced remote work and closed their headquarters in 2022.

“This approach has really supported our talent goals and enabled us to better compete for talent as we’re no longer restricted to the Bay Area,” she explained. “That said, we see a need to continue to invest and focus budget dollars and efforts with more frequent in-person interactions and much more intentional communication, coaching, and feedback.”

The 5-day commute plus nine-to-five grind is fading into the annals of history, making way for a future where employees have a happy medium between office and home.

Companies Prioritize Mental Health

In the whirlwind of modern work, employee well-being takes center stage.

Mental health benefits surge to meet employee demand. Since 2021, there’s been a staggering 61 percent surge in companies offering employer-sponsored mental health benefits or therapy platforms to their employees.

This increase directly responds to the amplified stress levels gripping the workforce. Factors like reductions in force (RIFs), the looming specter of inflation, and the persistent anxiety stemming from the pandemic have collectively created a perfect storm of workplace stressors. At the same time, stigma around mental health has waned dramatically in the three years since the start of the pandemic. The seismic shift in talking openly about mental health is not only a bright spot for all workers, but an opportunity for companies to provide support to their most valuable assets.

What’s even more heartening is the proactive approach many Norwest companies are taking. Our survey revealed that 44 percent of companies have witnessed a noticeable uptick in mental health needs since the pandemic struck. They are not merely reacting to the surge in mental health needs; they are actively enhancing their mental health resources for employees.

Vice President of Human Resources at Cority, Marlene da Costa, said any seminar, tool or mental health initiative has always been appreciated in their office because it does so much to open up the conversation around mental health.

“When employees bring themselves to work, they bring with them their struggles and their everyday personal challenges as well. Having the words and mechanisms to have meaningful conversations with peers and teams goes a long way in employee engagement,” she said. “We do annual mental health training specifically designed for managers and run by a certified psychotherapist. We have learnt through pulse surveys that these do make a difference in the way the managers lead their team with compassion and kindness.”

“When employees bring themselves to work, they bring with them their struggles and their everyday personal challenges as well. Having the words and mechanisms to have meaningful conversations with peers and teams goes a long way in employee engagement.”

– Marlene da Costa, Vice President, Human Resources, Cority

One of our portfolio companies, ICON, has expanded its mental health benefits to include flexible digital support, meditation, and coaching in addition to therapy and medication. Lauren Miller, Head of People at ICON, believes mental health is essential for overall health, and is happy to see the impact of their offerings.

“Having a digital mental health solution has allowed for maximum flexibility when caring for people with busy schedules, frequent travel and work in the field,” she said. “Employees have appreciated the expanded care and are sharing more openly in channels like Slack about mental health as a result.”

Inclusive Policies Extend to PTO and Parental Leave

Paid time away from work is more generous, more inclusive.

Nearly 80 percent of surveyed companies now offer at least 11 paid holidays, reflecting a growing emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This expansion extends to recognizing a broader range of holidays, including culturally significant days like Juneteenth and Diwali. Notably, a recent Deloitte study indicates that a company’s commitment to societal impact, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability significantly increase job loyalty.

Parental leave policies are more generous than last year. Most companies now provide primary caregivers with 13+ weeks of leave, ensuring they have the time they need to care for their families. Secondary caregivers are also seeing improved benefits, with 5+ weeks of leave becoming the norm. Even companies that do not differentiate between primary and secondary caregivers have stepped up their game, offering 11-13 weeks of leave. This shift underscores a collective recognition within the industry that diverse and inclusive policies are essential to attract top talent while accommodating the evolving needs of new parents.

Talent Acquisition Trends and Benchmarks

In the dynamic realm of talent acquisition, our survey data illuminates a shift in how companies source their workforce.

Companies are relying less on external talent acquisition agencies and more on internal talent teams. The data shows a notable 21 percent year-over-year increase in the number of companies conducting less than one-quarter of their hiring through outside agencies. Several factors are driving this change. First, the cost-effectiveness of in-house recruitment is undeniable and second, companies may be hiring less people given the economic climate.

Over two-thirds of companies hire their first HR leader before they’ve reached 100 employees. The need for HR leadership is usually apparent before a company reaches 100 employees. Almost 70 percent of companies hire a head of people/HR when they reach that benchmark. Beyond culture-building, these leaders play a vital role in establishing infrastructure, programs, and ensuring legal compliance as the company scales.

Bonuses and Stock Options: A Financial Balancing Act

Companies walk a fine line between incentives and financial stability.

Over half of companies surveyed tie bonuses to revenue floors. In a bid to create more flexible and scalable bonus systems, 58 percent of surveyed companies now tie bonuses to revenue floors for all employees, representing a 40 percent increase from our 2022 survey. As for who receives bonuses, about half (54 percent) of companies offer bonuses to all employees, while a third only offer bonuses to managers and above. This shift means 2023 bonuses are more dependent on overall company performance as well as offered more broadly to rank-and-file employees.

Most companies stand by the standard, 90-day exercise window for terminated employees. Contrary to some reports, nearly 70 percent of companies indicate that the standard exercise window for terminated employees remains at a standard 90 days. As the economy stabilizes, most companies are returning to this established practice, providing terminated employees with a reasonable timeframe to exercise their stock options. A good sign for companies trying to manage their stock options.

“Our portfolio companies know that hiring will pick back up again, and they will need unexercised options by departing employees to hire, promote, and retain employees,” Norwest Talent Principal Teri McFadden said. “Sticking with the standard 90-day exercise window will help our companies manage their option pool for the long term as exit horizons have also been pushed out in this current economy.”

“Our portfolio companies know that hiring will pick back up again, and they will need unexercised options by departing employees to hire, promote, and retain employees. Sticking with the standard 90-day exercise window will help our companies manage their option pool for the long term.”

– Teri McFadden, Talent Principal, Norwest

Guidance for Your 2024 HR Planning

In the post-pandemic evolving workplace, adaptability and an ability to understand the implications of changing norms and practices is essential. I find it incredibly helpful to understand how my peers are navigating these changes, and hope our 2023 Talent & People Benchmark Survey findings can provide that guidance for your 2024 plans.

I’d like to thank Laura Buckingham Thomas for driving this survey year after year, as well as our dedicated Talent leaders Teri McFadden, Kris Snodgrass, Lauren Heller, and Julia Lewis for their insightful contributions.

For more data, download the full results from the 2023 Norwest Talent & People Benchmark Survey. Get the data.

The post People-First Strategies Emerge in Norwest’s 2023 Talent Survey Results appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

One of the things that sets Norwest apart is that we take an “invited guest” approach – providing practical guidance and support to portfolio companies when and how it best serves them, while allowing them to keep their hands on the reins. Today our Portfolio Services team is made up of more than 20 full-time professionals—plus a network of more than 25 Senior Advisors across multiple sectors – whose functional expertise spans marketing, sales, people and talent, finance, capital markets, CEO leadership, and operations. It’s all about the people, and today we couldn’t be more excited to augment our team with the addition of David Rudnitsky, who joins Norwest Portfolio Services as CRO operating executive & principal.

When our portfolio company leaders revealed through last year’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey — for which we received a world-class score of 77 among CEOs — that they wanted more sales support, we listened. We acted by bringing on David and his legendary CRO experience to give our companies the scaffolding they need on sales and GTM strategy. The valuable feedback we received from our leaders has helped shape our Portfolio Services strategy in key areas this year and has further motivated us to continue to improve how we serve our companies.

David will collaborate with Norwest’s marketing and sales team to help our early-stage enterprise companies define and execute their sales and go-to-market (GTM) strategies. In the current environment, it is essential that our companies receive the best possible advice and hands-on assistance to effectively build and manage teams and maximize their GTM spend.

David’s hire builds on the momentum of our go-to-market practice following the addition of Lisa Ames in 2020 as principal, CMO & marketing operating executive and Renée Cohen as B2B-focused marketing operating executive last year. Rounding out the GTM offering, we have David Garcia as a senior sales & sales operations advisor and Jamie Fontana as B2C-focused e-commerce & performance marketing senior advisor.

David also adds enterprise software expertise on the heels of cloud product leader Eyal Manor joining the firm this year as an entrepreneur in residence.

An Enterprise Sales Standout

David brings a stellar track record of success as a sales leader for technology companies. He was a driving force behind the enterprise sales organization at Salesforce. During his 12.5 years at Salesforce, revenue grew from $23 million to more than $5 billion. His contributions are highlighted in Marc Benioff’s book about Salesforce, “Behind the Cloud”.

David also was a sales leader in the early stages of several other notable technology companies, including ADP, Oracle, Netscape, and Ariba, and he was president and CRO at Yext, a digital experience platform.

In addition to his operational roles, he has shared his expertise and insights with numerous startups as an advisor, board member, and investor.

David has quickly hit the ground running at Norwest, already helping several of our portfolio company leaders. I could go on about what he has brought to our firm, but I’m excited to have him discuss his move to Norwest in his own words.

Why the move to VC/Growth Equity?

I made a conscious career decision to get into the investment world. There’s no better way to be a part of the conversation and be relevant to what we do in our industry than to join a VC/growth equity firm; that’s where you see the latest and greatest.

I also want to work with up-and-coming entrepreneurs who have great new ideas and can show us where the world is going. It’s like when I joined Netscape in 1995. No one really knew what the potential of the internet was, but I did know that I wanted to be at a company with the potential for profound influence.

I know I can be of value because of the many times in my career I’ve been brought in to help companies grow. Over the last six or seven years, I’ve spent time advising founders, CEOs, and CROs at startups and I feel like I have a lot to give them.

Why Norwest?

I talked to folks I really trusted who know the investment space. What I consistently heard was that the people at Norwest are very good at what they do, they know who they are and stay true to their values. As it turns out, the firm has an incredible culture based on empathy, ethics and collaboration that shows up in both the people they hire and the companies they invest in.

During the extensive interview process, I met 13 people across the investment and portfolio services teams and everything that others had said about the culture was true. It was reassuring to see Norwest conduct this level of diligence in their hiring process.

What are the key sales challenges you will help early-stage enterprise companies overcome?

I want to instill confidence in entrepreneurs. I’ve been very fortunate to see greatness in companies and to see what’s possible. So, my goal is to have them walk away saying, “I see there’s an opportunity to be great. I have a better understanding of what it is going to take to get there.”

A lot of times entrepreneurs are so focused on the product that they don’t take a step back to ask “what are all the things I need to do to lay the groundwork for greatness? What does my go-to-market strategy look like? What does excellent execution look like for us?”

A lot of what I do is storytelling; showing them that what they’re going through now has been experienced before. I’ve seen the movie and can explain what plot twists and outcomes are possible. Because they don’t know what they don’t know.

I want to understand what their challenges are and then apply my experience in handling those issues.

It’s wonderful to see such close alignment with Norwest’s values and mission in these statements. If ‘no substitute for experience’ and ‘no shortcuts to meaningful business relationships’ were a person, they’d be David Rudnitsky.

Welcome to Norwest, David!

The post Norwest Welcomes ‘Sales Whisperer’ David Rudnitsky as CRO Operating Executive and Principal appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

Hi, this is Kris Snodgrass with a Norwest Nowcast about the real business results that our portfolio companies have realized from having diverse boards and advisories. I’m a big believer that diversity drives not only better outcomes, but also breeds innovation. Our portfolio companies that have brought underrepresented leaders onto their bench of advisors and boards are seeing evidence to bear out that belief.

I’d like to take a minute to acknowledge and celebrate just a few talented executives who are adding tremendous value as board members and advisors.

First up, Stephanie Davis Michelman. She’s CMO at Benefit Cosmetics and serves on the board of series C omni-channel hair color brand, Madison Reed.

Amy Errett, our CEO at Madison Reed, attests that Stephanie brought tons of market intel in the beauty industry around retail strategy and provided valuable product feedback. As an African-American woman, Stephanie’s input was particularly impactful on how Madison Reed can improve not only their overall experience but also their product for women of color.

According to Amy, Stephanie has also met with their CMO and their CPO several times to provide marketing guidance and will be weighing in on their diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts.

Next up, Charles Young, COO at Invitation Homes. As an advisor to the founders at ADU-construction startup, Abodu, Charles provides leadership and company-building support to the executive team, leveraging his highly relevant industry experience.

Charles guided Abodu on its approach to entering new geographic markets at a high strategic level, all the way down to the nuances of operating in the East Coast versus West Coast metros and how to overcome those challenges.

Charles also helped vet Abodu’s org restructure by exploring the pros and cons of various models they were considering, which was incredibly helpful to the first time founders who brought on Charles at the series A.

Third, Jennifer Ceran joined the board at smart camera and home products startup, Wyze, at their Series B. Jenny is the former CFO of SmartSheets who took them through their IPO, so she’s added incredible value with her guidance around financial discipline. And she also helped recruit key hires, including women executive roles, to add more diversity to the company’s leadership.

I can share many more examples but suffice it to say that diversity yields results. So don’t wait until your company’s in later stages to add diversity to your board or advisor set.

Let’s move the conversation forward by discussing results. What business outcomes have you been seeing from underrepresented executives serving on boards and advisories? Let me know in the comments.

The post Board Diversity Delivers Results for Startups appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

In the current funding environment, many leaders are in “wartime” mode, and the right coach can help you make the tough decisions needed to control burn, extend runway, and ensure the long-term survivability and scalability of your company.

Choosing the wrong coach can be a waste of time and money–or worse, a liability–if they point your attention towards the wrong things.

So how do you find the right coach?

In the guide below, I will help you choose a coach that will truly improve your effectiveness and the likelihood of your company’s success. First, I’ll familiarize you with the three types of leadership coach we see in the startup world. Then, I’ll share a tool you can use to identify the key focus areas in which you most need support.

Three Types of Executive Coach

Meet the three types of executive coach you’ll find in your search. Each one has particular strengths and weaknesses in the support they provide. Review their profiles to help choose the type you should hire.

1. Business Therapy / Reactive Coach

This coach is usually an excellent listener. They are empathetic, able to reflect back your insight and ask probing questions to help you get to the best answer yourself.

They usually can establish rapport and trust quickly. Often former therapists, these coaches can help you foster more self-awareness, reflect on your actions, understand your tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses, and be more confident.

Leaders appreciate this type of coaching as a “shock absorber” to soften the ups and downs of a stressful startup leadership ride – and these relationships can last for years. They are also a great coach if you are starting to burn out or just need to find your own center.

However, we’ve found these coaches typically don’t have the pattern recognition to be an effective thought partner in operating the business. Often, session time is spent dealing with “flavor of the week” challenges that fluctuate from week to week, distracting focus from more persistent priorities.

As a result, this coach may not be driving focus and systematically building the long-term development of new skill sets, capabilities, and mindsets that are critical for you to level up and stay ahead of your fast-scaling company’s growth.

If you stay with this type of coach, you risk having the company “outgrow” you, where either the company fails or you end up being replaced by the board.

2. The Former Operator Exec Coach

These former CEOs are initially very valuable because they have the wisdom and experience that come from having successfully scaled a company.

They can also be good guides in a “wartime” context, because they’ve often personally felt the pain of not acting swiftly enough – they have the memory scars and the pattern recognition to know when something’s not working. This first-hand experience lends them the gravitas to help leaders take action sooner.

However, we’ve found that many CEOs-turned-coaches tend to think that strategies that worked for them will work for you, and they will prescribe them as “best practices.” They tend to think they can coach others without in-depth training in the art of coaching because they’ve been successful leaders themselves. More like a mentor, they default to their own pattern matching and background, versus truly probing to deeply understand and develop your capabilities through effective coaching methodologies.

While they might seem like a fit at first, when your circumstances eventually don’t quite fit the ones they thrived in, this coach’s “best practices” can be a square peg in a round hole. Situations that don’t fit that former operator’s expertise tend to be blind spots for them.

Some former operators are good coaches if they trained deeply in this field, but most of the ones I see are actually better off being mentors who can be consulted for situation-specific guidance as needed.

3. Structured and Flexible Startup Coach

These types of coaches are nimble and skillful at dynamically responding to the week-to-week needs of a leader, while holding the work inside the context of a developmental plan.

They specialize in working with startups and have a broad base of startup-specific tools to quickly identify, diagnose, and address challenges facing fast-scaling startup leaders in wartime.

Startup coaches keep a library of tools and startup best practices to help you with key leadership tasks such as leveling up your exec team and their meetings, having difficult conversations, tracking commitments, hiring effectively, holding your team accountable, etc.

These structured and flexible startup coaches will also co-create some form of a leadership plan with you. Derived from a deep inquiry, pattern matching, and 360 feedback (from exec team and board), this leadership plan is a roadmap of the tools and mindsets that a leader needs to acquire to help them stay six to nine months ahead of the growth of their rapidly scaling and changing company.

A tight leadership plan also includes a board management strategy and a team development strategy. The coach holds you accountable to executing these strategies over time.

While they will dive into the day-to-day challenges that inevitably come up, they understand that your work transcends “flavor of the week” crises. They will proactively equip you with the tools and mindsets to help you scale yourself and your team to meet what’s around the corner in your startup journey.

Structured yet flexible startup coaches refresh and regenerate the leadership plan on an ongoing basis. Many can even step in to facilitate high-performance teamwork offsites for your exec team as well.

So, Which Executive Coach Is Best for You?

When you are burning out or just need to find your own center, a business therapy coach can support your mental health.

When you are navigating a particularly tricky situation, a former operator coach has just the right expertise.

However, we have found that the structured yet flexible startup coach is most often the best fit for the dynamic ride most startup leaders face. They are even more effective when they are partnered with an industry-specific mentor (often a former operator) and both act as a brain trust to help you navigate most any challenge.

So, if you have a sense that a coach could be helpful for you, consider what type of coach you need. Business therapy coach? Former operator? Or a startup leadership coach with a structured and flexible approach, complemented by mentors?

Whichever type you choose, make sure to meet with two or three coaches before you decide. While chemistry is important, if you are on the fence about which coach to choose, index towards the one who delivered the most value in your initial session. It’s often an indicator of the trajectory of the relationship.

If you are on the fence about which coach to choose, index towards the one who delivered the most value in your initial session.

Finally, here’s a diagnostic tool you can use to identify the key focus areas where you most need support. This may help inform your criteria when choosing a coach.

About the Author

Bryan Bayer is senior startup leadership coach and cofounder of Neuberg Gore, a premier executive coaching firm that has helped hundreds of startup CEOs and their leadership teams gain the mindsets and leadership skills to scale their companies.

The post How to Choose the Right Executive Coach for Startup Leadership appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

The mandate gives our team a broad, holistic view of the entire healthcare system, from patients and physicians to hospitals and payors, to pharmaceutical development. The biotech investment team has more than 40 years of collective research and investment experience, building and working with numerous companies in their tenure.

They’re eager to work with strong management teams, helping innovators transform cutting-edge science into therapeutics with lasting impact on the patients’ lives. The team is on a roll with recent 2022 investments in MBX Biosciences and Rezo and looks forward to putting significant capital to work as they allocate funds from our Fund XVI.

Investment focus

• Therapeutics assets and platforms
• Pre-clinical to proof of concept
• Addressing large, unmet needs across a wide range of indications and modalities including autoimmune, respiratory, oncology, ophthalmology, neurology, cell and gene therapy, and rare diseases

Investment preference

• Strong management teams
• Innovative science
• Seed and early- to mid-stage investments, with deal sizes that could total $40-50M over the lifetime of a company.

Our team has always placed a special emphasis on research and outcome-based solutions to critical healthcare needs. For founders and leadership teams, having an investment partner who understands the complexities of the medical science behind an experiment or device is critical. By expanding our investment focus and expertise, the entire team now has wide exposure to all facets of the healthcare ecosystem. 

Meet our Newest Healthcare Venture Investors, Specializing in Biotech

Tiba Aynechi, PhD

General Partner, Venture

Tiba is a seasoned biotech investor with 20+ years of research and investment experience. Based in San Francisco, she leads our investments in early- to mid-stage companies within the therapeutics sector.

Prior to joining Norwest, Tiba spent over 10 years at Novo Holdings A/S, a top life sciences investment firm where she was responsible for the deployment of capital across private biotech, MedTech, and HCIT companies.

Throughout her career, Tiba has successfully partnered with entrepreneurs across a range of company types and stages from preclinical platforms to clinical-stage assets as well as commercial-stage medical device and HCIT. Tiba has also been active in company formation around both early- and later-stage assets.
She’s held board seats on Nkarta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NKTX), Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ: SPRB), Avalyn Pharmaceuticals, Aristea Therapeutics, Allievex, Mirum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MIRM), Cianna Medical (Acquired by Merit), iRhythm Technologies (NASDAQ:IRTC), AnaptysBio (NASDAQ:ANAB), Arcellx (NASDAQ: ACLX), MDLive (Acquired by Cigna).

Connect on LinkedIn

Brian Matesic, MD

Principal, Venture

Brian, who joined Norwest in August, is an experienced life sciences investor. He brings a wealth of knowledge across the biotech space and focuses on early- to mid-stage companies.

Prior to joining Norwest, Brian worked at Blackstone Life Sciences, where he helped lead over $1.5B of investments across biotech, medical devices, and diagnostics. He was a Board Observer or Alliance Committee Member at five companies, working closely with management teams on clinical trials, FDA approval process, and commercial strategy. Brian was previously an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where he advised companies across the healthcare industry.

Brian has a medical degree from Stanford and MBA from Harvard. His research on prostate cancer, diabetic macular edema, and patient safety has been published in multiple peer-review journals.

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Ehi Akhirome, MD, PhD

Investor, Venture

Ehi joined Norwest from McKinsey’s Life Sciences practice, where he advised clients in the pharmaceutical and medical products industries on corporate strategy, M&A, and R&D.

Ehi has an MD and a PhD from the MSTP at Washington University School of Medicine. During his PhD, he published papers on the genetic mechanisms of risk in congenital heart disease. He also has bachelor’s degrees in biology and chemistry from Emory University, where he graduated with highest honors.

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Trey Jennings

Investor, Venture

Before joining Norwest, Trey was a part of the strategy and business development team at Senti Biosciences, a next-generation cell and gene therapy company that is developing gene circuits to reprogram cells with biological logic to sense inputs, compute decisions, and respond to their cellular environments. Previously, Trey held positions with the life sciences group at Wells Fargo Securities in San Francisco and the Pfizer Neuroscience Research Unit in Cambridge, MA.

He is currently a board observer for TigerConnect, VisitPay, Neocis Inc., Avalyn Pharma, Monogram Health, and Excision BioTherapeutics. He’s also helped lead investments in Clever Care Health Plan, Science Exchange, and Nanopath.

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Strengthening our expertise in diagnostics, devices, and services

Our Healthcare team also welcomed two new venture investors who specialize in diagnostics, devices, services, and pharmatech.

• General Partner, Zack Scott, MD, is an ambitious investor with decades of experience in the healthcare industry and a keen eye for pragmatic solutions. He’s led notable investments in Omada Health, SetPoint Medical, iRhythm Technologies, and many more.
• Principal, Irem Rami, is a seasoned investor who deeply understands how to integrate technology into traditionally low-tech areas of healthcare. She will predominantly focus on venture and growth investments across healthcare services, pharma services, healthcare IT, and digital health.

What’s in store for 2023? Portfolio building.

With all hands on deck heading into the new year, our team can’t wait to talk with more entrepreneurs and build their portfolios. We have “quintupled down” on our mission to back remarkable management teams with innovative models across the healthcare industry. One of our guiding principles is that a product or solution should improve patient health outcomes or the efficiency of healthcare delivery. Our effort continues to emphasize Norwest’s values of doing well by doing good and choosing long-term rewards over short-term gains to ultimately yield the best results for everyone. Our team looks forward to partnering with companies that will have a lasting impact.

Interested in our previous healthcare investments? See our healthcare portfolio.

The post Meet the New Investors on Norwest’s Healthcare Team, Bringing More Expertise in Life Sciences appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

Hi, I’m Laurie Tennant. I’m a Principal with Norwest Venture Partners and I advise our portfolio companies on all things HR. I’m here today with a Norwest Nowcast about four guiding principles that can help business leaders navigate one of the most difficult workplace experiences: a reduction in force, or a RIF.

I’ve been through my share of RIFs in my 15-plus years of people management, and I advise businesses that have made the painful decision to execute a RIF to follow four principles in their process:

• Number one is preparation;
• Two is communication;
• Three is empathy; and
• Four is a future orientation.

So, number one, preparation.

As anyone knows who’s been through it, planning a RIF is a significant effort that will involve your executive team, your HR team, and your legal team – sometimes even outside counsel. You want to keep the timeline as compressed as possible but allow enough time for all the necessary planning.

Number two is communication.

Transparency is key, with both the employees that are impacted as well as the remaining team. You want to explain why the RIF is necessary and trust your employees to understand the business rationale.

Number three is empathy.

It’s okay to share the names of those who’ve been impacted and assure the remaining employees that those employees have been treated with care and respect. You also want to leave space for the remaining employees to ask questions and to process their own emotions around the event.

And number four is future orientation.

Once the event is complete, you want to broadly lay out the new structure and the go-forward plans. You can focus on the increased opportunities for building a successful company together, and always encourage employees to ask questions.

Of course, there’s much more detail involved in planning and executing a RIF. But keeping these principles top of mind can have a lasting impact on the well being of your employees, both those who leave and those who stay, as well as on the company’s reputation.

What have you found helpful in executing a RIF? Let me know in the comments.

The post 4 Guiding Principles of a Compassionate RIF appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

We hosted a fireside chat with JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Ambassador Constance Wilson, Global Head of BEDI. Constance shared how she developed the BEDI program at Udemy and what has helped her along the way

To help Norwest portfolio companies along in their DEI&B journey, we combined efforts with The People Collective, Growth by Design Talent, and Collective, to create a comprehensive Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging Toolkit. The toolkit is grouped into three sections:

• • Where to Start
  • DEI&B Strategy Framework
  • Accountability, Goals, & Metrics

Today our portfolio companies can access our DEI&B Toolkit online. We have also open-sourced the resource library to the public. The main tenets of the toolkit are helpful to all no matter where they are in their journey. Let’s look at some of the common questions we heard today from the fireside chat.

DEI&B Strategy Framework: Where do I start?

Define what diversity means for your company, and then make sure everyone knows it. Go about it strategically, not performative. When creating your DEI&B strategy, identify your north star and purpose and ensure that your approach is multi-pronged and holistic by evaluating these 5 pillars:

1. 1. Attract
   2. Select
   3. Retain
   4. Develop
   5. Product & Ecosystem

Ultimately, you want DEI&B to be embedded into the fabric of your business, not an add-on.

Attract: A clearly-defined recruiting strategy can help you operationalize, prioritize and measure the effort. We like to say that there are no silver bullets, but rather hundreds of lead ones. (See: Diversity Strategy Worksheet)

Select: A structured hiring process is one of the best ways to mitigate against bias in recruiting. It not only improves the quality of your hiring outcomes but also strengthens the integrity of your approach to promote fair, objective decision making. (See Guideline docs on the Resource Library.)

Retain: Creating a culture where all employees feel they belong and can do their best work will not only empower your entire team to perform to their full potential, but it will keep them engaged and result in retention of your highest performers. Ongoing engagement surveys are a great way to monitor perceptions of culture and provide useful insights into how different parts of the organization are feeling about their work environment.

Develop: Creating a culture of learning and development and investing in the development of your employees is important to your people and DEI&B strategy. Weave DEI&B into the training and development opportunities in your organization. Every stakeholder at your company, and particularly managers, needs to understand their role in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture.

Product & Ecosystem: Depending on the nature of your business, there may be immediate and tangible opportunities to reduce bias and promote diversity and inclusion through your product. For example, Airbnb changed the way guest photos were revealed to hosts and moved it later into the booking journey. They also implemented a pledge requiring all users to commit to not discriminate. Gather ideas from the team, and particularly your engineering and product employees. It will energize employees to know that they are having a direct impact on your company’s DEI&B initiatives.

You want DEI&B to be embedded into the fabric of your business.

How Can We Measure Progress?

Merely having a DEI&B strategy or initiatives is not enough. You need to be able to show progress. What gets measured gets done—just as with any other corporate initiative, the success and impact of DEI&B initiatives requires measurable outcomes. From the beginning, set out goals and metrics for DEI&B initiatives. If you’re just getting started, launch a DEI&B survey before communicating a strategy to get a baseline you can track against.

Measuring diversity is about impacting the number of people in your organization who come from underrepresented backgrounds. Measuring inclusion is about your culture and work environment.

We’re a small company, how do we start DEI&B without hiring someone?

DEI is more than making a dedicated hire. Having everyone involved from the CEO down will help bring visibility and drive initiatives.

Constance recommends talking to employees to get their input on what they’d like to see from a DEI perspective. Hold trainings where all employees can simultaneously learn about DEI topics. Trainings can be something as simple taking a Udemy course together and reflecting on how to implement changes based on learnings.

When Constance first started at Udemy, she went on a listening tour. Taking 15-20 minutes to hear what is working, what is missing, and what is desired from employees.

How can we recruit for diversity, when we’re not diverse ourselves?

Constance recommends being transparent about your situation. Recognize the reality and state to your candidates what you’re trying to achieve. You want your recruiting to be balanced overall. (See sample recruiting and hiring metrics.)

DEI&B, BEDI, JEDI… regardless of your choice in terms—all efforts are dynamic and ever-evolving. Constance urged us to be strategic, not just performative. It goes beyond updating logos for a month, think about how you’re actually supporting your employees and customers? Do you have tangible actions in place?

Remember, it’s a collective responsibility within the entire company.

About Norwest’s DEI&B Toolkit

Who is the toolkit for?

Norwest portfolio CEOs/Founders, their People teams and anyone directly responsible for ensuring diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at their company.

We’ll be sharing relevant sections of the toolkit externally to create awareness, but the majority of the content will be exclusively for portfolio companies.

What are the benefits?

• • Provides practical operational guidance on how to attract, select, retain, and develop a diverse and inclusive workforce.
  • Helps companies create a place of belonging where people from all backgrounds feel welcome.

The post Demystifying DEI&B: How Norwest is Empowering You to Lead appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

Last year, we documented how HR trends shifted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, our data shows a tenuous tug-of-war as companies balance deteriorating market conditions with investing in the employee experience.

Collecting the insights from 121 people leaders in our portfolio, the 7th annual Talent & People Practices Benchmark Survey uncovered pressing HR questions, including:

• • How do people leaders balance employee satisfaction with startup belt-tightening in an economic downturn?
  • Which benefits will companies scale back to conserve cash?
  • What benefits are table stakes companies must offer to retain employees and attract the best talent—regardless of market conditions?

Norwest’s Talent and People teams analyzed the survey responses to find answers to the questions above, as well as the questions they are being asked most often by HR teams in the Norwest community. I’ve compiled our takeaways below and hope the survey results provide timely guidance for HR leaders as they adjust their forecasts and set their strategies for 2023.

Companies are not cutting back on benefits

Undeterred by market woes, companies view employee experience as table stakes.

In the past few years, there’s been heightened attention on the employee experience, spurring employers to expand benefits that support workers throughout their personal and professional lives. Despite economic headwinds, companies are forging on with their pursuit of the whole-person employee experience.

Our 2022 Talent & People Practices Benchmark Survey showed companies are increasingly investing in core benefits like PTO, remote work, and parental leave as well as perks such as learning and development programs, mental health services, and fitness memberships.

Remote work is a large component of return-to-office policies. About two-thirds of companies have added some form of remote work opportunity, with 34 percent offering options for fully remote roles, and 25 percent for partially remote or hybrid roles. About 8 percent of surveyed companies have closed offices entirely.

The pandemic’s cascading and lasting impact on remote work shed light on the advantages of a distributed workforce. Employees value flexibility and are reportedly happier in remote or hybrid roles. Companies also save money on leasing office space when they have partial or entirely remote teams. With more companies reducing their monthly burn in this uncertain economy, reducing office footprint can represent material cost savings. And while it’s still too early to understand the long-term impact of remote work, companies will do well to embrace flexibility for employees.

L&D programs make a rebound amid the “war for talent.” Our 2022 report reveals that 47 percent of companies now offer learning and development (L&D) options to all employees. In 2021, only 33 percent of companies provided L&D opportunities versus 40 percent in 2019.

The increase in companies implementing L&D programs for all employees is certainly a nod to the dynamics of remote work. Without employees in the office full-time, there are fewer opportunities to learn and absorb information in the organic way it tends to happen in the office. I believe companies also view L&D programs as a means to both attract and retain top talent. In this continued “war for talent,” employers want to compete for—and hold onto—the top candidates, and focusing on L&D is one way to do that.

Companies offer more paid days off (if they’re tracking PTO at all). Since 2021, more companies have increased the number of paid days off that they offer, with 68 percent providing 11 or more paid holidays a year. There was also a 45 percent increase in the number of companies offering 16+ days of PTO a year to employees in their first year of employment. However, we saw a significant drop in the number of companies tracking PTO due to the rising popularity of unlimited PTO policies.

More companies shift to unlimited PTO. Offering unlimited PTO offers the perception of employee flexibility and it removes liability from the balance sheet in states like California where accrued PTO is required to be paid out to employees. Unlimited PTO has largely been a recruitment tool for companies despite receiving negative attention after studies showed that employees took less time off when companies offered it. That trend reversed this year, with employees averaging more days off under an unlimited PTO plan versus a traditional plan. It seems that the blurred lines of working from home (or living at work?) have shown employees the benefits of a healthier work/life balance.

Equality for parental leave holds strong. Parental leave benefits remained largely the same from 2021, continuing an encouraging trend. About 75 percent of companies we surveyed do not differentiate between primary and secondary caregivers, which points to a larger movement that promotes equality for all parents.

Companies are looking to conserve budget

As economic uncertainty looms, employers recast their priorities for compensation as well as DEI programs—clashing with employee expectations.

The findings from our 2022 Talent & People Practices Benchmark Survey highlighted the disconnect between employee compensation expectations and employer budget constraints. Both sides are feeling the heat of rising inflation costs and budgetary concerns of the market downturn, culminating in market conditions we haven’t quite seen before.

Annual increases on the decline. Overall, the percentage of companies offering annual increases fell from 86 percent to 76 percent—nearly a 12 percent decrease since 2021. The drop appears to be at odds with many employees’ expectations that annual increases will at least cover inflation costs this year. In previous downturns, I often heard that people were just happy to have job security, but with living costs constricting household income, many employees expect to see raises.

The value of DEI programs is still being understood. Only one-third of companies have diversity recruiting goals and DEI training programs in place as of this year. Unfortunately, the percentage of respondents who named DEI as a priority for the coming year dropped from 47 percent to 38 percent—nearly a fifth less than the companies who prioritized it last year.

This data underpins the disconnect between employer priorities and employee expectations. Throughout this year, I’ve been included in many hiring processes, including advising our portfolio companies on hiring, and nearly every single candidate asks what DEI programs are in place. It’s a major factor for talent evaluating a potential employer—predominantly Gen Z, the first minority-majority generation and remarkably vocal about seeing more diversity in the workplace (primarily in senior leadership positions).

Earlier this year we welcomed senior advisors Rachel Williams (DEI) and Shu Dar Yao (ESG) to our team, strengthening our commitment to progress in creating broader representation in our industry. Our Portfolio Services team continues to support our portfolio founders, CEOs, and their teams in building diverse, equitable, and inclusive companies.

Hiring and talent acquisition plans are scaling back

The “war for talent” seems to be cooling off as companies trade in their growth-at-all-costs mindsets for a more sustainable approach.

Our 2022 Talent & People Practices Benchmark Survey indicated that hiring will scale back in 2023. The workforce landscape is changing fast though. In late summer when we solicited survey responses, we were already seeing the news of companies undergoing large-scale layoffs. Since then, and as recently as this week, more companies have announced reductions in force (RIFs) and/or hiring freezes. I wrote about clear, compassionate communication for handling RIFs in Harvard Business Review, which I encourage company leaders to read.

Companies are planning to hire fewer people. The number of companies planning to hire 21+ employees in the next 12 months fell to 55 percent in 2022, a 14 percent decline from 2021. This shift is part of a larger trend to optimize budgets as businesses look to do more with less.

Companies are utilizing in-house talent acquisition teams more. The number of companies utilizing internal talent acquisition (TA) teams has steadily increased over the past few years, and in 2022 we saw a near 50/50 split between companies that do and don’t use internal TA teams. A sizable portion (37 percent) of companies reported that their internal TA team brought in over three-quarters of the new hires at the company.

We expect this trend to slow in the coming quarters as budgets tighten and growth plans are cut back. There will likely be an increased focus on leveraging internal teams, but teams will be leaner and more attuned to measuring their productivity. We are also beginning to see companies supplement with contractors on an “as needed” basis, an approach that is easier to scale up or down as conditions change.

Companies may pay more per hire. Hiring costs seem to be reverting back to pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, 30 percent of companies reported an average cost per hire to be between $5-10k versus 22 percent of companies in 2021 who reported the same. The hiring cost efficiencies gained last year look like a blip on the radar, which could put a strain on budgets as companies look to optimize across all aspects of business.

The opportunities that lie ahead in 2023

It’s hard to forecast how the economy will shape the HR landscape in the next 12 months. It’s likely many people leaders will have tough conversations as their companies make complex trade-offs. I find it incredibly helpful to understand how my peers are navigating unknowns, and hope our 2022 Talent & People Practices Benchmark Survey findings can provide that guidance for your 2023 plans.

My parting wisdom is to be as open, kind, and transparent as you can be with your employees. Compassion goes a long way in overcoming challenging circumstances, which holds true in any market.

I’d like to thank Laura Buckingham Thomas for driving this survey year after year, as well as our dedicated Talent leaders Teri McFadden, Kris Snodgrass, Lauren Heller, and Julia Lewis for their insightful analysis.

Watch Our Webinar Discussing The Findings

The post How Startups are Balancing Budgets, Benefits, and Hiring for 2023 appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

But here’s the bad news: McKinsey reports that women still comprise just 30-35 percent of the overall PE workforce in America. In other words, we still have a long way to go before we reach true equity. (And the story is the same in venture capital.)

I’m confident that the progress will continue. Why? Because the data is clear: increasing the representation of women in private equity and women in venture capital not only supports equity, but also delivers better financial results. PE committees with at least one woman outperform those composed of only men by an IRR (internal rate of return) average of 12 percent, and 52 percent per dollar invested. The incentives for firms to continue to do better are simply too strong for us not to trend up and to the right.

All that said, I have experienced firsthand the unique challenges that come with being a woman in the private equity world. Over the years, I have spoken with lots of other female leaders in the industry, and reflected on the lessons and insights we’ve shared. Here are some tips that I believe can help the industry become more equitable, and help more women flourish over the long term.

1. Don’t be deterred by your view of traditional finance
One reason we have a shortage of women in venture capital and private equity may be misconceptions about the industry. Don’t be deterred by what you think of traditional investment banking. Venture capital firms focus on new and emerging businesses and spend their time evaluating opportunities not pitching new clients. Investment professionals provide more than capital to help companies grow. For example, at Norwest, we provide relevant domain expertise, a rich network of contacts, and a breadth of services to add value to our companies.

When more women understand that venture capital and investing in general is more dynamic, more person-centered, and more exciting than their impressions of traditional banking – I believe we will continue to see more women in venture capital and investing overall.

2. Find a mentor or sponsor
To elevate to a management role, women in private equity or venture capital should find a mentor who can advise, guide, and help them navigate their career path.

And don’t be afraid to proactively reach out. Veteran private equity recruiter Gail McManus tells women in the industry that mentoring doesn’t have to be formal. Most established women in private equity, all the way up to partners, respond positively to requests for guidance. They are often keen to take up-and-coming female investors under their wings.

That said, remember that your mentor or champion doesn’t have to be a woman. Often, your best ally will be a man – mainly because there are more men in management roles today. Finally, recognize that even with a mentor, you will need to find a champion who is willing to go to bat for you as you move up the ladder. Your champion will be someone within your firm while your mentor may be on the outside.

3. Start early and stick to it
For many women in private equity, venture capital, and growth equity investing, joining a firm at the entry associate level and moving up the ranks is the best way to enter the buy-side world. It is much easier than trying to make the move later in your career.

Indeed, most investment banking firms have an age ceiling for entry-level positions. The estimated cut-off age for analysts is 25, while associate-level roles are limited to 35 and younger.

The logic behind this hiring policy has been that the positions require working long hours on pitch books, financial models, and projections. There’s a lot to learn, and finding that true distraction-free dedication can be a struggle for those in their 40s and 50s.

Private equity and growth equity firms most often are hiring out of these investment banking roles of Analyst and Associate.

On the venture capital side, there are more opportunities for successful entrepreneurs to transition their way into the investing sector – but again, starting early is the best move, and the most guaranteed route to success.

The other bonus of starting early is that the longer your career in private equity or venture capital, the easier it is to come back, should you choose to take a break to start a family. You’ll be at a more senior level at the time you leave.

If you enter early and stick to the private equity career path, I think you’ll find that this is one of the most fulfilling and tangible careers in the financial industry.

4. You CAN have it all
This is one I want to shout from the rooftops. For women who want a career or already have a private equity job, you CAN have it all!

You don’t have to choose between career and family. I’ve met plenty of highly successful women in venture capital and private equity who have young children. I myself have raised a family while maintaining my career. Of course, there are trade-offs, but I have found the fulfilling nature of my work worth it. It is different from being in a client-facing senior role at an investment bank that can be challenging on balance.

5. Support other women walking your path
The private equity career path for women is no cakewalk. Only 10 percent of women in private equity have senior roles. The figure is much lower for women in venture capital: just 4.9 percent.

Alongside burgeoning DEI initiatives and programs, the way we change this is to roll our sleeves up and help one another. Women general partners are two times more likely to invest in female founders than their male counterparts. The old adage that people like to work with people like themselves has some truth in it.

Female business leaders like me often have young women ask us how to get into private equity or venture capital. Maybe as more women join the leadership ranks the question can shift to how can women in private equity and VC help each other succeed?

The more that female executives and investors can help educate, attract and retain qualified female candidates, the more opportunity we’re creating for female partners and women-owned investment firms.

To a brighter, more equal future!

The post Women in Private Equity: Career Tips from an Industry Veteran appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

Read our Q&A with Zack to find out what led him to Norwest, which healthcare trends he’s excited about, and how he’d advise entrepreneurs.

Q: What drew you to the General Partner opportunity at Norwest?

The culture; it’s a big differentiator that separates the great firms from the OK firms and I think Norwest has captured that equation better than any firm I’ve seen.

Zack: There are several factors that drove my decision to join Norwest. I was one of the co-founders of my last firm, so it wasn’t something that I took lightly. The way I found out about the opportunity was through Tiba Aynechi. Tiba and I started our careers together at Burrill & Company and, after we had both left Burrill, invested together when we were at different firms. When Tiba called to tell me that she had joined Norwest, she mentioned the open medtech partner role and said that she thought I would be a perfect candidate. I initially didn’t think I would be interested because of what we had accomplished at Revelation Partners, but Norwest has a great healthcare team and has built a very successful investment platform. It’s one of the most experienced and successful venture capital firms in the United States with over 65 years of investing history. I was attracted to a platform that has proven its longevity; I knew the firm had just raised its 16th fund. It all resonated with me.

Culture was also a critical component. Culture is not only how you interact with your colleagues when you’re looking at investment, but how you establish and maintain a level of candor and friendliness. It’s a tough balance to keep in a venture capital firm—even for the most successful firms. I’m turning 50 in November, and I’ve instituted a rule: I will only work with people I like and who I think are high quality. I spent a lot of time vetting the Norwest team and appreciate the firm’s results and collaborative culture. It’s a big differentiator that separates the great firms from the OK firms and I think Norwest has captured that equation better than any firm I’ve seen.

Lastly, there’s always a debate in the venture community about whether it’s better for a firm to be highly specialized in just one vertical like healthcare or if there are complimentary benefits to having a more diversified approach, which Norwest has. I’m a firm believer in the latter. The healthcare sector is going through a digital transformation and entered a period of rapid evolution that was triggered by the challenges of the pandemic. I saw Norwest’s multi-sector investment team as a competitive advantage where I can leverage the expertise from the other verticals to make better investments in healthcare.

Q: What will be your investment focus in this new role?

My focus will be on devices, diagnostics, and healthtech. Within the healthtech sector, I focus on two areas. One is provider focused businesses, selling to hospital systems and physicians, where I can tap into my experience and understanding of the realities of practicing medicine. The other area I focus on is pharmatech and real-world evidence businesses.

Zack: My focus will be on devices, diagnostics, and healthtech or tech-enabled services. Within the healthtech sector, I focus on two areas. One is provider focused businesses, selling to hospital systems and physicians, where I can tap into my experience and understanding of the realities of practicing medicine. The other area I focus on is pharmatech and real-world evidence businesses. Even though I specialize in medical devices and healthtech, I’ve done a fair bit of investing in biopharmaceuticals in my career. I’m aware of my limitations as an investor in biopharmaceuticals; however, there are clear areas in drug development where we know there’s a need for improvements—identifying new targets, improving the efficiency of research and development, innovating better ways to execute clinical trials—where technology can play a significant role. Tiba, my biopharma partner, will be leading the firm’s efforts in the biotech space, and I’m looking forward to collaborating with her in that. I am also excited about working closely with the other two partners on the healthcare team, Ryan Harris and Casper de Clercq, who are both very accomplished healthcare investors. I really value their experience and appreciate their complementary views when looking at new investment opportunities. Across the healthcare team at Norwest, we have extensive experience across all of the subsectors in the healthcare market which I believe will help us make smarter decisions and generate an overall better return for our investors.

Q: How does your background in medicine influence your approach to investing?

I try to overlay the practicalities of a physician practice, whether that has to do with the nuances of a procedure or understanding the landscape of alternative therapies and incorporate that all into—what I would hope is—a realistic view of what is a good technology.

Zack: I first take a critical clinical approach when I look at an investment, both in terms evaluating the patient outcomes and clinical benefits of a procedure and in weighing the risks of that therapy. Then, I try to overlay the practicalities of a physician practice, whether that has to do with the nuances of a procedure or understanding the landscape of alternative therapies and incorporate that all into—what I would hope is—a realistic view of what is a good technology.

Overall, I would say I tend to gravitate toward technologies that result in more profound changes in clinical practice. I do not like investing in technologies that are slightly better improvements on existing therapies; I like to invest in companies and products that I think will have a meaningful impact for the healthcare system as a whole. I think that’s where you can make the most money and have the biggest impact.

Q: What are the most impactful healthcare trends you anticipate in the next few years?

The work being done in real-world evidence is compelling. When physicians see a patient in clinic, they are only getting a snapshot of that patient’s clinical journey. It’s the patient’s experience outside the clinic that matters more—and real-world data gives us a view of the patient journey that we haven’t had before.

Zack: In general, we’re approaching the critical time where the Baby Boomer population is coming through the healthcare system and they’re consuming the largest parts of its resources, which are constrained by definition. As a result, there is going to be an increased focus on the level of clinical evidence that medical products have before you see widespread adoption. A few decades ago, there was a trend where companies could get a quicker FDA approval for products called the 510(k) pathway which doesn’t require the level of clinical evidence that you would see for a novel product. Companies tried to quickly commercialize products through that regulatory pathway, which at the time probably sounded smart, but in the long run led to many commercial challenges. Companies that have focused on the science and sound clinical data are going to be the long-term winners within the medical device sector.

Similarly, within the healthtech sector, the work being done in real-world evidence is very compelling to me. When physicians see a patient in clinic, they are only getting a snapshot of that patient’s clinical journey. It’s the patient’s experience outside the clinic that matters more—and real-world data gives us a view of the patient journey that we haven’t had before. An example of this is my investment in Evidation Health. Evidation uses data collected from your mobile device, with your permission, and couples it with sophisticated analytics to get a more holistic view of the patient journey. In one of the company’s published studies, they reported that they were able to identify elderly patients with early signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s by how they interacted with their phone—and it was more accurate than some of the standard questionnaires and tests that physicians do. The ability to use that real-world data to identify patients with a disease earlier can eventually help them get treated quicker and hopefully have a better outcome.

Q: What one piece of advice would you share with entrepreneurs in the healthcare space?

Honesty and candor are key. In the startup world, there’s a tendency to want to “fake it ‘till you make it.” Nothing turns me off more as an investor than to have an entrepreneur who pretends they know what they don’t know.

Zack: For me, honesty and candor are key. In the startup world, there’s a tendency to want to “fake it ‘till you make it.” Nothing turns me off more as an investor than to have an entrepreneur who pretends they know what they don’t know. The greatest partnerships I’ve had with CEOs and management teams are ones where they feel comfortable enough with me to share their questions and their challenges—even if it’s just to use me as a sounding board. I’d like to think one of my differentiating characteristics as an investor is to take things in stride, not overreact, and engage in the problems. And hopefully instill that trust with entrepreneurs. It makes the harder conversations easier and allows you to run a business much more efficiently, from both a capital and human capital perspective. Candor is important. That’s number one.

Number two is a realistic understanding of the market and the time to get there. And, lastly, what probably ties to both is a willingness to take feedback and incorporate it. You may disagree but try to entertain different perspectives.

Q: What is your perfect day off?

My wife and I hosted a reunion for my family in July up in Tahoe, my favorite day of the reunion was when we spent the morning boating on the lake, and then enjoyed an afternoon lounging at the beach and paddleboarding. It was pretty perfect.

Zack: I’m very close with my family, especially my two brothers, and it’s similar with my wife’s side of the family, and so we spend a lot of our time off with them. My wife and I hosted a reunion for my family in July up in Tahoe, my favorite day of the reunion was when we spent the morning boating on the lake, and then enjoyed an afternoon lounging at the beach and paddleboarding. It was pretty perfect. My brothers joke that it was like going to camp. I half-joke that I was reliving my first and favorite job ever, which was as a camp counselor from sixth grade all the way through high school.

About Zack Scott

Dr. Zack Scott previously served on the board of directors for Cianna Medical, Coherex Medical, Evidation Health, Providence Medical Technology, Respicardia, Spiration, and Syapse.

Prior to joining Norwest, Zack was the co-founder and managing partner of Revelation Partners, a dedicated secondary investor specializing in shareholder liquidity and growth capital for healthcare companies. During his time at Revelation Partners, he made notable investments in Omada Health, iRhythm Technologies (IPO), SetPoint Medical, and Respicardia (acquired by Zoll Medical).

Before working in private equity, Zack was a General Surgery resident at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. He earned his M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio where he was a member of the AOA Medical Honors Society, and subsequently earned an M.B.A. with a specialized certificate in Health Sector Management from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University where he was a Fuqua Scholar.

More on Zack Scott and our growing Healthcare VC team

Read the press release

Connect with Zack on LinkedIn

The post Meet Dr. Zack Scott, Norwest’s New Data-Driven General Partner in Healthcare appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

Teri McFadden is a Principal for Talent & Retention in Norwest’s Portfolio Services team. She has more than 20 years’ experience in leadership recruiting and human resources development. She offers her observations about why, when, and how startups can use retention equity as a compensation tool.

Retaining top talent is an escalating priority for companies of all sizes, but early-stage startups have a narrower range of tools to achieve this goal compared to large, established enterprises. Most startups must be careful about how much money they allocate to salaries, and promotions to more senior positions are limited when total employment is only in the low hundreds. So, equity takes on an outsized role in compensation plans.

Follow-on grants of stock options are sometimes used to retain key employees, but without proper planning and a clear strategy, such “retention equity” can lead to unintended consequences, disgruntled employees, conflicts with the board, and depleted coffers.

That’s why founders of young, private companies must pay close attention to three topics when devising their compensation strategies:

• What is retention equity and how can it become a challenge?
• How can retention equity cause problems with employees and boards?
• What guidelines and best practices should startups follow for effective retention equity?

The Long Road to Exit Leads to Retention Equity

For decades, it has been standard practice in startups to grant employees stock options as a major element of compensation. In most cases those options are fully vested in four years. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, most companies were exiting in four to five years, which meant employees were able to realize the value of those options fairly quickly. Today, however, we’re seeing companies exit in eight to 10 years, or even longer. So that four-year vesting window doesn’t reach the exit point. That leaves some employees frustrated. When that happens, management can be tempted to sweeten the pot with additional options – or retention equity.

It’s not only an issue with early employees. As companies mature, they start to hire from larger public companies whose employees may be accustomed to receiving RSUs (restricted stock units), which give employees equity on an annual basis but are less costly to the equity pool. These employees may not understand the difference between public company RSUs and private company stock options and are likely to desire a program in which they receive ongoing grants. Hence, more pressure on management to offer retention equity.

I never heard about retention equity when companies were exiting in a few years, but it’s becoming a big issue as the time to exit lengthens. Now, I frequently hear from CEOs of our portfolio companies who are seeking guidance on retention equity.

What I tell them is to think carefully before taking any action, because the perceived short-term benefits may be overwhelmed by longer-term challenges. A young company is naturally focused on a relatively small number of hires, but as a company grows and the number of employees increases, a retention equity program can become quite “expensive” (i.e., dilutive to the option pool). Once the expectation of a retention equity program has been set with employees, it can be damaging to morale to take it away when it does become too expensive, erasing any benefit the program might have had in earlier days. So, I tell even seed-stage companies to think about what their strategy will be for retention, because it’s going to have long-term impacts on their equity pools and burn rates.

Even seed-stage companies must think about what their philosophy is for retention, because it’s going to have long-term impacts on the equity pool and burn rate.

Slicing the Pie Ever Thinner

A helpful way to think about the long-term impact of retention equity is to imagine equity as a freshly baked pie.

When a company is formed and has its initial funding, there is a pool of equity: founders’ shares, investors’ shares, and employees’ shares. That’s the whole pie. A couple of decades ago, those three segments were roughly equal. Over the last 20 years, as exit windows have lengthened, companies have had to raise more money. When founders raise more money, the investor slice of the pie gets bigger while the founder and employee slices get smaller. As companies add more people, the employee piece of the pie is further divided to accommodate new-hire grants. So, leaders concerned about keeping key employees are working with a slice of pie that is smaller and is divided among more people over a longer period.

Here’s the basic challenge: it’s a finite equity pie with slices for founders, investors, and employees. It’s not like a public company that issues evergreen grants every year and RSUs that don’t have a strike price. It’s a much different environment in a private company, and private companies at all stages need to clearly communicate to employees how options work, what their value is, and how to formulate a wealth-creation plan based on that new-hire grant. The leadership should manage expectations so employees do not assume they will continually get more options over time. Even the semantic difference between “refresh” and “retention” communicates an important distinction.

Pre-public companies must be very judicious about who receives retention equity, because if they set up a program where everybody receives retention grants every one to two years, it consumes too much of the pie. At some point, the board will step in and say they’re not going to support it, and then the leadership has a problem when employees who expect a retention benefit see it taken away.

Pre-public companies must be very judicious about who receives retention equity.

I have seen this in portfolio companies that have had generous and expensive retention equity programs that made annual grants to all employees. That works great for three or four years, but then the board says we’ve got another three to four years to go before we exit, and we can’t continue to fund this program because we need the options for new hires. Then instead of a retention benefit, they have a retention issue with disgruntled employees.

That’s why it’s critically important for management to have a philosophy and strategic approach to the role of equity in employee compensation that is modeled out for the long term. We encourage founders to build their equity compensation plans as early as possible. It may seem premature to do this when you’re still a very small company, but it can save a lot of frustration and challenges later on. We work with our CEOs/founders to build these plans, especially when they don’t yet have a head of Finance or HR.

It’s critically important for management to have a philosophy and strategic approach to the role of equity in employee compensation.

Of equal importance is how leaders communicate the company’s philosophy and strategy to all employees; communication must be clear and consistent.

Retention Equity Alternatives and the Importance of Communication

Managers concerned about keeping a high-value employee have some alternatives. For example, “boxcar vesting” is a technique where the follow-on grant doesn’t start vesting until the new-hire grant is fully vested. However, it can have an accelerated schedule, so that at the end of, say, six years, the employee has both their new-hire and retention grants fully vested. So you can issue retention equity at an earlier time frame (when someone is only 50% vested) at a lower strike price instead of waiting until they are fully vested and the strike price is likely higher.

One program we offer to our portfolio companies is manager training around compensation: taking them from seed stage through exit and showing what happens to equity in that process, and how to communicate that to new hires.

For later stage companies, it may make sense to switch the focus from percentage ownership to the value of equity when communicating to employees. For many employees, equity is a mysterious black box that someday might contain a lot of money, but they don’t really understand how it works. So, I encourage companies to give employees a simple spreadsheet where they can do their own math. If they’re evaluating opportunities at other companies – and if compensation is a big factor in their decision – they should be able to calculate the potential value of X number of RSUs over the next four years at an established company versus what their new-hire grant might eventually be worth.

I believe companies should educate their employees that wealth creation in a startup comes with the initial hire grant. The focus for every single employee – from founder to individual contributor – should be on creating additional value in that initial grant. They also should know that subsequent grants aren’t going to be as meaningful.

Companies should educate their employees that wealth creation in a startup comes with the initial hire grant.

Two things happen when a company refreshes equity three or four years after someone has joined:

• The amount is significantly less than the new-hire grant
• The strike price (if the company is doing well) is much higher

At exit, then, the initial grant is going to have a lot more value than the retention equity. It’s very important to clearly communicate to employees that when they join, they’re here for the long term. The reward for this commitment is a greater return on their initial grant through a successful exit.

Designing the Optimum Retention Equity Program

I’m not saying retention equity is a bad idea, but it is one that must be carefully designed and explained. Here are some suggestions for setting up a program for success:

• Retention equity plans should be conservative programs that allow for additional equity grants to top-tier employees. Managers should clearly communicate that these are “retention” grants — not “refresh” grants — that are awarded based on performance and are not given as standard practice.
• Retention equity should be calculated using 25 percent of a new-hire grant.
• Plans must balance equity conservation and smart distribution for targeted retention.
• Decide on the eligibility date for employees to receive retention grants (when they are 50 percent, 75 percent, or 100 percent vested in the initial grant); then decide on the vesting schedule (standard four-year vest with or without a one-year cliff; or boxcar vesting). Many companies choose 75 percent vested on new hire grants and standard vesting with a one-year cliff on retention grants, which is relatively conservative and easy to communicate to employees.
• There should be a culture of understanding that the value of the initial equity grant is the primary vehicle for wealth creation.
• Compensation decisions must be based on hard data. Work with a provider like Option Impact, which is probably the best source for venture-backed data, particularly for equity.
• Compensation and equity bands should be determined early in a company’s life, then continually reviewed and adjusted as the company increases in size and revenue and raises additional capital.

The Takeaway

Retention equity can be a valuable tool, but it should be only one element in a larger compensation and retention strategy that takes a long-range view, targets a select number of high-value employees, and is communicated clearly and consistently.

About the Author: Teri McFadden is a Principal for Talent & Retention in Norwest’s Portfolio Services team. She has more than 20 years’ experience in leadership recruiting and human resources development. During her career, Teri has cultivated a robust network of entrepreneurs, executives, and key industry influencers to help grow portfolio companies with the best possible management teams and boards of directors. She works closely with Norwest investment professionals, co-investors, and board members, as well as portfolio company founders and CEOs, to evaluate new investment opportunities and grow existing portfolio companies.

The post Retention Equity: How to Make Sure There’s Pie for Everyone appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

To answer these and related questions, I held a virtual fireside chat for CEOs from some of our portfolio companies where I spoke with two executives who walk the talk when it comes to DEI:

• Leslie Stretch (below left), President and CEO of Medallia, a SaaS-based provider of solutions for managing and improving the experience of customers, employees, and citizens. Previously, he was President and CEO of CallidusCloud and held senior positions at Oracle and Sun Microsystems.
• James White (below right), who has more than 30 years of experience as a corporate leader, board member, and advocate for diversity and equity. He is the former Chair, President and CEO of Jamba Juice and has held senior executive roles at Safeway, Gillette, Nestle-Purina, and Coca-Cola. He has served on more than a dozen public or private boards and is the author of “Anti-Racist Leadership: How to Transform Corporate Culture in a Race-Conscious World.”

Here are some of James and Leslie’s key points from our discussion.

Diversity in hiring makes good business sense

LS: The business case for a totally blind, diverse recruitment push is a no-brainer. If you don’t get it, you’re dense and you shouldn’t be in business. The demographics are against us if we think we can continue to recruit people just like us. We’re missing out on huge quantities of fabulous talent. If your lens isn’t completely blind and broad, you’re going to miss 2/3 of the potential candidates.

On my first day at Medallia in 2018, I stood in front of an all-hands meeting; it was not a diverse group. That didn’t feel right, and I told them so. My concern was that if we didn’t look blindly for talent everywhere we can, we would never become an escape-velocity company. And that would negatively impact our ability to deliver on a promise I made at that meeting: to go public in 18 months (we went out in 11).

“My concern was that if we didn’t look blindly for talent everywhere we can, we would never become an escape-velocity company” – Leslie Stretch

JW: The issue of race is one of the most intractable problems in our history. If we can create more inclusiveness and access for Black Americans, it’s going to lift all boats. This is not a zero-sum game. This is about building a better company. From a selfish, capitalist perspective the best leaders view diversity in hiring as a competitive advantage. They’re going to be able to win the battles for talent.

LS: We don’t do this to tick a box. We do it to tap into a talent pool way bigger than our historic talent pool, which initially was focused on growing a business in Silicon Valley.

“The issue of race is one of the most intractable problems in our history. If we can create more inclusiveness and access for Black Americans, it’s going to lift all boats. This is not a zero-sum game.” – James White

If it’s important, it must be measured

LS: Nothing you say will matter if you don’t change incentives. So, we told our executives that in two years they had to move from Blacks being 1 percent of our workforce to 13 percent, which is the national average for Black representation in the workplace. And if they didn’t meet that goal, they would get no equity in the company. (Our goal in year 1 was 6 percent and we hit 7 percent. Today, we’re still a little short of the 13 percent goal.)

JW: When I heard that Leslie had done that, I sent him a note of congratulations. He then invited me to speak about my experiences as a Black executive to a 1,000-person meeting at Medallia, which started a relationship that led to my joining the company’s board.

“We don’t do this to tick a box. We do it to tap into a talent pool way bigger than our historic talent pool.” – Leslie Stretch

DEI can’t be separated from culture … and culture starts with the CEO

JW: You can’t separate DEI from the culture of the company. It has to be part of the values and strategy. You have to bake it into the core processes. And the CEO owns the company’s culture. I’ve been so impressed that for Leslie, building a more inclusive company is part and parcel of culture. Leslie doesn’t delegate this work; he leads the work.

After the George Floyd moment, Leslie made this a priority – in the boardroom, in the company, and outside the company. He asked me to be a resource to Blacks at Medallia, but Leslie is the executive sponsor for that group. (He’s also the executive sponsor for the LGBTQ+ group.)

“You can’t separate DEI from the culture of the company. And the CEO owns the company’s culture.” – James White

LS: People have to see leaders who look like them. They need visible examples of a commitment to diversity. Soon after I arrived at Medallia I hired two senior leaders who are Black, and the value they have added to the business is clear and compelling. In Alabama, we established a call center and hired 200 local people – talented, qualified people with track records. It’s been very successful for us.

Not everyone will agree … but don’t let that deter you

LS: There will always be pockets of people who won’t agree with this. They want to go back to life as it was but will never be again. Our leadership team was totally behind our diversity effort. But the farther away you get from headquarters, the more questions and doubts you’ll hear. You have to recognize that and handle it sensitively. But I don’t have the time and energy to convince every skeptic. Hopefully, they’ll stay and see the results.

Hire for potential … but be careful how you evaluate it

LS: Potential is a key factor in recruitment for small companies. I hear a lot of executives say, “I’m going to hire the best X there is.” Well, if you’re a small company, that just isn’t going to happen. You’re either going to get a mediocre talent or one with high potential.

JW: I look at potential through the lens of my own experience. During the early years of my career, I was never promoted based on my potential. I had to prove myself time and time again.

LS: Hiring for potential is important, but it can be deceptive. People who hire on potential see traits of themselves in the persons they are interviewing, and that often means they see only through the narrow lens of their own experience. So, the danger is that the person with potential could look very much like yourself. That’s what you’ve got to watch out for. You have to look at people through a much broader lens.

Final thoughts

JW: If something really matters to the company, then you can’t delegate it. You have to own it, lead it, measure it, and compensate people for it. The best CEOs are going to take a stand on this issue and in doing so they’re going to advantage of themselves and their companies.

LS: This isn’t hard. There are tons of resources and help available. You just have to make the commitment and put the mechanisms in place. We changed our recruiting sources. We changed our hiring model. We enlisted many partners.

Established, mature companies are still grappling with this issue. But small and scaling companies have a great opportunity to do this from the beginning.

The post Turning DEI Talk into Action: Advice from Executives Who Have Created Change appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

To get a perspective on stress, burnout, and other mental health issues, I held a virtual fireside chat with Melissa Doman, M.A. – a widely recognized mental health at work speaker, consultant, and Organizational Psychologist, for CEOs and other senior leaders from our portfolio companies.

Melissa is a former clinical therapist and the author of “Yes, You Can Talk About Mental Health at Work: Here’s Why … and How to Do It Really Well.” Here are excerpts of Melissa’s responses to the topics we discussed.

How to think about “mental health” and “mental illness”

Mental health is our baseline social, emotional, and cognitive functioning. It is something that everyone on the planet has. Mental illness is a clinically diagnosable condition that impacts your emotional, social, and cognitive functioning – sometimes daily, sometimes occasionally.

There are over 300 types of mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, anorexia, etc. Prior to the pandemic, one in four persons in the world would experience a mental health condition sometime in their lifetime. Since the pandemic, that number is increasing.

People often forget that the brain is an organ. Like any other organ in the body, there is a health state, a stress state, and an illness state. But because the brain governs who we are –how we think, how we work, and how we interact with others –when that organ acts in a way that others do not understand, historically it’s been made a bogeyman. And that’s something I’m trying to change.

Mental health must be discussed in the workplace

Let’s be very clear: talking about – and managing – one’s mental health is an essential adult practice. It is just as important as breathing, eating, and sleeping.

Oftentimes, people don’t even want to say the words “mental illness,” because it feels too scary. But talking about mental illness should be no different than, say, talking about diabetes, cancer, or any other condition that requires awareness, education, and treatment.

Talking about – and managing – one’s mental health is an essential adult practice. It is just as important as breathing, eating, and sleeping.

We tend to separate work and personal life, and mental health is seen as a “personal” issue. But you can’t separate your brain from work. We need our brains to do our work. So, when there’s an issue with the health of the brain, there can be a direct impact on a person’s ability to do their work.

Any workplace that isn’t at least attempting to talk about mental health is failing its workers. High-value employees will increasingly recognize this cultural deficiency and look for a better work environment.

One of the comments I hear most often is that people fear raising a mental health issue because they will be seen as “weak” or incapable of doing their work. Why is there fear of being ostracized or judged for talking about something that we all share?

We need our brains to do our work. So, when there’s an issue with the health of the brain, that can have a direct impact on a person’s ability to do their work.

If someone is sufficiently self-aware that they recognize they have mental health issues, and if they are trying to manage those issues, isn’t that a sign of emotional intelligence and responsibility that we should reward, not punish? People who are brave enough to talk about an issue demonstrate insight, strength, and personal responsibility – qualities that any company looks for in a team member. And talking about it will encourage people to take action to manage their mental health.

Recognizing signs of potential mental health issues

Mental health issues are not as easy to recognize because they’re often invisible, and people can be extremely proficient at hiding their emotional state from others.

The key is to pay attention to people’s baselines. And when you see variations from the baseline, there’s probably a reason. There are many potential indicators of a change from baseline: how a person looks, their body language, the words they choose, how much (or little) they talk, and their vocal tone. We shouldn’t assume we know the reasons for these changes, but if there are variations from baseline, there probably is a cause. That cause may be episodic or chronic, but it requires attention.

If you ask, “How are you?” people will seldom give you an honest answer if something is wrong. We need a work environment and a culture that signals it’s OK to respond, “You know, I’ve been having a really rough time lately.”

Similarly, it’s OK to ask (gently) for an answer if you sense something really isn’t right. (Remember those signals of variations from baseline.) Try to normalize conversations about mental health, just as people might have a conversation if someone is experiencing another type of medical issue. But you also have to respect that if someone doesn’t want to talk about their mental health, it’s their right not to share that information. Remember, asking someone how they’re doing is about helping them, not your need to help someone.

Creating room for conversation

In scaling businesses, talking about mental health is typically not a high priority, even though it should be. But introducing the topic is a gradual process. You have to start by explaining why you’re raising the topic. Give clear, authentic reasons: mental health is an issue of concern for everyone and for the business; raising the issue is not a weakness, it’s a strength.

If an activity or attitude is important to the company, it must be modeled from the top. All management must exhibit awareness and care about mental health. And of course, no member of senior management – the CEO included – is immune to having mental health issues of their own. They must be willing to acknowledge their own issues. It’s like the airplane safety instructions: put on your own oxygen mask before you help others.

The more that mental health is discussed – in an open, caring, nonjudgmental way – the more likely a person will self-identify and raise a flag. That’s the behavior we want to encourage.

The more that mental health is discussed – in an open, caring, nonjudgmental way – the more likely a person will self-identify and raise a flag. That’s behavior we want to encourage.

It’s vital that companies encourage self-awareness about mental health and point to available resources. And to remember that good leadership can, and should, come from any level in an organization.

Talking about tragic events at work

A broad range of feelings can arise following tragic events, and they are completely reasonable to feel. When confronted with heartbreaking news stories, one can be overwhelmed by anger, fear, helplessness, resentment, sadness, confusion, trauma, rage, and anxiety that you or a loved one “could be next”. And when these feelings come up, the best thing we can do is allow ourselves to experience them as they come up instead of pushing them away. We have those feelings for a reason – to help us respond to stimuli in our environment and to signal to ourselves (or others) if we need help.

Managers must recognize that employees may be experiencing these feelings in the workplace. The goal should be to create psychologically safe workplaces where people can have open conversations about the issues that are on everyone’s minds. In psychologically safe workplaces, colleagues and managers talk openly about mental health, emotions (even negative ones) are normalized, and people openly take time out of their days for things like therapy appointments.

Managers in a psychologically safe workplace need to lead the way in showing people support. Whether it’s a companywide town hall, a team meeting, or a 1:1, management needs to encourage others to be open about how these events are impacting them and to vocalize what they need from others in terms of conversational support. Remember, regardless of who we are or where we come from, people look to leaders for permission and guidance about the rules of engagement in a team, whether it’s consciously or not.

Is burnout a mental health issue?

It absolutely is. Levels of burnout are skyrocketing, mainly due to the added pressures brought on by the pandemic. Burnout is real. It’s the body and brain saying, “I gave you all the warning signs and you didn’t listen. Now, we’re shutting down for business and you don’t have a choice.”

The signs of burnout can include:

• being overwhelmed by the simplest tasks
• an inability to prioritize
• crying spells
• anger and irritability
• communicating much more or less than usual
• “not playing nicely with others”

But some people show no signs. They can be very good at hiding it, so you’d never know. That’s why it’s so important to normalize conversations so that they can occur proactively, not just in response to problems.

Burnout is a legitimate cause for seeking help. That can mean talking to colleagues or a manager. It can mean seeing a therapist; that’s what they’re there for. It can mean a medical leave of absence for short-term disability.

And managers need to be trained on what to do when a person returns to the workplace after a leave. The first rule is to never assume that you know what the person needs. Ask! Engage in conversation. For example: “We’re happy to have you back, and hope it was a restorative time. I want to be sure you get the support you feel you need, so can you tell me how I can be most helpful in this process.”

You may want to ask whether the person wants to share their story with colleagues. Again, don’t assume the answer either way. It’s up to that person.

Talk about mental illness like you do any other illness

We all would agree that if someone has cancer or some other form of a chronic illness, their company and coworkers should exhibit concern, compassion, and a commitment to help. It’s no different with mental illness. From the CEO down, it’s vital that organizations make clear that talking about mental health, managing one’s own mental health, and seeking help when needed is behavior that’s appropriate and encouraged.

Achieving that environment in a scaling company is not easy. But any organization that professes “our people are our most valuable asset” cannot fail to make mental health a priority.

The post We Need to Talk: Mental Health and Burnout in Startups appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

The pledge was just the first step in what we knew would be an ongoing journey, but we understood that we wouldn’t go it alone. We hired experienced guides to show us the way and invited like-minded partners and portfolio companies to come along.

As our pledge came shortly after Juneteenth, the June 19th holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, the day has gained dual significance for our firm. First and foremost, it is a day to celebrate and reflect on this historic event in American history. It also serves as a familiar signpost on our DEI journey where we can pause to take stock of how far we’ve come and recommit ourselves to moving forward with renewed purpose.

This year, Norwest is again honoring Juneteenth with a paid holiday for employees, and as we did last year, we are sharing updates on our continued work and commitment to DEI.

DEI Progress in 2022

DEI is a principal theme in Norwest’s broader worldview. In the past year we published our worldview to articulate how values inform the investments we make and to showcase the work of DEI-focused portfolio companies including Clever Care and Supplier.io.

We also strengthened our commitment to DEI and ESG by bringing senior advisors Rachel Williams (DEI) and Shu Dar Yao (ESG) onto our advisory team. Rachel guides Norwest and our portfolio companies on strategies and best practices for building diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizations. Shu Dar does the same for strategic ESG initiatives, including climate change, social inequality, and related risks and opportunities.

Specific to our ongoing DEI initiatives, here are some updates from the three major working group areas:

• Hiring – internal firm hiring
• Wiring – investing in portfolio companies with diverse founders
• Portfolio Services – helping portfolio companies implement DEI initiatives

Diversity in Hiring

For internal hiring, we continue to pursue aggressive goals for diversifying our candidate pool by broadening the pools from which we source candidates. We continually track metrics that reflect our level of effort and our results in building a more diverse firm. We are committed to drawing, hiring, and retaining talent from traditionally underrepresented groups in both gender and race/ethnicity. Through these practices, we have been able to diversify our hiring with 32 percent of new Norwest joiners coming from groups who have been traditionally underrepresented in our industry.

Our Portfolio Services team also takes every opportunity to match talent from underrepresented groups to openings within our portfolio. Through Norwest intros, eight placements have come from these groups, representing 15 percent of total referrals.

Diversity in Investments

As investing is our most broad-reaching opportunity for making a difference, this is the area where we are most eager to make progress. Our investing team remains committed to providing diverse founders with opportunities to present to the partnership.

In the last year, the Norwest has invested in:

• Serena Ventures Fund I – a leader in backing diverse founders who are solving problems for diverse communities
• Chingona Ventures Fund II – the largest-ever fundraise by a sole Latina general partner
• A second fund with an extensive track record of backing strong companies with diverse founders, also co-founded by people of color (announcement coming soon)
• A Latinx founder-led technology company that makes an automated, low code tool for web developers (announcement coming soon)

We were particularly gratified to see the recent partnership between Serena Ventures and Brilliant Black Minds, an exceptional program created by our portfolio company Karat to prepare Black tech students for interviews.

We are proud of these investments and we know we have much more work to do to meet our commitment to investing in diverse founders, particularly funding more Black- and Latinx-founded companies.

Enabling DEI for Our Portfolio

Our Portfolio Services team continues to support our portfolio founders, CEOs, and their teams in building diverse, equitable, and inclusive companies. Strategies we have employed include:

• Launching Norwest Board Initiative to source Black and Latinx candidates for open board roles at portfolio companies
• Holding Board Open House events where we help portfolio companies widen their ecosystems for advisor and board talent by bringing their founders/CEOs and Black executive leaders together
• Sourcing and recruiting executives through direct outreach and strategic partnerships to expand hires from underrepresented groups
• Connecting Norwest companies, leadership teams, and HR leaders with each other and thought partners on DEI best practices

Here are a few highlights from the past year:

• Talent Principal Kris Snodgrass presented “Supporting Portfolio Companies to Build Diverse Boards” at the VC Platform Global Conference in April 2022. Kris shared our relationships with the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), Serena Ventures, and the Women on Boards (WOB) Project. Kris’ message encouraged teams to build overlapping networks with underrepresented leaders and prospective Board members where there was no prior connectivity.
• The firm introduced DEI Toolkit to portfolio CEOs at a hiring event in May 2022. The guide serves as an actionable starting point for start-ups to initiate diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging strategies.
• Senior Managing Partner Jeff Crowe hosted a fireside chat in May 2022 on DEI hiring best practices with Medallia executives Leslie Stretch and James White.

In the coming months, we will deliver further support by continuing to develop resources and scalable programs:

• Follow up the aforementioned DEI Toolkit release with an event and workshop series featuring industry leaders to help companies implement the recommendations and practices in the toolkit
• Provide access to interns, management programs, and other value add opportunities via partnerships/expanded networks
• Facilitate ongoing DEI education with quarterly virtual learning sessions and training programs

The DEI Journey Ahead

Although we’re at the two-year mark since we made our pledge, we realize that our journey is just beginning. There is much more work to be done. To fully realize a more inclusive, empathetic, and diverse future, we must continue to hold our firm accountable to our DEI goals, help our portfolio companies achieve theirs, and inspire the broader community to join us.

The post After the Pledge: Reflections on Two Years of DEI Action appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

PALO ALTO, Calif. (May 4, 2022) – Norwest Venture Partners, a leading venture capital and growth equity investment firm, today announced that it named Lisa Ames as the firm’s first chief marketing officer and principal. Ames joins Norwest’s Portfolio Services organization, which offers founders and their teams comprehensive advisory services, a vibrant community, and a range of impactful resources to help companies grow and thrive. Working closely with the firm’s investors, Norwest’s Portfolio Services provides access to advice, resources and collaborative support in the areas of greatest value to today’s companies. 

In addition to appointing Ames as CMO, the firm announced six promotions and two advisory team hires on the Portfolio Services team across critical functions including talent acquisition; people advisory; M&A and capital markets; environmental, social and governance (ESG); and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

“Norwest prides itself on providing holistic support to our founders, CEOs and executives.  Whether we’re partnering with our companies to build and retain a team, establish a strong culture, launch or expand into new markets, or prepare for an IPO, we are dedicated to helping them succeed at every stage of their journey,” said Katie Belding, partner at Norwest, who spearheaded and leads the firm’s Portfolio Services team. “Adding Lisa Ames as our first CMO and promoting several key leaders on the Portfolio Services team underscores Norwest’s ongoing commitment to delivering strategic value and meaningful connections to our portfolio companies.”

Ames brings more than 20 years of B2B marketing experience to Norwest, where she leads the firm’s brand strategy and collaborates with portfolio company leaders to help optimize and scale their businesses for growth. She served as an operating executive with Norwest for the past two years and is continuing in that role in addition to her CMO responsibilities. Prior to joining Norwest, she was vice president of Marketing at Lucidworks and has held leadership roles at VC-backed B2B SaaS companies, including Demandbase and Castlight Health. As a certified Account-Based Marketing (ABM) expert, Ames was a frequent speaker on ABM best practices while at Demandbase.

“As we interviewed our founders and CEOs to better understand Norwest’s value proposition, three significant themes were echoed back to us: Our portfolio leaders rely on Norwest for support in building their teams and culture, activating their brands and taking them to market, and maximizing their valuations,” said Ames. “These insights motivated us to increase our investment in the Portfolio Services team, reflected in today’s promotions and important additions to our ESG and DEI senior advisory team, as well as the creation of our first chief marketing officer position, which I’m honored to hold.”

Ames will also continue to advance Norwest’s ESG and DEI initiatives in partnership with the firm’s senior advisors, investors and portfolio services team. As one of the prominent leaders on Norwest’s ESG and DEI steering committee, she helps Norwest execute on programs related to these initiatives while partnering with the portfolio services team to educate companies on how to develop their own best practices. 

Norwest also recently promoted six key members of the Portfolio Services team:

• Laura Boyd, principal, head of M&A and Capital Markets – Boyd provides M&A, capital markets, debt and private capital advisory support for Norwest’s portfolio companies. Previously she was an investment banker at Harris Williams, Morgan Keegan and UBS, focused on technology and consumer M&A, private placements and structured derivative financings. 
• Laurie Tennant, principal, People Advisory – Tennant advises portfolio company leaders on people management practices and programs; people operations and team infrastructure; policies and compliance; as well as facilitates sharing and learning opportunities for our community of people leaders. She brings more than 20 years of experience in HR leadership at startups and large companies.  
• Teri McFadden, principal, Talent – McFadden co-leads Norwest’s Talent team and drives growth for enterprise portfolio companies by helping them build world-class management teams and boards of directors. She also adds tremendous value to the portfolio with her compensation advisory work across all sectors. She was previously human capital partner at ComVentures and a senior recruiting partner at Accel Partners.
• Kris Snodgrass, principal, Talent – Snodgrass co-leads Norwest’s Talent team and specializes in board, advisor and executive leadership placements for Norwest’s consumer companies. She leverages more than a decade of retained executive search experience recruiting VP- and C-level executives, previously as a principal at Howard Fischer Associates, Bialla & Associates and Heidrick & Struggles.
• Lauren Heller, vice president, Talent – Heller works closely with Norwest’s healthcare investment team and its portfolio companies on strategic hiring and talent searches. Previously she served as chief of staff to the CEO of Caremore Health and was a director at Oxeon Partners, where she partnered with innovative, early-stage healthcare IT and services clients to build high-performing executive teams.
• Julia Noellert, vice president, Talent – Noellert supports the Norwest Growth Equity team and its wide-ranging portfolio with talent and retention expertise. She brings extensive experience recruiting executives across finance and operations from her previous role at Robert Walters, where she partnered with executive teams and founders to drive pivotal searches at early- and late-stage startups.

The firm also strengthened its commitment to ESG and DEI with recent additions to its advisory team:  

• Shu Dar Yao, senior advisor, ESG – Yao educates and guides Norwest and its portfolio companies on strategic ESG initiatives, including climate change, social inequality, and related risks and opportunities. She is the founder and managing partner of Lucid Capitalism and brings 20 years of ESG and impact investing expertise.
• Rachel Williams, senior advisor, DEI – Williams educates and guides the firm and its portfolio companies on diversity and inclusion strategies and best practices. She currently serves as the chief diversity and inclusion officer at The Motley Fool, where she applies her expertise on recruiting, leadership development, employee engagement and retention. Williams was previously the head of DEI at X, the moonshot factory at Alphabet.  

The post Norwest Venture Partners Announces Lisa Ames as First Chief Marketing Officer and Principal appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

At Norwest, we believe this technological revolution still has the potential for much more innovation. When the basic layers of cloud infrastructure have matured, higher layers of services will emerge to enhance and accelerate the development and delivery of new technologies as well as real-time data insights.

At the heart of this revolution are the teams who built Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. Those builders are well-positioned to define the next generation of tools that will simplify what for many seems complex today. We are pleased to announce that a product leader with a Google Cloud pedigree is joining Norwest to explore the creation of new cloud infrastructure. Eyal Manor, former VP/GM of engineering and product at Google Cloud, is assuming an Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) role at Norwest, where we will work closely with him to foster opportunities for discovery and innovation.

Eyal comes to Norwest from Twilio, where, as chief product and engineering officer, he oversaw the execution of product roadmaps for Twilio and Segment’s leading data platform. Eyal has experience building and scaling platforms from early ideation to billions of dollars in revenue. Prior to Twilio, he led a portfolio of technologies at Google Cloud, including Kubernetes, Istio security mesh, Cloud Run, Logging and Monitoring, Marketplace, developer tools, and others. Before joining Google, Eyal showed his entrepreneurial spirit by founding a voice and video SaaS streaming startup and was in the IAF Research Group.

We are eager to work with such an accomplished technologist and can’t wait to see how he’ll push the boundaries of cloud data, infrastructure, and applications in new ways.

“I am excited to partner with a top-tier VC firm like Norwest to push innovation forward and explore new technologies that can accelerate software development for the world.” – Eyal Manor, Entrepreneur in Residence, Norwest Venture Partners

Eyal is equally energized by the possibilities, saying, “I am excited to partner with a top-tier VC firm like Norwest to push innovation forward and explore new technologies that can accelerate software development for the world. I have been privileged to build new platforms and businesses with great people in my career. I look forward to exploring new opportunities that can profoundly accelerate innovation for developers and, more broadly, enterprise software.”

Eyal will join Norwest in March 2023.

Welcome to Norwest, Eyal!

The post Sky’s the Limit: Cloud Product Executive Eyal Manor Joins Norwest as Entrepreneur in Residence appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.

Tiba shares below what led her to Norwest, where healthcare and biotechnology are headed, and what her plans are to help innovators launch and grow companies that will have a lasting impact on these industries.

Q: Why did you join Norwest Venture Partners?

Tiba: After having been at Novo Ventures for almost 12 years, I was ready to take the next step, but it had to be the right fit. I’d sat on the boards of Avalyn Pharma and iRhythm Technologies with Norwest, so I knew how the team approached its investments and how it engaged with a company’s leadership teams. For me, Norwest offered the perfect combination of portfolio involvement and engagement, along with people that truly care about the companies they are backing and a solid reputation in the industry.

It was also important to me to find an environment where there was a collegial, low-ego and collaborative culture, and I felt that immediately at Norwest. This is a firm that commits for the long haul, trusts in its portfolio partners to lead and offers guidance to management teams as needed.

I’m looking forward to spending my time supporting our founders and bringing their ideas to life, as well as working closely with our portfolio companies to help them succeed while still allowing them the latitude to determine what’s best for their team and their company’s mission.

Q: What are your goals in this new role?

Tiba: We have made a strategic decision to expand our investment focus more aggressively in biotech and my charter is to build a world-class team to grow that line of business, deliver positive investment results and, ultimately, improve outcomes for patients and their providers.

I believe the best investments are those where we uncover an unmet need and build a solution around it. A great example of this is iRhythm Technologies, where the founders realized that existing solutions for diagnosing cardiac arrhythmias were archaic and came up with an innovative approach that is now standard of care in many top institutions.

I have had a lot of experience starting and growing companies, including Nkarta, Spruce Biosciences and Avalyn Pharma to name a few. I’m looking forward to building a team here and working together to have a profound impact through our contributions to the industry. I know we have an opportunity to create companies that will improve lives everywhere and I’m ready to get started.

Q: What do you think are the biggest opportunities in healthcare today?

Tiba: In the last 10 years, there has been exponential growth in scientific breakthroughs and translation of novel biology to medicine that can be built upon by investing in continued biotech innovation.

For example, by taking advantage of the groundwork that has been laid in cell therapy and gene therapy, there is an opportunity to invest strategically in companies with targeted and potentially curative therapies. The new vision for healthcare includes predictive, preventative, as well as curative solutions. There is an increased focus on individual care enabled by multidisciplinary approaches incorporating AI and machine learning. We’re also seeing tremendous innovation in digital platforms and the use of virtual technologies that help providers everywhere to deliver better care and healthier outcomes for their patients.

Q: What are a few insights you can share with startup entrepreneurs?

Tiba: Biotech investing is more complicated than most sectors, because you not only have to tackle the scientific challenges but also have to meet stringent regulatory standards and reimbursement requirements. Building a biotech company is itself an empirical science, and it takes time and experience. Having a partner who’s done it before can be a great advantage, especially for first-time founders.

I tell all entrepreneurs I meet to make sure they are gaining an investment partner who deeply understands their sector and can enrich their own capabilities and experience, offering guidance and support throughout the entire journey. They should look for someone with domain expertise and a network built around the needs of a young company – all of which can prove to be invaluable. And, perhaps most important for first-time founders, it is imperative that the investor truly understands the entrepreneur and what they are trying to accomplish; there must be chemistry.

An investor should be a knowledgeable resource that can help with fine-tuning and refining a founder’s overall strategy, making introductions, and offering insights when tough decisions need to be made.

At Norwest, we’re domain experts in the healthcare sector, and we’re building the right team to dive even deeper into biotech in 2022 and beyond.

About Tiba Aynechi
Tiba brings nearly two decades of life sciences research and investing experience, spanning various therapeutic areas and technology platforms. Prior to serving as a senior partner at Novo Holdings A/S, Tiba was a director with Burrill & Company, where she focused on regional and cross-border M&A, licensing and financing transactions for biotech and large pharmaceutical companies.

Tiba earned a Ph.D. from the Graduate Group in Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, where her research involved developing computational methods for drug discovery, and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of California, Irvine. Tiba is a published author of several scientific articles and book chapters in rational drug design.

Read the press release here. You can also connect with Tiba on LinkedIn and read more about Norwest’s Healthcare practice and active investments here.

The post Meet Tiba Aynechi, Norwest Venture Partners’ New General Partner in Healthcare appeared first on Norwest Venture Partners.