Zehra Naqvi - How to enter into VC without any prior experience.
Zehra Naqvi (GLO, Republic) and Sharath discuss raising funds for pre-seed startups, making connections in venture capital, and navigating a downturn in this episode of The Undefeated Underdogs Podcast.
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Show Notes
👉🏼 About the Guest:
Zehra Naqvi is a Senior Investment Associate at Republic and the co-founder of GLO, a clothing brand that's all about staying fresh. She is a financial economics major with a concentration in art history and is all about investing in new founders through the power of community.
👉🏼 About the Host:
Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.
Timestamps:
0:17 | Highlight
0:17 | Intro to Zehra Naqvi
1:58 | How Zehra started her journey in venture capital
4:48 | Why founders make good VCs and backing non-venture ideas
10:44 | Zehra's origin story: From Hong Kong to New York
13:17 | Zehra's journey to founding her clothing brand GLO
15:49 | How Republic is handling investments during a downturn
19:31 | Trends in pre-seed funding in 2023
22:38 | Republic's founder and community initiatives
26:16 | Zehra's advice to pre-seed founders on raising money
29:24 | What makes a warm intro work?
35:09 | Zehra's lessons to people entering venture capital
38:10 | Parting thoughts
👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:
Shoutout.so: https://shoutout.so/
Republic: https://republic.com/
GLO: https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/lifestyle/features/article/3067573/sisters-zehra-and-sophia-naqvis-fashion-brand-glo
Bonside: https://bonside.com/
Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/
👉🏼 Where to find Zehra:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/zehranaqvi_/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zehranaqvinyc/
👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
Website: https://5harath.com/
Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/