How can embodying an entrepreneurial mindset as a PM shape your career? In this episode of the Product to Venture Series with Mighty Capital Managing Partner SC Moatti, TenOneTen Managing Partner Minnie Ingersoll speaks on career journey from her early days as a PM at Google to founding her own startup and ultimately becoming a venture capitalist. Ingersoll shares insights into finding the right product role and leadership opportunities that allowed her to thrive. She also offers perspectives on her approach to investing, including looking for founders deeply passionate about solving big industry problems. Listeners will gain valuable advice applicable to both product management and venture capitalism.
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Show Notes
- Being in the right place at the right time can open many doors.
- Finding the product role that matches your strengths and interests is important for success.
- Entrepreneurial PM roles with new product launches suit those who enjoy fast-paced environments.
- Hiring is a key skill for both PMs and VCs due to the importance of building strong teams.
- Transitioning to investing requires patience and thoroughness compared to fast-moving startup roles.
- Relationships and networking play a big role in career pivots.
- Different VC firms have distinct cultures and approaches that suit different personalities.
- Thoroughly defining success criteria and interview panel skills upfront improves hiring outcomes.
- Industry transformation opportunities exist by applying new technologies to legacy industries.
- Computer vision and AI applied to physical problems is an exciting area for innovation.
- Passion for a specific industry over just the technology differentiates founders.
- 1Resilient founders committed to long-term industry problems are better investment partners.
- Regular founder check-ins should be two-way conversations, not just updates.
- VCs provide “table stakes” support like navigating fundraising that founders lack.
- Thinking strategically about both your core team and the broader company needs is key for product leaders.
- First Round Capital’s content offers diverse perspectives for both PMs and investors.
- Storytelling skills are important for selling products, fundraising, and portfolio companies.
- Matching investment style to personal strengths yields success.
- Focusing on product-market fit over future fundraising or exits indicates founder dedication.
- Los Angeles has a thriving tech ecosystem.
About the speaker
Minnie Ingersoll is a partner at TenOneTen and host of the LA Venture podcast. TenOneTen is a venture fund based in LA investing in early stage software and data companies. Prior to TenOneTen, Minnie was the COO and co-founder of Shift Technologies (Nasdaq : SFT), an online marketplace for used cars. Minnie started her career as an early product manager at Google. She studied Computer Science at Stanford and has an MBA from HBS. In her spare time, Minnie surfs baby waves and raises baby people.
About the host
SC Moatti is the Founding Managing Partner of Mighty Capital, a Silicon Valley venture firm, and chairs the Board of Products That Count, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that helps everyone build great products and inspires 500,000+ product managers. SC earned her reputation as a product visionary and technology investor during the mobile era, when she built products that billions of people use at Meta/Facebook and Nokia, won industry awards and nominations from the Wall Street Journal and the Emmy's, and wrote an award-winning bestseller on what makes a great product. She has been called “a genius at making products people love” and named a Top Voice in venture capital on LinkedIn. SC frequently speaks to product and investing trends, including a recent keynote at TheNextWeb, a fireside chat at Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, featured articles in the Harvard Business Review and TechCrunch, and interviews on NPR (Tech Nation) and CNBC (Closing Bell.) She serves on the boards of public and private companies, lectured on product and investing at the executive programs of Stanford and Columbia Universities, earned a master’s in electrical engineering and a Stanford MBA, and is a Kauffman Fellow and member of YPO.