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It's not everyday that you get to grab dinner with the one and only Mamoon Hamid, Managing Partner at Kleiner Perkins. We were lucky enough to have him join us for an Icons dinner. Mamoon is simply the best of the best. He is one of the legendary investors of our time and is credited with bringing the firm "back" to the top. He has been an early investor in and served on the boards of some of the most innovative software companies of recent times including Slack, Figma, Box, Rippling, Glean and more. The dinner was off-the-record but there were so many insights across opportunities and applications in AI, what it takes to be a high performer, the mental models of legendary investors, what makes the great founders special and him being a husband and parent. Mamoon is a 10/10 person, a role model and one of the humblest people I've ever met. I appreciate you spending time with us. More on Mamoon -> https://lnkd.in/gwjgR66F

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We're entering a new era of defense technology, and there's no one leading the charge like Anduril Industries. I had the pleasure of hosting the CEO and Co-founder of Anduril Industries, Brian Schimpf for an Icons dinner at their HQ. 🇺🇸 America has led the world in great power competition over the past few decades, but that gap is quickly closing. To remain competitive, the U.S. has to innovate, and technology is the frontier, with cost-effective production being a close second. The defense capabilities of yesteryear are not the ones that will continue to protect our democracy for years to come. I learned this very quickly while TA'ing for Joe Felter, Steve Blank, and Michael A. Brown. Brian Schimpf gave us a masterclass on all things technology, defense, being mission-driven, life and how to build (or not build) the next defining defense company. The conversation was off the record for obvious reasons so we can't share insights. But boy, is Stark Industries coming to life 🚀 Pictured with us is "Fury" which just won the CCA for the Air Force over defense primes like Boeing, Lockheed and Northrop Grumman. https://lnkd.in/gCFRWneg https://lnkd.in/gYAUjm3f

So awesome hosting Mercedes Bent, Partner Lightspeed for an Icons dinner. To say we're impressed is an understatement. It's not everyday that you meet a truly great investor who's an independent thinker, is authentic and just an intellectual powerhouse. I'm a big time fan! Mercedes is a good as they come and her impact across the tech ecosystem is wide-spread. Outside of leading a lot Lightspeed (scout fund to investments in LATAM to consumer and more), Mercedes Bent still finds time to be an onramp for so many founders and young investors in Silicon Valley. The conversation covered: 1) A deep dive into the idea of Founder-Investor fit, which is often under discussed, but just as important. 2) How AI disrupts VC. Her TL;DR, it's happening! 3) A masterclass in the structure of VCs and their incentives + where the VC financial instrument is going. 3) The future of consumer in AI and cross-applications in vertical AI 4) The importance of role models and how her parents forged a path that led her to be where she is today. Thanks again Mercedes Bent!

It’s not everyday that you meet legendary founders like Jensen Huang, the founder and CEO of NVIDIA. This was an Icons dinner I couldn’t miss! So much wisdom packed into 3 hours of food and wine. So many lessons but here’s one that connected with me deeply. Before he created a trillion dollar business leading all of compute and AI, Jensen cleaned toilets at Denny's. He credits most of his life lessons to this job that many of us look down upon. It’s what keeps him grounded and humble even today as he leads the foundational company of our time. This resonated deeply with me because my first job at 16 was cleaning toilets at Publix Super Markets in TN. I scrubbed those toilets with so much pride and like my life depended on it! I’m grateful to Publix till this day. There’s something cleaning public toilets does to you — it grounds and humbles you, and maybe sets you up to create a company of consequence. Thanks Brandon Nydick!!

We hosted the best consumer investor of all time, the one and only Kirsten Green, for an Icons dinner. Kirsten is the true definition of an icon, a trailblazer, and a force of nature. Kirsten is the founder and managing partner of Forerunner Ventures, one of the best VCs in the world. She is arguably one of the best investors ever. She's been listed as one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People, and Forbes' 100 Most Influential Women 4 years in a row. She's one of the founders of All Raise. Consumer is very much alive, and we couldn't be more fortunate to hear from the best of the best. The everyday consumer wants better products, software, services, and so many things across how they work, play, care for, and live. For example, massive overlooked markets like caregiving which Nicole Johnson and Eurie Kim have written about and my good friend Ian Lim is trying to fix! I appreciate you spending dinner with us, Kirsten Green! Thank you Taylor Godfrey for all the help. Kirsten's most recent article in The Information https://lnkd.in/gFe-i3zi

Once a week at our founder co-working space after work (thanks to Will Agramonte!) we host an absolute legend for an Icons dinner. Last week, we had the amazing Tekedra N. Mawakana, Co-CEO of Waymo join us for dinner. Tekedra is one of the best (if not the best) leaders in Silicon Valley that are ushering in a new technology that will change the way we live and move. We got to have a front-row seat to what Waymo is doing to make autonomous driving a reality. Tekedra is already a decorated Silicon Valley executive. A couple of words that describe Tekedra -- technologist, visionary, brilliant, empathetic, humble, and all things that make a special leader. I couldn't be more confident and optimistic about mobility. If you haven't rode in a Waymo yet, I hope you do. It will blow your mind. Tekedra and her team are already living in the future, and it's already here. Thanks, Tekedra N. Mawakana for joining us, and Suzanne Philion for helping set this up.

Alex Pall from The Chainsmokers is an absolute genius and awesome person overall. We recently had the absolute pleasure of having dinner with him. Everyone knows how great he is as an artist. However, what him and the team at Mantis Venture Capital have built is special. They’re poised to be one of the greatest firms out there. I learned a ton from Alex. There are so many parallels between the genius it takes to make hit songs, being a generational founder and finding the best entrepreneurs. I appreciate you making the quick flight to join us Alex Pall!! Francesca LaBianca Icons

Qasar Younis is special! We were so lucky to have him share a couple of hours with us. Thanks, Aiden Low for setting this up!!

Happy New Year everyone! 2023 has been such a breakout year both personally and professionally. I got to marry my forever life partner surrounded by family and loved ones. Organizing a wedding is way way harder than I expected. Happy to share my hard earned wisdom to folks getting married in 2024! I also finally took the plunge, and started working on a company that’s having early crazy signs of momentum. Grateful for my co-founder, early customers and all of our early backers and supporters. 2024 is going to be full speed ahead. More to come🫡 This past year I was fortunate enough to meet all my professional heroes, and they did not disappoint. Thanks SV Icons 🚀 Lastly, as a Bay Area newbie it’s been great to find great communities here that are passionate, hungry, supportive and want to change the world. Here’s to 2024 🚀🚀