YouSaid · the spoken record

Eurie Kim

lines on the record: 65
first: 2022-07-29
most recent: 2022-07-29
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

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“To come back to the current environment, but just to anchor us in kind of your founding, your history with Forerunner, you were looking at startups yourself when I think you were introduced to Kirsten Green, who's the founder of Forerunner, I think almost 10 years ago now. You guys met up, you chatted, there obviously was some connection. What convinced you to join her and take a chance at this, what was then hadn't been established even yet as a BC firm?”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Not be successful, but at least trying is something that's important enough for them to make it happen. And I think it's that conviction that we're looking for. And, you know, in times like this, people say, oh, are there good founders out there? Are there good opportunities to invest in? And you might actually say, yeah, there's more because the people who are still willing to do it right now understand that it's hard. And that fundraising is going to be even more difficult than it otherwise would have been. And so you have to really want it to go through that pain”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Now that you ask me that directly, I don't know that we do as much proactively. We sort of intuitive. Why is this founder starting this company? Where is the inspiration for it? Is it a business goal exercise where you did a market map and you decided this was an open opportunity? And so heck, I don't want to go back to a JOB. I want to go start my own company and be my own boss. That's a good enough reason for some people, but are you going to be there 10 years later still toeing the line and building the business through ups and downs? Maybe not. Maybe when it gets hard, you're like, I could probably do something else and get paid more. And so, you know, we're really trying to back entrepreneurs who this is the life work that they really want to bring to life. And they're willing to sacrifice all that it takes to do that. And today, I think, again, you go back to the glorification of being a founder and how sexy it is. It's kind of like the new celebrity out there. And, you know, that's just like one percent of 1% of all the entrepreneurs out there that are pounding the pavement and really putting in the work to many times.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Sort of existence that's really drained and really allocated to something else. And I do think that that starts to stretch an individual in a way where if you're in like really good shape, that's not physically, but mentally, emotionally, like this is a passion of yours. It's something that you've always wanted to do, then it makes up for it and you get filled by just the idea of doing what you're doing. And that hopefully the company that you're building is meaningful and the team that you have is supportive to you in ways where just, again, like being a mom, you have your kids and they're crazy and they drive you nuts, but that's okay because like this is what you wanted and this is the life that you're building. So I think it's just realizing that entrepreneurship does need to be flexible and agile. And in this environment, that skill set is even more important to navigate the ups and downs that we're living through day to day.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Or Bain, where there's a big group of people, a lot of support, a lot of structure so that you can come in, do a great job, and then go home. And you don't need to constantly be on 24-7, which as a founder, you do. You really do. And as a mom, you really do. And Bane was incredible, just like it sounds like Goldman was, where I was on a team that was actually based out of LA so that I could work from home, which honestly back then wasn't actually a thing. So Monday and Friday, being able to work from my mom's house and make sure she was okay and then go fly down to LA for three days to work was perfect. I did that and many other projects before I ultimately ended up moving to foreigner from then. But I do think that if you want to be an entrepreneur, it needs to be your priority. And that's hard because if you have a family, you need to take care of. If you have aging parents, you need to take care of. Like there's part of your mental.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Know, I think that entrepreneurship today is glorified in so many ways and really it's just so hard. It's so hard. It's a lot like being a mother. Everyone's like, oh, you should be a mom. It's, you know, have a kid. Like it's just what you're supposed to be doing. And no one tells you it's just so hard. And, you know, it's a grind and it requires you to really become a different person. You know, you can't think about yourself. You have to think about your team, your customers, your investors. There's all these other people that are vying for your attention. And really, if you don't know how to gut check how you're doing and whether you're filling your own cup and making sure that you're taking care of yourself because no one's around you to take care of yourself, you're the boss. You're the founder, that is a big burden that I don't think many people realize what they're signing up for. And so, you know, when you're navigating, it's also your career is long. You don't have to be a founder every single minute of your entire life. You could decide you want to work at Goleman.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Going to reflect that when I lost my data, I was living in London and I had an infant. At Goldman Sachs, which is another big established company with a lot of infrastructure, right? And so I was so grateful that I was able to finish that maternity leave, be there for my family, come back to work.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Post my father passing away and then taking care of our business and sort of selling our small business. It was a cafe. I remember still launching the company. There was a website that sold product that I had been working on for two years, but it was very hard. And I kind of made the decision that I couldn't give it my all because a lot of other things were requiring my attention. So I did decide to actually go back to Bain because I felt like, well, I need to just move forward and make the tough decisions that founders and entrepreneurs often need to make. And when you're not ready to do it, you really can't do it. And so that's part of my chapter.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And our lives were pretty much turned upside down. And so many of us, particularly over the last couple of years, have had such challenges that our families have faced, whether it's our own health issues or our children or our parents. And it just completely turns things around. And most importantly, it changes your priorities. Whereas single young post-business school grad is thinking, I'm going to go change the world. I'm going to go start my own company and do my thing and very much a self-referenced perspective. It's not a bad thing. It's just that the world is your oyster at that moment. And then it's not. And suddenly you have to make a decision on what do you need to do versus what do you want to do. And what I needed to do was come home and take care of my family and my mother. We had a small business in Nevada, California, California, which is kind of in Marin. And we just needed to figure out like what was up and what was down again. And, you know, I think that six month period.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Absolutely. So going back, I had graduated in 2009. It was June or so. And my father made it to that graduation. And here I was thrilled to be moving to New York to finally start my company, the one that I spent seven years in the making, I think from the point of having the idea at Maine all the way through five years of work experience, two years of business school, I was ready. And then I get a call from my mother on a Sunday afternoon and she says, you need to come home. You know, dad's not going to make it. And I thought, make it to what? You know, literally no contact. He wasn't sick. And he had had a sudden heart attack that morning. And by the time my brother was actually with me, my older brother was with me that week. And we somewhat in a days booked some United flights and took a flight home and got home, you know, west coast time around 10 p.m. I think many of you guys would know that flight schedule. And that was it.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Want to come back to this concept of readiness in your seat now where you are thinking about that with the founders you partner with. But Maven ended up not coming to fruition. And one thing that you and I unfortunately have in common is that we both lost our dad's really unexpectedly. And we needed to change our career path in some way to support our family. And so can you tell us a little bit about that part of your personal life and how that changed what your plans were? And then I want to unpack that a little more.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“For how to start a company and run a company. But I think that was the mindset, which was how do I gain the skills that I believe I need to start a company and run that successfully, finance the company? And then, you know, by the time I got all the way around to business school, I thought I've done a lot and I've acquired a lot of skills and I think I'm ready to do this. So Wharton was a great place to be able to work on my venture. I joined the venture initiation program and there's a lot of programs at Wharton that enable entrepreneurs to build their businesses while they're going to school. And so it was a really perfect time for me to feel safe to take that risk.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Now, I had thought of this concept that later became Maven for years. And it probably percolated while I was at Bain because I had seen so many senior female partners who were so successful, you know, running around doing all the things that they do with their meetings. And they always had their really nice handbags and then they had their, you know, Tomei briefcase or some equally unattractive thing that they had their laptop in. I thought, well, why isn't there a brand that stands for an empowered woman, somebody who just is moving and shaken and wants nice things and wants high quality in all aspects of life, particularly in their professional lives? So I had this idea, but I thought, well, I don't know how to do this. I don't know anything about making a handbag company. So I wanted to continue to develop my analytical skills and my business building skills. I actually chose to work in private equity because a lot of the businesses we were investing in at Casania partners were retail, consumer businesses. And I thought that would offer me some context.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Love to start with your entrepreneurial path. And after having worked in consulting with Bane and having some experience in private equity, you made the decision to go back to business school. And while you were at Wharton, you spent your entire time there developing your own business plan for direct-to-consumer luxury handbag company, I think, called Maven. Can you just walk us through that experience and why did you feel ready at that time to launch your own business?”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Katie Kotch, Chief Investment Officer of Public Equity at Goldman Sachs, and welcome back to another special edition of Exchanges at Goldman Sachs, Great Investors. Today I'm really excited to be speaking with Yuri Kim, General Partner at Forerunner Ventures, which is an early stage VC firm investing in the most transformative companies that are redefining the consumer landscape today. We'll be talking with Yuri about her entrepreneurial journey, her investment strategies at Forerunner, and her thoughts on the latest trends in consumer behaviors. Yuri, thanks for joining us and welcome to the program.”
2022-07-29 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Investing with Forerunner’s Eurie Kim · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT