12/13/21 – Episode 10
Haley was educated in Accounting and Finance at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Beginning her career by working in Strategy, and Analytics, Haley helped build out TrunkClub and later, Mac + Mia’s strategy before pivoting into venture. On today’s conversation, Emily and Haley discuss being a woman in VC, some tips for founders, Starting Line’s exciting portfolio company’s and why you should be your own advocate.
About Haley Zollo:
Haley Zollo is a midwest native, originally from Cleveland, Ohio. She moved to Indiana to attend the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Post-college, Haley moved to Chicago and began her career at KPMG. She then became a Financial Analyst at Trunk Club while it was a late-stage startup, where her role grew to Manager of Strategy and Analytics. From this experience, Haley decided to join an early-stage startup, Mac & Mia, to see how companies scale from the ground up. After that company was acquired by Stitch Fix Kids, Haley moved into venture capital, becoming a Principal at Starting Line and eventually growing into a Partner role.
In this episode with Haley, you’ll learn:
- Haley’sjourney from large corporation to late-stage and early-stage startups to investing
- The investment thesis of Starting Line
- Which portcos excite Haley
- What they look for in a founder/founding team
- Haley’s advice for entrepreneurs and people looking to start investing
- Being a woman in the male-dominated VC world
- The importance of building relationships in VC
Mentioned in this episode…
Companies:
Starting Line
KPMG
Trunk Club
Mac & Mia
Soona
The Players Trunk
People:
Haley Zollo
Ezra Galston
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