Sarah Hinkfuss
@SarahHinkfuss
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Bridge builder, dreamer, mom, wife, sailor⛵️. Former APT, @Mastercard . Partner @BainCapVC . Cheesehead for life 🧀
San Francisco, CA
Joined May 2018
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Pinned Tweet
What the %*$! happened to fintech valuations over the past 3 years? It's been quite a roller coaster🎢! It's time we understand why, how, and where we're going 👇
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Most startup employees don't ask the right questions before joining. These topics are critical to understand, especially in this market.
Here are 7 questions to ask a potential next employer (after receiving an offer):
🧵
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love this -- a founder just told me: "I'm not fundraising; I'm interviewing VCs"
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Turning the tables... VCs ask a lot of questions of founders. What do the best founders ask me?
1/ What is your thesis on this space?
2/ What do you want to see us accomplish before we raise our [next round]?
3/ Am I missing anything on the market?
4/ What is your process?
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Explaining what I do for work was pretty easy today at the USC tailgate: “like what Kim Kardashian is doing”
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Global SaaS revenue is ~$230B, a huge market. But, the global fintech market is many times larger. Fintech is MASSIVE 👇
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Pre-Labor Day, many predicted a VC funding boom in September. The results from
@PitchBook
are in! The predictions did NOT come to pass 👇
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Every time I'm in NY I'm reminded that SF has ruined me. I need to step up my game and stop wearing yoga pants to dinner
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Why is the % of VC $ going to female CEOs so stubbornly low even as VC firms add more female investors? If there's gender bias, then shouldn't more female investors solve the problem? Not so fast👇
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Looking to break into VC? Don't ask if we're hiring, prove you can do the job by doing what we do; 3 ideas:
1/ introduce me to compelling companies or founders
2/ develop and share a unique and well-researched thesis
3/ identify high quality companies using a novel data approach
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Generative AI is cool and all, but how about generating actual intelligence? Now that’s magic 🌈
@KennyDiekroeger
, KJ, and I are thrilled to welcome to our family Baby Kate (Kathleen Grace)
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I didn’t recognize at first the founder I met up with for coffee this morning. I saw a woman with a 3-month old baby 🐣. Her company grew 400% this year with a global, aggressive mission 🔥. Mad respect.
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Dear
@Google
, I feel like this should be your moment; where are you? 😕
Since 2006, I've used you as my primary email. That's 18 years of my life! You have every correspondance, a network of all of the people who matter in my life, and, most of my transactions. You know where I
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A principal at another VC fund (who I met for the first time today) asked for my advice: he's the first investor at his firm whose wife is not at home full-time to have a baby. "Do you think it's weird for a man to take his full paternity leave?" WDYT?
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The talent going into climate is incredible right now. From a friend this morning: “Honestly I’m optimizing for one thing, and that is climate tech”
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My dad always has his eye out for articles he think I’ll enjoy. Very kind! Problem is I get them weeks later… he cuts the articles out of the
@WSJ
and mails them
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At a swanky dinner in Amsterdam with big company who’s who: they are still processing the dominance of the Bay Area in the generative AI economy. A few independently told me that just days ago,
@nvidia
’s market cap grew past the over all value of AlL listed German companies.
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I’m constantly amazed by how little sales experience is valued, especially in this AI moment we’re living right now. ‘Oh, you were an engineer, product manager, or researcher? Now we’re talking!’ These “hard skills” are critical to building (or investing in companies), but sales
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My role today was to turn up the volume on optimism for the fintech ecosystem 🔊— the last few years in the market have been a rollercoaster for sure, and have forever changed the way we operate, but the market opportunity for fintech is bigger than it’s ever been and it’s a
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We introduced Baby Kate to our family’s Saturday morning tradition — 12 days old and already appreciating fresh California produce 🍑🍇🌸
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Series B is the most challenging round to raise because the game has changed: It's not just about proving PMF, but about showing you're ready to scale. The story still matters, but so too do the metrics. It's not all about who you are, but what you've done. Precision emerges.
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“I never thought it would be fintech that would get me into speed dating”
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Thanks to everyone for coming out to our fintech happy hour tonight! Love this community. 💸
@anthemis
@twifintech
@usealloy
@BainCapVC
Had too much fun to take many photos but here’s one!
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How can generative AI make a consequential difference in fintech?
With all the generative AI chatter, there has been VERY little discussion about financial services.
This is a mistake! 🧵
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Joy is contagious (especially on days as divine as yesterday)
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Great tip from a serial founder today: Finish the content of a meeting 5 minutes early and ask “what are your concerns with what I’ve shared so far?” You’ll get the most honest feedback on the spot. Follow up on this the next time you meet
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There's been a lot of chatter (and some headlines) about a slowdown in venture funding. How big is it? When did it start? What stages have seen the biggest pullback?
TLDR: The slowdown is not uniform.
Let's look at the data👇
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What a class act. I am re-energized.
My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best
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As SVB news unfolds, info channels aren’t equal:
1/ Twitter: positions, debate, & feelings
2/ WhatsApp groups: substance & deliberation — my source for real news
3/ Text & calls: advice & decision making
4/ Email: selective
5/ Mainstream media: ? — my fam in WI seems unaware
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My first sub 7 min mile this morning since baby! (Also the first time in awhile not pushing the baby while running… reminds me that time is contextual)
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my son's first word was "dada"
his second word was "apple"
his latest word is "skis"
he still doesn't say "mama"
trying to feel okay about this!
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Today, on the first day back-to-the-office in 2024, I'm officially back from parental leave. So many reflections I could share, but instead I'll offer a toast: 🥂
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Overheard today in SF: “the crypto to generative AI founder pipeline is alive”
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No one is raising but everyone is raising. I’ve been hearing a lot of “we’re not raising any time soon, but…”
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I thought parenting was supposed to get easier as my kids grew out of baby stage, but my 2 year old son's best friend is moving away today, and I am depressed on his behalf!
@KennyDiekroeger
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Playing around with generative AI image apps and can't get the text description of a "venture capitalist" to show the image of a person who is not a male
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Female CEOs are disproportionately under-funded by VC $, and data shows that this summer was even worse
The YoY change in VC $ in female-led companies was -55% vs -42% for male-led companies. A 13 point delta!
More 👇
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Founders: be skeptical if you receive substantially higher valuations from first-time funds vs established funds, especially in a pre-seed or seed round. Or, at least understand the power dynamics at play
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Happiness over time isn't what I expected. In our "striving years" we are least happy -- life is most uncertain. We are happiest in old age. Keep looking forward ☀️
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Sitting in SF still waiting for the "atmospheric river" predicted to land today. Experiences like this really give perspective on how hard it is still to predict the weather
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Recurring theme at lunch today with founders in SF: currently getting access to higher quality talent than ever before, but a lot of "shopping" and with wild salary expectations
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My husband and I got up early this morning to jumpstart the day. Problem is that someone also told our toddler
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Here's what I said:
1/ Thank you for sharing! (I can appreciate it was awkward to even ask me)
2/ Thank you for thinking about this! (We can't move forward on convos about working parents, families, or gender if it's only women having this conversation)
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This piece on insurtech by
@FT
has a sensationalist headline and misses the crux of it: the publicly traded B2C insurtechs innovated on distribution, but disruption requires innovating throughout the value chain
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Reconnected with a long time mentor this morning. He's seen me grow over years, and has been a huge champion of mine. At the end he smiled: "I can see how fulfilled you are." Few things better to hear. 🙏
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Back at
@StanfordGSB
today… 82 degrees, sunny, with the leaves changing colors. Maybe I should’ve gotten a PhD and stayed in this paradise!
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@MeredthSalenger
Gotta carve out the Midwest! No way you can group the Northeast attitude with the Midwest agreeableness
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Grateful that this crew let me spice up our morning with 200+ of our friends at
@FintechMeetup
with a round of “hot or not” — 3 takeaways:
1) Not a single space is dead. Every market is hot to at least one investor 🔥
2) What inbound will investors always take? $$$s speak louder
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Fintech founders: tomorrow I’m moderating a rockstar panel on ‘How to sharpen your message and cut through the NOISE.’ What questions do you have for
@AlexH_Johnson
@rexsalisbury
@gimmedadeetz
@jonpomeranz
?
@FintechMeetup
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@proetrie
Perhaps it's also that folks are less willing now to tolerate sub-optimal relationships formed earlier in life. Whereas in the past, there was no choice but to stay, now there's more independence and focus on fulfillment
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1/ How many months of runway do we have?
This question is especially important today. Generally, shorter periods require more drastic action to prolong runway. There are many ways to manage, and you'll learn a lot about your CEO's leadership and view of the future by her answer
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@MeghanKReynolds
Is it actually a revelation that GPs should diligence investments, and LPs should hold GPs accountable to that?
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In today's edition of 'why we need a modern payments system': I nearly couldn't check into my hotel because even though I had the card in my Apple wallet, they needed the physical card **
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Tried and true method to get your food fast at a popular restaurant on Saturday night? Bring your toddler
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I’ve always been struck by how little my friends in tech seem to care about or be aware of politics. This is changing: tech is understanding why politics matters 🌅 1/
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It's just after 11am PST and I've already spoken to 3 founders building in AI who are moving to SF from other cities -- 2 intnl and 1 from NY. Try to argue that SF isn't the center of this movement 🌉
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1/ The gap in deal count from the summer persisted in September: the count of deals in 2022 was under what we saw in 2021 at about the same margin as this summer
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@elonmusk
Looking at these photos: don’t forget to include female engineers, too… building only for male users will limit the reach of the platform
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Who is building at the intersection of employee benefits explainability and genAI? I'm mired in the pre-baby health insurance benefits decoding nonsense, and would love to find a platform to help employees (like me!) better understand and interact with their benefits 🙏
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Over the past year, the BCV fintech partnership has been learning from those at the forefront of generative AI in financial services, and today we are sharing our field notes 👉
@ChristinaPhili5
@kevinzhang
@tinadimitrova96
@ecampbellhowe
@mattcharris
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So, BACK TO THE TOP: even though there are more female investors today, the % of VC funding in female CEOs has not materially improved. One reason is that ON AVERAGE female investors have less power than male investors, as demonstrated in the compensation pay gap
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6/ What's next? I think deals will ⬆️in Q4 as companies that have put off raising for awhile need to come back to the market. And, with the macro and public markets signaling there's further down to go, valuations will ⬇️further.
TLDR: for many, this is the ideal time to raise!
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Welcome to Las Vegas, where the casino is open 24h, and the gym is open banking hours
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Lest you doubt that SaaS has plenty of runway left to transform our economy, check out
@SouthwestAir
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If you think someone is normal, it just means you don’t know them very well
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A development milestone from my toddler today: He saw my suitcase and knew I was leaving for a trip. Lots of tears between declaring “Me! Me!” as he begged to come. Grateful I’ve raised a little traveler… and a reminder that time flies ✈️
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HOWEVER, I don't think that having more female investors is alone a silver bullet. Why?
- Many amazing male investors invest in female founders / CEOs
- Female investors can have biases just as male investors do
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SF tourist-in-your-own-city tip: visit the Japanese Tea Garden on a sunny day, and buy your fortune for $2 🌸
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We can learn a lot about our network by the people who create humble clarity in times of uncertainty. Remember these people
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Look out, Fintech Fam, there’s a new captain in training! He sees past the horizon just like his daddy
@rexsalisbury
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@sm
I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m reaching out because I want to invest in people I know and trust (and vice-versa) - even if you’re not raising, I want to deepen the relationship. And, we are actively investing!
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UPDATE: Of course it happened while I’m on the road, but my son finally said “mama” today! — w/
@KennyDiekroeger
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Fintech founders: As promised, wanted to share a few of the takeaways on telling your story and cutting through the NOISE. Thank you to
@rexsalisbury
,
@gimmedadeetz
,
@AlexH_Johnson
, and
@jonpomeranz
for the rich discussion at
@FintechMeetup
👇
Fintech founders: tomorrow I’m moderating a rockstar panel on ‘How to sharpen your message and cut through the NOISE.’ What questions do you have for
@AlexH_Johnson
@rexsalisbury
@gimmedadeetz
@jonpomeranz
?
@FintechMeetup
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So, what? 4 observations:
1⃣ Compensation is a lagging indicator of team diversity. Even though investing teams HAVE become more gender diverse, the senior ranks are still mostly men, and more female investors are junior (tho rising quickly!)
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I thought events like this were extinct: one of my male partners invited me to take his place at a conference where there were no female speakers on the agenda (until now… I said yes)
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Try to name another sport that has a higher pressure part of the game than penalty kicks to break a tie in soccer
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"Every year you work toward something is not a failure... it's steps to success"
Giannis didn’t like this reporter's question on if he thinks this season was a failure.
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Usually, comparison is the thief of joy. But, not tonight. For so many small and large companies alike who thought they'd face existential financial crises tomorrow, we instead get to return to the relatively banal complexity of running a company. Never felt so good 🫶
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Tonight, instead of putting my toddler to sleep, I fell asleep in his bed. He climbed out over me, ran to my bathroom, and threw multiple items of clothing into the toilet.I’m just grateful he didn’t flush 👼🏼
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when the baby you nannied for many years ago connects with you on LinkedIn... you know you've become "old"
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A tale of 2 convos about AI today:
1/ With a Bay Area CEO (not in the AI space, but using AI): "with AI, the whole company will look fundamentally different than I thought a year ago"
2/ With a group of execs not in the Bay: most widely cited source on AI? CBS's 60 Minutes
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Cutest moment of our day: my 15-mo old son was having a meltdown. A little girl walked by and cared. She gave him a hug and rubbed his face. She didn’t leave until he was smiling. These are the streets of New York 💙
@KennyDiekroeger
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Presence is such a gift. Highly recommend joining yoga on Tuesday nights at Grace Cathedral for all SF friends 🙏
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Best part of my birthday is hearing from friends from so many different parts of my life. Thank you! 💜
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New York, your culinary scene is incredible. But I’m sorry, the tomatoes are just better in California 🌶️
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@dannydiekroeger
SVB has a 100% deposit liability coverage. They’re solvent. If there’s a liquidity crisis, the Fed has the authority to provide liquidity
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2/ The total VC $ raised in September 2022 were -50% off the total raised a year prior, which is down even more down from where we were in August (-43%)
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HERE'S MY CLAIM: I expect that as the compensation pay gap decreases to parity at the top, we'll see a higher % of investments in female founders because this will show that the gender power gap is also more in balance
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“Ohh I get why people live here now” — Founder from the UK who was cooped up in the Marriott Marquis all week, and who I had meet me at Fort Mason on this glorious SF day ☀️
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Turns out my dad and I were in Vegas at the same time for different conferences. We didn’t do it the same:
He printed his schedule on a 11x14 sheet of paper (actually his paralegal printed it)
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What a group of female founders in fintech talk about at brunch:
building in fintech
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