Origins Ep. 7: Judith Elsea, Weathergage Capital + Announcing Season 2!
Like many other things we do at Notation, when we first started recording episodes of Origins a few months ago, we viewed the project as an experiment. We’re psyched that these interviews have proven so useful for our community: VCs, LPs, and of course startup founders and builders. After a brief summer break, we’re back…with surely one of the most interesting interviews we’ve done to date.
We’ve also officially decided to launch a “Season 2" of Origins, our commitment to another 10 episodes. We have some really interesting interviews planned that provide a wealth of perspective across the startup and technology capital stack. So we hope you’ll enjoy listening as much as we’ve had fun recording Season 1.
Judith’s experience as an LP runs as deep as anyone we’ve had on the show. In addition to co-founding Weathergage Capital in 2006 with her partners, she was previously Chief Investment Officer of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and instrumental in the creation and early implementation of the Kauffman Fellows Program.
Judith and her Weathergage partners are investors in some of the most respected venture firms in the world, and in this episode we discuss building out a venture practice at the Kauffman Foundation, starting Weathergage Capital, what they look for in venture partnerships today, and Weathergage’s unique approach to backing managers, which is partially informed by an internal product they’ve built called “Weathervane.” There is a wealth of knowledge in this episode, so just go listen to it already :-)
We’re psyched for season 2, and as always, you can give us a shout and let us know how we’re doing by following us on twitter. You can find Judith there too or on her blog!
— Nick + Alex
