What happens when a Bay Area-born VC operator turns a solo consulting practice into a scaled firm and a thriving community for venture's back office? Kristen Ostro shares how she built Strut Consulting, why she rebranded Let's Talk Ops to VIA, and what she's learned about choosing clients, scaling thoughtfully, and creating leverage without losing quality.

In this episode, Kristen breaks down:

• How she moved from NEA and emerging funds into consulting, and why the pandemic and a major life reset pushed her to scale.
• Why consulting can be a powerful path for VC operators who want more choice, more autonomy, and more breadth of experience.
• How she thinks about seeding a consulting business through referrals, alliances, and community.
  What changes when you scale from solo to team, including people management, systems, and the real costs of growth.
• The tech stack she uses to keep Strut running, from Front and Slack to Ramp, Airtable, Notion, and ChatGPT.
  How she stays grounded through mentorship, workouts, long walks, birds, travel, volleyball, and a life outside work.

Plus, Kristen shares why the best consultants know how to build trust, stay visible, and make it easy for the right people to say yes.

Kristen Ostro on LinkedIn

Mentioned in this episode:

Strut Consulting
VIA
NEA
Homebrew
ChatGPT
Grammarly
Scale or Fail
Tanya Geisler

What happens when a higher ed PR professional becomes the sole marketer for a venture studio with 40 portfolio companies? Dan Landau shares how he landed at AI Fund through an unexpected connection in a Seth Godin marketing course, built a viral app in 30 minutes using Claude Code, and developed a framework for triaging work between human hands and AI assistance.

In this episode, Dan breaks down:

• His three-tier system for deciding what to automate and what to keep hands-on
• How he uses Orbit for event matchmaking, OnePitch for finding reporters, and Opus Clip for video repurposing
• Why Claude has become "the rest of his team" as a team of one
• The BuildOn hackathon where developers created five functional apps in a single day
• His non-negotiable morning routine (movement + spiritual connection) and why being a curious generalist is the biggest career hack for VC platform roles

Plus: Dan talks about his upcoming book featuring portraits of remarkable women drawn on maps, and why remembering that 90% of startups fail helps him maintain perspective.

Find Dan:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danlandau

AI Fund: https://aifund.ai/team-member/dan-landau/

What happens when a former journalist, film sales agent, and startup operator becomes the platform partner helping shape a venture firm's visibility, messaging, and community presence? Stephanie Rich shares how she built a nonlinear career in venture by leaning into curiosity, creativity, and a deep love of connecting people, ideas, and resources.

In this episode, Stephanie breaks down

• How Bread and Butter Ventures uses personal LinkedIn accounts, community presence, and a small-team mindset to prioritize quality over vanity metrics.

• Why clear ICP and core messaging matter more than ever in the age of AI, and how brand sprints can help teams get there faster.

• The tools she uses day to day, including Ordinal for social approvals and Anything for building practical internal workflows with vibe coding.

• How a designer made a full demo of what he could do with Brett's Brain, showed exactly how he'd contribute, and turned that creative pitch into a job.

Plus, Stephanie shares the habits, reading, and creative experiments that help her stay energized, and explains why connecting the dots may be the most valuable platform skill of all.

Get Out There in your inbox and connect with me on LinkedIn.

Mentioned in this episode:

Stephanie Rich on LinkedIn
Anything
Ordinal
Bread and Butter Ventures
Brett's Brain
VC Platform
Via
Beck Bamberger
Northwestern University
People Magazine
Techstars
Tanya Geisler
Fourth Wing

In today's episode of 'Spirit of 608' podcast host, Lorraine Sanders talks with guest Joie LaFrentz telling us what she has been up to and sharing the real deal behind how she has been building Jola.

Welcome! Come along with me on my journey into the metaverse and what's next. Kicking off the first season of the Making it in the Metaverse, here's How to Start Making it in the Metaverse without Spending Anything At All. Consider this your toe-dip into the landscape from a journalist-turned-ethical-fashion-advocate who got crypto curious in '18 but didn't fall all the way down the rabbit hole until mid-2021.

Let me make your journey easier, more fun, less scary.

Special bonus: Couples & Crypto.

None of this is financial advice y'all.

Just a girl with a complicated life in a complicated world aiming to make it on the path to what's next.

Connect with me here:

Twitter: @lorrainesanders

Instagram: @spiritof608

Web: lorrainesanders.com

Web: spiritof608.com

Welcome! Come along with me on my journey into the metaverse and what's next.

Kicking off the first season of the Making it in the Metaverse, here are 5 Things I Want You to Know About Crypto Culture.

Consider this your toe-dip into the landscape from a journalist-turned-ethical-fashion-advocate who got crypto curious in '18 but didn't fall all the way down the rabbit hole until mid-2021.

Let me make your journey easier, more fun, less scary.

None of this is financial advice y'all.

Just a girl with a complicated life in a complicated world aiming to make it on the path to what's next.

Connect with me here:

Twitter: @lorrainesanders

Instagram: @spiritof608

Web: lorrainesanders.com

Web: spiritof608.com

Let me make your journey easier, more fun, less scary.

Special bonus: Couples & Crypto.

None of this is financial advice y'all.

Just a girl with a complicated life in a complicated world aiming to make it on the path to what's next.

Connect with me here:

Twitter: @lorrainesanders

Instagram: @spiritof608

Web: lorrainesanders.com

Web: spiritof608.com

Oh hey we have a brand new series coming out this spring (and beyond). A head's up on what's happening is waiting for you in today's episode. More to come so soon.

The TLDR: come with me on my journey into web3, blockchain, crypto and all things metaverse-y. There's so much happening. Let's figure it out together.

<3 <3 <3 Oh hey there! Please help the podcast out and leave us a rating and review on iTunes. This stuff is key to the show's success, and I appreciate you helping me play the game.

<3 <3 <3 HOW TO LISTEN:

Listen online: Just press play above or subscribe via RSS to receive all new episodes.

iOS, iPhone, iPad: Subscribe via iTunes or download the Apple Podcast app and subscribe by searching for Spirit of 608 in the app.

Android: Download the free Stitcher app and search for Spirit of 608 in the app.

Linkage:

Instagram: @spiritof608

Twitter: @lorrainesanders and @spiritof608

Website: www.spiritof608.com

Find more episodes featuring women at the forefront of FEST online at www.Spiritof608.com.