The Value of Networks

I’ve been thinking about networks (unsurprisingly) and social capital (in a surprising way) this week…  Chief, ‘a private network built to drive more women into positions of power,’ raised a $100 million Series B investment valuing the company at $1.1 billion. Membership in Chief includes ‘access to the Chief network, where members cross-pollinate ideas and connect with peers across the country in… hyper-curated peer groups’. It’s a different scale and a different model than Cortlandt, but we definitely share similar DNA. I’m going to try to learn more about their business model and mission in the coming days.  If anyone knows anything about Chief or has relationships at any of the VCs that participated in the round (CapitalG, Flybridge Ventures, General Catalyst, Inspired Capital) please let me know.

I’ve shared with many of you the series of events leading up to my recent surgery. For those of you who haven’t heard the story, the precipitating event that caused me to seek medical attention was collapsing while trying to ride my bike along the Hudson River bike path at 6pm on a Saturday. As I waited on the side of the road for my son to pick me up, I had the foresight to call my good friend Steven who is a close friend of one of the top neurosurgeons in New York. Within 30 minutes, I was on the phone with the doctor, triaging my situation and setting me on course for a successful resolution to what easily could have been a catastrophic outcome. Upon hearing my story, a Cortlandt Member remarked ‘now that is valuable social capital!’. I hadn’t really thought about social capital in that way before, but it’s a small reminder that having the ability to call the right person at the right time can make all the difference in business and in life. My hope is that we will all be available to help one another out with the right phone calls at the right times, though under circumstances that are much less dire!

Be well!