@annimaniac has been called "the most powerful woman in startups" by @Forbes and is the Co-Founder of Floodgate, one of the valley's leading early stage funds with investments in the likes of @Twitter, @Twitch and @TaskRabbit. Some of Ann's investments at Floodgate include @Lyft, @Ayasdi, @Xamarin, @Refinery29, Chloe and Isabel, Maker Media, Wanelo, TaskRabbit, and Modcloth. Ann is also a lecturer in the School of Engineering at Stanford University, where she got her PhD focused on mathematical modeling of computer security. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Ann made her way into the wonderful world of VC? 2.) Ann's 2nd day in VC was 9/11, how does Ann view investing in times of crisis and downturn? How does this effect the macro-economy and her investing cadence? Floodgate state that all venture bankable high growth companies share 4 very common characteristics with regards to power. Here we break them down: Proprietary Power: What is it? What are it's characteristics? Product Power: What does this imply about product market fit? What are the nuances and complexities? Company Power: What does it take to be created and maintained? How have so many unicorns established themselves without credible and sustainable business models? Category Power: Why it is so important to create a new category? How can this be done and who has done it well in the past? Items Mentioned In Today’s Show: Ann’s Fave Book: The Poisonwood Bible Ann's Fave Blog or Newsletter: @BenedictEvans Ann’s Most Recent Investment: @The_Greatist