Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Investor With Joel Palathinkal
Host: Dr. Joel Palathinkal
Guest: Kate Brodock, General Partner at W Fund
Episode: Kate Brodock: W Fund
Date: August 25, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Joel Palathinkal interviews Kate Brodock, a seasoned operator, non-profit leader, and investor focused on women and underrepresented founders. Kate shares her extensive experience building founder communities, running accelerators, and launching the W Fund—a seed-focused VC fund backing tech-enabled startups led by women and minorities. The discussion digs into community-building, pitching, fundraising challenges for emerging managers, the design of accelerators, LP (limited partner) engagement, deal sourcing, and founder mental health.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Kate Brodock's Journey and W Fund Background

Timestamp: [02:05–05:05]

• Kate explains her 15–20 year background in tech startups, with roles in operations (COO, CMO) and deep engagement in gender representation.
• She led a global nonprofit supporting women in entrepreneurship, growing it to 60 chapters worldwide.
• Later acquired Women 2.0, pivoting it for impact in representation and launching the W Fund—investing in primarily tech-enabled, pre-seed/seed companies led by underrepresented founders.
• Massive deal flow comes from the vibrant communities she and her co-founder built over years.

Notable Quote:
"We have just a ridiculous amount of deal flow... now we can write out equity-taking checks to these founders that we've been working with for 10 or 15 years." — Kate Brodock [04:31]

2. Community-Building in Venture and Advice for Emerging Managers

Timestamp: [05:05–08:34]

• Kate stresses the importance of authenticity, consistency, and genuine intent in community building—advising funds not to "back into" community after the fact, but to lead with it.
• Community value goes beyond capital: it's about relationships, long-term support, and infrastructure.
• Differentiation doesn't come from sector focus or diversity alone, but in tangible, active communities.

Notable Quotes:
"It's almost like mentally take the fund out of it... show up authentically and with genuine intent and you show up consistently." — Kate Brodock [06:18]
"Founders can sniff out when you're not doing that." — Kate Brodock [07:46]

3. Key Founder Needs and How Communities Support Them

Timestamp: [08:34–12:37]

• Early-stage founders mostly need help with:
  • Fundraising and pitch practice: refining their story and deck
  • Intros to investors (catalyzing connections)
  • Filling business fundamentals gaps, especially in finance and legal
  • Access to specialized peer communities (e.g., "10 other SaaS founders")
• Knowledge gaps are common, especially for those who haven’t gone through formal accelerator programs.

Notable Quote:
"It's very interesting how little access people have to [pitch] knowledge to really effectively get a pitch done." — Kate Brodock [09:39]

4. Accelerator Design and Program Structure

Timestamp: [12:37–16:57]

• Layered approach: core curriculum (max 6 hours per week), plus optional add-ons (guest speakers, office hours).
• Lead mentors meet founders weekly; an outer layer of mentors can be engaged ad hoc.
• Mentors with specialized expertise (e.g., financial projections) are available for targeted needs.
• Emphasizes flexibility and meeting founders where they are, rather than forcing everyone to strict fundraising timelines.

Notable Quotes:
"We have sort of the core curriculum, and we do try to keep that... to tops six hours a week." — Kate Brodock [13:31]

5. LP Relationships & Fundraising Strategies

Timestamp: [17:55–26:48]

• W Fund’s LPs tend to want active involvement, not just quarterly updates—many are individuals or family offices keen to contribute expertise (e.g., exec coaches, CFOs).
• Access to new wealth and first-time LPs is an advantage, but requires more LP education.
• Most institutional LPs are a "needle in a haystack" for Fund I—focus instead on grassroots, intros, and leveraging personal networks.
• Being open to 'public solicitation' via platforms like AngelList Rolling Fund aids community-sourced capital.

Notable Quote:
"90%—I almost want to say 100%—[of our LPs] ask us what type of involvement they can have." — Kate Brodock [19:19]

6. Navigating the LP Landscape and Fundraising Tactics

Timestamp: [26:48–29:45]

• Peer emerging manager communities are valuable for qualifying LP leads and program recommendations.
• The fund is realistic about who is likely to say yes, focusing less on institutional capital and more on individuals and new money for Fund I.

Notable Quote:
"We even ask the people... we get a no from, if it makes sense, we actually ask them for intros." — Kate Brodock [25:45]

7. Investment Criteria & Sector Focus

Timestamp: [29:50–38:20]

• Distinction between accelerator (run by Women 2.0, open to readiness) and the fund (investing for returns).
• Fund invests in tech-enabled companies; broad generalist thesis with excitement for businesses that create access (e.g., fintech, edtech, legal tech, insuretech).
• Example deal: AI-powered trademark registration platform for SMEs.
• Avoids ad tech, typically avoids pre-seed “future of work,” and purposely excludes business models with poor human/data ethics or in defense.
• Founder-market fit, humility plus conviction ("coachability"), and relationship-building are crucial.
• Comfortable with companies outside the “unicorn or bust” model.

Notable Quotes:
"If the core innovation is opening up access to a market... that's excellent for us." — Kate Brodock [31:52]
"It's the sweet spot of humility plus conviction." — Kate Brodock [37:20]

8. Virtual vs. In-Person Community Building Post-COVID

Timestamp: [39:54–44:08]

• Kate leveraged prior remote experience to transition Women 2.0's marquee events into valuable virtual programming during COVID.
• Weekly virtual pitch sessions were launched, drawing strong investor interest and generating real outcomes (intros, term sheets).
• Virtual touchpoints (Zoom, etc.) can increase access and democratize participation, but merging in-person with virtual is the future.

Notable Quote:
"One of the things that did happen in Covid is that I think people actually understood that they could be doing these things virtually..." — Kate Brodock [43:16]

9. Mental Health & Loneliness in Founders

Timestamp: [44:09–47:28]

• Mental health issues and founder loneliness are rising in prominence, both before and after COVID.
• W Fund was preemptively designing for founder mental wellness before the pandemic; now, the urgency is heightened.
• Emerging ecosystem of funds and startups focused solely on mental health and founder well-being.

Notable Quotes:
"Being a founder is already so lonely... and now I think even more so." — Kate Brodock [46:09]
"There's a lot of technology that is coming out to address anything from access to mental health professionals..." — Kate Brodock [46:59]

10. Audience Q&A: Product-Market Fit, Marketplaces, LP Traits

Timestamp: [48:22–60:11]

• How to find product-solution fit: Start with deep customer discovery; MVPs should focus on the core feature; use no-code/low-code tools for early proof points. Bring in real product experts where needed.
  "All about proof points because that is what you need from customers. You need yeses from your customers." — Kate Brodock [51:45]
• Future of marketplaces: Two-sided marketplaces are extremely challenging; you need perfect execution and quick value delivery to attract and retain users.
  "Often you have like one shot to prove your value once you get people in there." — Kate Brodock [53:13]
• LP expectations on fund managers: Varies by LP type. Individuals value mission and personal connection; family offices are idiosyncratic; institutions are longer-term and data-driven. Relationship-building and graciousness are key; be realistic about which type to target depending on your fund stage.
  "They all function on like their own set of things that they get excited about." — Kate Brodock [56:01]

Memorable Quotes

• On Building Community Beyond the Fund:
  "If you do that, you show up authentically and with genuine intent and you show up consistently... The founders can kind of sniff out when you're not doing that." — Kate Brodock [06:18, 07:46]
• On Early-Stage Founder Needs:
  "Filling in almost like the business basics... is really helpful for people. People don't get that a lot." — Kate Brodock [10:48]
• On Fund/Accelerator Structure:
  "We basically have like a core and then like engage-at-your-will set of stuff." — Kate Brodock [15:04]
• On Mental Health & Startup Life:
  "Being a founder is already so lonely... now I think even more so." — Kate Brodock [46:09]
• On LP Relationships:
  "We actually really don't have any LPs who just sit back and wait for... the quarterly update." — Kate Brodock [19:19]

Important Timestamps

• [02:05] — Kate's background and W Fund origin
• [05:05] — Community building as differentiation
• [09:39] — Pitch support and fundraising for founders
• [13:31] — Designing accelerator curriculum
• [19:19] — Active, engaged LPs
• [29:50] — Investment criteria: fund vs. accelerator
• [31:52, 34:35] — Sectors and deals that excite W Fund
• [39:54] — Building community during COVID
• [44:09] — Mental health of founders
• [51:45] — Advice on product-solution-fit
• [53:13] — Two-sided marketplaces: pitfalls and approach
• [56:01] — Fund manager traits LPs seek

Conclusion

Kate Brodock shares practical, candid insights from her journey—from building non-profit and for-profit communities to launching and operating a mission-driven venture fund. She emphasizes the lasting power of authentic communities, practical accelerator design, deep founder support, and relationships that span founders, LPs, and co-investors. Both new and aspiring fund managers, as well as startup founders, will find actionable advice and inspiration in her transparent approach.