Hi all,
My name is Lauren and I oversee Network Engagement and Partnerships at Union Square Ventures. For those who know me, you might think this “welcome” blog post might be odd given that I have worked at USV for 4 years. However, since it is customary for someone new to the investment team to write a blog post, I thought now is the time to share the evolution of my role and what I am currently working on.
While I have been here since 2014, my role has transformed quite a bit. For the last 18 months, I have been a part of our Network team, focusing on engaging employees at our active portfolio companies through communication and events as well as building partnerships, both within our portfolio network and with external organizations. During this time, we have scaled our network engagement quite rapidly and are excited to build more resources, access points, and customized programming for the 8,000+ employees within our portfolio of 70+ companies across the globe.
As in most things we do here at USV, my role’s central focus aligns with our investment thesis. For every project and initiative that I focus on, the fundamental goal is to help increase knowledge and access for employees within our portfolio. This can be shown through the 150+ events we offer each year, through our USV Network Slack with over 3,000 members, and via our Network Leaders Program, which empowers portfolio ambassadors to build and mobilize functional or regional communities through events and discussions.
As our portfolio continues to grow and evolve, I am excited to evolve with them! We learn from our companies, listen to them, and try our best to adapt our communication, programming and resources to what they need, when they need it. It’s been a pleasure to experiment with new ways to support our portfolio network over the past year, including launching a monthly diversity & inclusion series and our first-ever Women’s Executive Leadership Program.
I look forward to connecting with you! We are always looking for dynamic experts who can speak about leadership, mentorship, scaling and more. If you are part of an organization that can benefit our portfolio network, please also feel free to reach out at @lauren_maz or lauren at usv.com.