Kate McAndrew from Baukunst on Pre-Seed Investing and Empowering Founders

I am excited to have Kate McAndrew, the GP of Baukunst is a collective of creative technologists advancing the art of building companies at the frontiers of technology and design. They lead pre-seed rounds, typically investing $500k-$1.5M in pre-product, pre-revenue startups. Kate is the author of the book - The Goddess Guide to Branding, In this episode, Kate McAndrew, General Partner at Baukunst, shares her inspiring journey from art history graduate to venture capitalist. Kate discusses the unique challenges and opportunities of pre-seed investing, identifying exceptional founders, and her approach to scaling hardware startups. She delves into Baukunst’s focus on deep tech, the intersection of CAD and AI, and the importance of building diverse, high-performing teams. Kate also talks about co-authoring The Goddess Guide to Branding, empowering female founders, and her thoughts on trends shaping venture capital, and much more! Timestamps Kate's journey into venture capital - [2:20] Kate's early entrepreneurial ventures (vegan cupcakes and blogging) - [4:30] Transition from operator to VC - [6:50] Building an accelerator program in the Southeast - [8:10] Experience at Bolt and pre-seed investing strategy - [11:00] Different archetypes of founders in Baukunst’s portfolio - [13:40] Key attributes sought in pre-seed founders - [15:20] Trends in CAD and AI at the intersection of deep tech - [18:10] Investment in Amber (former Autodesk co-CEO’s startup) - [20:15] Approach to leading and following on pre-seed rounds - [23:00] Scaling challenges for hardware companies - [25:30] Advice on minimizing founder dilution - [28:00] Misconceptions founders have about fundraising - [30:20] Maximizing value from VC board members - [33:10] The impact of being a board member on investment strategy - [35:00] Challenges faced by female founders in venture capital - [37:20] Opportunities for private equity in SaaS exits - [40:30] Future trends in venture capital - [42:50] Importance of building strong founding teams in deep tech - [45:00] Emerging consumer applications of AI - [47:10] The story behind writing "The Goddess Guide to Branding" - [49:00] Advice for emerging fund managers - [52:40] Choosing the name Baukunst and its significance - [54:50] Kate’s Links  LDN– https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateprestonmcandrew/ Website –  https://baukunst.co/ My Links  Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes YouTube:  youtube.com/lifeselfmastery Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/ 5-day email course: www.enterprisesalesexpertise.com