Gabby Cazeau, From Inventing Cereals to Investing Capital

March 16, 2020

In continuation of Women's History month, we're so thrilled to highlight another female trailblazer in the world of VC. Gabby Cazeau is a Senior Associate at Harlem Capital, a diversity focused VC fund based in New York on a mission to invest in 1000 diverse founders over the next 20 years.

In this feature, Gabby shares with us her first job at General Mills, why she pursued an MBA, and her role as Senior Associate in Harlem Capital. Read along to soak up her incredible career advice for ambitious women, such as yourself.

Early Career

You graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Chemical Engineering, and then went to work as an engineer at General Mills for several years. How did your undergraduate major and first job influence where you are today?

Both studying engineering and my work at General Mills were exciting to me because I got to solve interesting problems each day. I worked to identify consumer needs, build empathy for their concerns, and find meaningful solutions. I enjoyed that work and am fortunate to bring many of those same skills to my work as an investor. When evaluating companies or learning about new industries, I’m constantly trying to identify the core problems that make a company’s product or service a meaningful solution to their customers. It requires a spirit of curiosity and willingness to learn, themes that were core to each of my previous roles.

After working at General Mills, you chose to pursue an MBA. What drove you to get an MBA, and what advice do you have for those considering post-graduate degrees?

After spending time as an engineer building products, I wanted to broaden my perspective about how businesses work. I was interested in learning how businesses operate, leaders craft strategy, and how they build long-lasting organizations. Pursuing an MBA also provides a great opportunity to explore other career paths and was instrumental in my journey to VC. My advice is to speak with current students at the types of post-grad programs you’re interested in attending. They’ll have the best insight on the program and can share their experience.

Harlem Capital

Prior to starting your MBA and during your studies, you became involved in the VC space. What inspired you to get involved in the startup scene?

At General Mills, I worked on early product innovation teams trying to create the next great and cool food product. A number of our methodologies and processes were borrowed from tech companies. So I was interested in exploring further to see how product creation and design worked outside of the food space, in tech. At Yale, I worked at TSAI City, our on campus innovation hub and accelerator program for student startups. It was a great experience to work with student founders and help them think about how to build and test their products at an early stage.

Why did you choose to pursue a role at Harlem Capital?

It came down to the mission and the team. Harlem Capital’s mission is aligned with my values and I got excited by the prospect of working at a firm where each day I work towards uplifting communities that look like me and that I deeply care about. During my internship I found that this is an incredible team that is driven, thoughtful, focused on serving others, and continually trying to improve each day. That ethos resonated with me and was something I wanted to be part of. As a team we work hard and have a lot of fun at the same time!

What does your role as a Senior Associate at Harlem Capital entail? What do you do in your day-to-day?

"On Monday, Harlem Capital unveiled its latest move, striking a tie-up with Techstars, one of the biggest venture accelerators in the world."

1,349 Likes, 67 Comments - Harlem Capital (@harlemcapital) on Instagram: ""On Monday, Harlem Capital unveiled its latest move, striking a tie-up with Techstars, one of the..."

At Harlem Capital I work on the investment team focusing on sourcing and conducting due diligence for companies at the Seed and Series A stage. Most of the time I’m meeting with incredible founders to learn about what they are building and their vision for the future. Outside of those meetings, I’m often researching industry trends, diving into a company’s model and future roadmap, and chatting with other investors. I also support our relationships with accelerator programs and pre-Seed companies, like through Harlem Capital’s partnership with Techstars.

There has been more attention brought to VC firms that focus on underrepresented minorities in the past few years. What excites you most about the future of Harlem Capital?

I’m excited by the ability for Harlem Capital to change investment outcomes for women and underrepresented minority founders. This cohort has such incredible talent and gifts and we are laser-focused on investing in their businesses and supporting their vision for the future. Sadly, we can’t invest in every company, so I’m also excited by our other initiatives to highlight diverse founders and give them the tools they need to be successful. Whether that’s through educational resources, partnerships with external programs, or connecting them to other investors, we want to transform the landscape and work towards increasing the flow of resources to our communities.

Advice

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out your career? There is no one right way to chart your career and there is a lot more randomness than we give tend to give life credit for. But by taking the time to learn as much as you can at each step of your journey, you increase your chances of turning that randomness into something magical.

What advice do you have for young women who want to enter VC?

VC is so exciting and a great first step is to learn about the industry - whether from books (Venture Deals), podcasts (20minVC), or by reaching out to investors who focus on areas you might be interested in. Try to go to events in your local area to learn more about startups, get to know founders, and meeting folks in the industry. A number of firms offer internship programs where you can get in to learn how they work and evaluate companies. In fact, Harlem Capital’s internship program has applications open now until March 18th.

What would you say to young businesswomen who aren’t sure they’re in the right industry/field?

First, know you are likely not alone in that journey and that many people go through similar points of uncertainty at points in their career. Use that uncertainty to drive action. Take time to ask why, and understand what it is about your current work that is not in alignment with your goals or values. Then, try to identify fields that might be in alignment, and talk to people in those fields, to pressure test and validate your understanding. I encourage you to do that iteratively across different fields, and once you find what might be a good fit in the future, go for it and make it happen!