Katheryn Thayer, Building a Brand for the Most Prestigious Seed-Stage VC in NYC
October 19th, 2022
Katheryn is the Director of Brand and Marketing at Primary Venture Partners. She oversees editorial, design, events, and partnerships and advises portfolio companies on narrative building and comms. She has a background in both journalism and brand storytelling, at Forbes as a Staff Writer and Special Features Deputy Director and at Kickstarter as Director of Brand Content.
In this feature, Katheryn shares her key learnings from her first role, the importance of taking initiative, having fun in your role(s), and her building a brand for the most prestigious seed-stage VC in NYC. Read along to soak up her incredible career advice for ambitious women, such as yourself.
Early Career
You started your career as a Social Media Analyst & Researcher at WiT Media while at Barnard College. What key learnings did you take from your first role?
That was a great experience in networking into a job, which basically just means being an initiator. I applied to an alumni mentorship program, I came prepared with a sense of what I wanted to do, even if I was still refining the exact vision, and that alumni mentor paired me with the team. You gotta put yourself out there and meet some people. Applying into the void is really demoralizing and not very effective.
While at WiT, I also tried to balance what I could offer and what I wanted to learn. So while I wasn’t exactly excited about pulling social performance stats, that was very clear value I could offer, and it earned me the right to sit in on agency meetings and see how this cool art marketing agency responded to RFPs, created campaigns, and ran day-to-day.
After about two and a half years at Wit Media, you joined Forbes as Associate Product Manager and continued to grow there for five years. How did you know you were ready for a career move and what initially drew you to the intersection of media and entrepreneurship?
That first role out of school was all about getting a foot in the door. I was really excited about digital media and publishing, and realized an entry-level project manager role wasn’t exactly that, but I could tell it would be an opportunity to work with a lot of writers and publishers while really getting to know the tech they used, too.
I want people earlier in their careers to know I felt like I was fucking up all the time. I felt more stupid than I had ever felt in my life, and in hindsight, that’s ok. That’s how you learn. I think a really important thing that happened during that period was instead of quitting or focusing too much on what I was bad at, I tried stretching into other types of work. I took on more producer-type roles on Forbes lists and launches, and ended up being invited to join a new editorial team, where I was able to more meaningfully grow and learn.
You’ve held Brand Producer, Editor and Director roles at Forbes, Kickstarter, and now at Primary Venture Partners. What skills and strengths did you realize were key to succeeding in brand and marketing fields?
I hear a lot of people in these types of roles talk about how important empathy is—you need to understand your audience and be able to put yourself in their shoes. I completely agree with that, but at this point that’s maybe a trite point to offer.
One thing I’d love to hear more people say: This work should be fun. If you’re not making yourself laugh writing it, if you’re not enjoying the photo research, if you don’t have a list of people you’re excited to share the final project with, you’re not creating an experience that will work for your audience.
Primary Venture Partners
You’re currently the Director of Brand and Marketing at Primary Venture Partners. What exactly does your role entail and what is your day-to-day?
I’m responsible for every element of our brand and how we promote ourselves. So that ranges from strategic work overseeing our rebrand last year and planning high-profile events like our invite-only NYC Summit to much more in-the-weeds tasks like overseeing our brand magazine, helping investors prepare decks for speaking engagements, and coordinating with reporters for press mentions.
I’d be remiss not to mention that I’m hiring! It’s a manager-level position for someone to come collaborate on our events and digital marketing, supported by a pretty deep stable of freelancers I’ve built over the years.
What excites you most about the future of Primary Venture Partners and your role as Director of Brand and Marketing?
Our team is at an inflection point and, between you and me, is well on its way to being the most prestigious, sought-out name in seed investing. I get to tell that story to the world.
Career Advice
What do you wish you knew when you were first starting your career?
Making friends is more important than figuring out what you’re supposed to be doing.
Who is one woman you aspire to be like?
I was just chatting with a friend who’s also a huge fan of Julia Sherman, the author of Salad for President—a total hyphenate, inventive, creative adventurer. I first met her in the context of her role as the Creative Director of Chop’t, but she also makes museum garden installations, documents lunchtime creations with artists, hosts fabulous events, and is a travel and food writer for the New York Times.
