The Power To Be An Angel Investor and Mentor For Early Stage Startups
Marjorie Radlo-Zandi is an angel investor, mentor and board member for early stage startups..
By Marjorie Radlo-Zandi
After doubling down on my values I led a successful startup, joined boards of promising startups and became an angel investor.
Years ago, founders Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark approached me about a top position in a little-known startup called Mosaic — the company that later became Netscape Navigator. I was thrilled at the opportunity. And I turned it down.
I had just given birth to my second child and knew I couldn’t work 60 hours a week while raising young children. The company soared to greatness without me. Since then, I’ve considered my daughter Gabrielle as “the billion-dollar baby”— almost $1 billion being the opportunity cost for prioritizing my kids and not abandoning my personal life for a startup.
Early in my Silicon Valley career, a manager wanted staff to remove photos of children from their desks. I ignored his request. Before long I’d found a better opportunity as part of a founding team. I quickly worked my way up and established a company culture that valued personal and professional lives.
I fostered an integrated work-life ethos before it was a thing. I scaled the company to do business in more than 100 countries, then sold it to a multibillion-dollar public firm. I created an environment that values a leader’s most important asset—her people.
At my startup, employee turnover was below 5%. Now that I invest in the kinds of innovative early-stage companies I once worked for, I emphasize integrated work-life as key to retaining top talent.
Today, I’m an angel investor, mentor to founders and sit on startup boards, with 50 percent of the startups I invest in led by women or people of color.
The founder of an innovative skincare startup I invested in and her team grew the company into a global brand while watching their children grow along with the business. I was especially proud to have taken part in mentoring and funding this startup.
““Now that I invest in the kinds of innovative early-stage companies I once worked for, I emphasize integrated work-life as key to retaining top talent.” —Marjorie Radlo-Zandi #PowerToChangeStories”
Marjorie Radlo-Zandi is a former entrepreneur, and current board member, mentor to startups, and angel investor who shows early-stage businesses how to build and successfully scale their businesses. https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjorieradlozandi/ ; https://www.jazzas.com/