Meet Sarah, Sanober, Elzan, Christina 👋

We may be waving the summer sun goodbye, but we’re also waving in four new team members here at Pi Labs! We’d like to introduce you to our latest talent: Sanober Jakhrani (Marketing Assistant), Christina Kim (Business Development Intern), Elzan Godlewski (Investment Intern) and Sarah O’Donoghue (Head of Brand & Marketing).

Sanober Jakhrani, Marketing Assistant

1. What does your role at Pi Labs entail?

My role at Pi Labs revolves around managing our digital presence. I handle everything from creating engaging social media content, running campaigns to managing the production and promotion of various digital assets like landing pages, videos, PDFs etc — ensuring everything aligns with our brand.

I support senior leaders in their personal branding, boost event engagement using digital tools, and oversee our website and community newsletters keeping our strategies fresh and aligned with the latest digital trends.

2. What were you doing before you joined Pi Labs?

I worked at a tech start-up focused on developing a SaaS platform connecting sustainable businesses with like-minded influencers. My role was to create content, do research, write articles, and implement SEO strategies to amplify brand visibility across search engines and social media.

Following that, I worked at a social media marketing agency, where I contributed to campaigns for brands like Amazon, Starling Bank, and The Body Shop, and gained invaluable insights into the intricacies of creating compelling pitch decks.

3. Do you have any advice for anyone looking to get into the VC world?

The VC world is an incredibly dynamic and rewarding space. Immerse yourself in industry knowledge and understand trends and tech developments. Connect with professionals and attend events and combine it with a passion for learning.

4. Reading, watching, or listening to anything good?

Reading: I am currently reading Nineteen Eighty-three, a dystopian social science fiction novel by writer George Orwell.
Watching: Currently watching a fantasy drama on called Witcher.
Listening: The Prosecutors Podcast

5. What do you do to relax and create time for yourself?

I find long walks in the park and reading very relaxing.

Christina Kim, Business Development Intern

1. What does your role at Pi Labs entail?

As part of the Business Development team, my role is to help with fundraising activity, engaging with prospective investors, and building relationships with existing ones. We’re currently working on our fourth fund, so it’s an extremely busy but exciting time.

2. What were you doing before you joined Pi Labs?

I was completing my master’s at the London Business School, which allowed me to dig deeper into my passion for cities, citizenship, and impact. It’s also where I first gained exposure to the VC industry, working on the operations team at a newly created VC platform supporting female founders. It was a small team, so my role was cross-functional, but mainly focused around communications, events, and community initiatives.

3. Do you have any advice for anyone looking to get into the VC world?

As a beginner myself, I’ve found newsletters to be of incredible help so far. Creating an environment of constant, flowing information is useful in quickly getting a sense of the ecosystem, which is always a good starting point. I subscribe to new ones on a regular basis to explore new topics and diversify my perspectives.

Also, meet with people in the industry! Talking to founders and seeing their excitement was contagious, and I became passionate about supporting their road to success. Investors/venture capitalists introduced me to useful resources for studying and gave me advice on developing my own thesis. It’s a daunting process, but there are always people willing to help.

4. Reading, watching, or listening to anything good?

Reading: Building and Dwelling: Ethics for the City by Richard Sennett, What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell

Watching: Netflix’s D.P is a bit heavy, but its sharp critique of existing institutions (both soft norms and rigid systems) is always good food for thought. The Good Place is on the opposite end of the spectrum, a light-heated favourite.

Listening: NYT’s Hard Fork, The Economist’s The Intelligence, or the Monocle’s The Urbanist.

5. What do you do to relax and create time for yourself?

Three essentials — my camera, a good book, and a picnic blanket. I love exploring the streets with my camera in hand, finding a cozy café for book-reading on a rainy day, or basking in the sun with good friends.

Elzan Godlewski, Investment Intern

1. What does your role at Pi Labs entail?

Everything investment! (Well nearly 😊) I help source deals, evaluate them, conduct due diligence, and write investment memos so the Investment Committee can make the final decision on a deal. I have experience in Climate Tech VC prior to coming to Pi Labs so have focused largely on ventures with an intersection between climate and tech innovations in the built world — a large area of overlap!

2. What were you doing before you joined Pi Labs?

Directly before, I did the dual MBA at the University of Oxford, which included a Master of Public Policy and VC internships at Atomico, the Planet Fund, and the Oxford Creative Destruction Lab. In a previous chapter, I was an Assistant Vice President at State Street Corporation in Boston, USA. In that role I worked on strategy and implementation of the first front-to-back fintech platform for asset managers and as a consultant and product manager building out a software platform for the legal teams, so I have lots of ‘intrapraneurial’ operator experience in the B2B space. Going even further back, I studied Geology, Geophysics, Zoology, and Music (Bassoon!) at the University of Wisconsin Madison and spent my youth wandering around wetlands, forests, and rivers in Northern Wisconsin, usually clutching a book or three.

3. Do you have any advice for anyone looking to get into the VC world?

To be a VC, you basically need to start doing the job as a hobby first. This includes building deal flow, networking, and finding ways to start doing work for actual VCs (aka internships).

Generating your own dealflow in areas that interest you can look like going to pitch events (lots are online now, if you are in an area with less startup activity — Eventbrite and LinkedIn are great places to look), searching on a platform like Crunchbase (some universities provide access), and (if you’re a student) getting involved in entrepreneurial / tech groups on campus or joining a student-led VC. Every VC interview process will ask you to identify at least one (if not more!) companies you would recommend that fund invest in — it’s a much easier exercise if you’ve already got a compendium of startups you’ve been looking at.

Networking and building relationships in the industry is also critical. This helps you understand how investors think and what’s important to them. You can cold reach out and ask for a short informational interview via LinkedIn connection requests. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get many responses, VC’s LinkedIn requests are inundated, but you’ll stand out a bit if you include a personalized message — never connect with someone you haven’t met without one.

Once you get an internship, both sourcing and networking become much easier — firstly because sourcing becomes part of your job and secondly because it is much easier to ask for recommendations from your colleagues of other people you can speak to across the industry.

Finally, patience is key — VC is a small and highly competitive industry that hires sporadically. Prepare for a marathon, not a sprint! But the process is also preparatory — VC is a pretty full-on career choice that requires discipline, prioritisation, and stamina — all of which you develop throughout this journey.

4. Reading, watching, or listening to anything good?

Reading: The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson — a ‘hard science fiction’ that hypothesises a difficult, complex, but hopeful and possible path to tackling climate change and the ecological crisis. I’m also always in the midst of a more meditative work — currently, The Cloud of Unknowing, an anonymous Christian mysticism work on contemplative prayer from the 14th century.

Watching: Heartstopper Season 2!! First discovered Alice Oseman (author of the webcomic-turned-graphic-novel on which the series is based) a couple years back through her asexual coming-of-age novel Loveless and have been so thrilled to see her work skyrocket! So incredible to see hope-filled and joyful LGBTQIA+ stories get more spotlight.

Listening: Volts, David Roberts’ podcast on the tech, politics, and policy of decarbonization. David is a journalist and does a great job of getting into the nitty gritty of these topics and asking great questions of the people he interviews, though it is often a bit US-centric. And, as a (very) amateur China watcher, I gobble up every episode of The Economist’s Drum Tower.

5. What do you do to relax and create time for yourself?

I’ve always loved exploring and love taking a Saturday for good, long bike ride exploring a new section of the countryside — with phone on ‘do not disturb’ for an entire day! Pastoral Oxfordshire was particularly incredible for this, though since moving to London I’ve gotten to take the train out of town to get in a good bucolic ride. I also love to host and foster community — for example, while in Oxford, I was very fortunate to have a lovely backyard with a big willow tree. It was too good not to use, so I started hosting Saturday ‘soirees’ with my classmates, complete with fire pit and classic American s’mores.

Sarah O’Donoghue, Head of Brand & Marketing

1. What does your role at Pi Labs entail?

I’m responsible for running the overall brand and marketing strategy at Pi Labs. My ultimate goal is to influence Pi Labs’ overall growth and take the business to the next level. A big focus in the next year is to grow and optimise our presence across all channels, from digital, events to partnerships, and everything in between.

2. What were you doing before you joined Pi Labs?

Before joining Pi Labs, I spent three years as at SaaStock, where I worked with a great team to strategise, build, and deliver large-scale conferences for founders & investors across the global B2B SaaS ecosystem.

I started my marketing career ten years ago in Qatar, where I led the marketing and communication initiatives for an international school (you wouldn’t think it — but it’s a competitive market!). Since then, I’ve experienced many different industries, both in-house & agency side. I worked with advertising agency RMP Enterprise, supporting companies such as PwC and Siemens attract the best early talent through creative digital and event-based campaigns. I’ve also supported growth in-house, developing the overall marketing strategy for tech consultancy, YourShortlist.

3. Do you have any advice for anyone looking to get into the VC world?

I think I’d offer the same advice if you were looking to get into any industry — be curious, don’t be afraid to ask questions, try to meet as many relevant people as possible, keep an open mind, dive in, and have fun.

4. Reading, watching, or listening to anything good?

Reading: You’ll never find me reading just one book at a time, I’m constantly switching between books — depending on the time of day, or my mood, location, and energy levels. Currently I’m reading 3 books: An Immense World by Ed Yong, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, and the Journals of Sylvia Plath. Completely different, yet humbling and brilliant reads.

Watching: There’s been so many fantastic films & series released recently — it’s hard to name just a few. Recently watched Oppenheimer — would highly recommend!

Listening: I’m probably a little controversial in the fact that I don’t often listen to podcasts as I’m not an auditory learner, so I prefer to spend my time reading or watching something. If I’ve got my earphones in, I’ll be listening to music. Anything from ’70s rock to classical piano.

5. What do you do to relax and create time for yourself?

I love spending time with my family, my friends, my dog. You’ll often find me going on long walks with my dog, or watching films, or seeing live music. I love travelling too, I’ll jump at any opportunity to see more of the world we live in.