Meet the Victress Capital Summer Interns
When Managing Partners Lori Cashman and Suzanne Norris started investing together in 2015, they were motivated by their shared passion for women-led businesses. They recognized that female founders receive disproportionately low funding despite their substantial contributions to the startup world. Starting Victress Capital became not only a chance for Cashman and Norris to make an impact in a male-dominated industry, but also an opportunity to make a profit, as data shows that gender-diverse teams outperform their all-male counterparts.
Five years later, three additional team members, and 21 new portfolio companies, Victress continues to grow, invest and close the funding gap. The firm emphasizes its mission to enable the next generation of investors and entrepreneurs to learn about venture capital and access better pathways into the industry, changing how their sons and daughters will experience the world.
To better accomplish this goal, Victress launched its first summer internship program for undergraduate students in 2019, and this year seven new interns will remotely work on independent projects under the mentorship of a Victress team member. Over the course of six weeks, the interns will communicate with each other and the rest of the firm through a series of Zoom meetings, leading to a final presentation of projects. The internship program serves to provide undergraduates with the tools to learn about venture capital, enhance their business skills and grow their networks. While studying a diverse range of subjects in school — economics, journalism, marketing, public policy, and psychology — they share a curiosity for business and support Victress’ mission to make venture capital more accessible to women leaders.
Meet the Interns
Kaitlyn Patterson is a rising junior at Boston College, majoring in economics and marketing. This summer, she is creating a database of key performance indicators (KPIs) across startups, giving Victress an edge to guide portfolio companies and evaluate future investments. At school, Kaitlyn sits on the executive board of the Women in Business club. She also volunteers as a tutor at Brighton High School in Brighton, Massachusetts, through Boston College’s PULSE program, which aims to educate students about social injustice by connecting them to social change organizations. During quarantine, Kaitlyn can be found wearing her favorite consumer brand Roller Rabbit, a lifestyle company known for creating clothes with playful prints and vibrant colors.
Caroline MacLeod is a rising sophomore at Pepperdine University, majoring in integrated marketing. This summer, she is working with the Victress team to create social media content for Instagram that highlights portfolio companies and their products. Caroline has studied French for ten years and plans to study in Paris during college, yet she sees herself staying in California after graduating. She is also an avid listener of the female-hosted podcast Unladylike, which discusses what happens when women break societal standards.
Uche Ndukwe is a rising junior at Princeton University, majoring in economics. He is researching mission-driven funds and recording their approach to increasing diversity in business. In addition to his academic studies, Uche competes on Princeton’s varsity football team and plays the bass. He looks forward to learning more about social impact investing and plans to work in finance after graduating from college. Among the many leaders in today’s world, Uche especially admires professional basketball player LeBron James for his commitment to volunteer work. He admits to wearing athleisure most days, whether on or off the football field, and particularly enjoys Lululemon Athletica apparel.
Tess Lenihan is a rising sophomore at the University of Virginia, majoring in leadership and public policy. She is building a framework to report impact metrics across Victress’s portfolio, by analyzing how other impact funds report their metrics. Outside of classes, Tess is an equestrian. In 2015 she and her sister started a non-profit organization called Give to Ride, which supports inner-city horseback riding programs. Tess sees herself working in education for part of her life, either teaching or making quality education more accessible. In her free time, she enjoys listening to The Moth Radio Hour and true crime podcasts.
Bridget Mussafer is a rising junior at Duke University, majoring in psychology. For her Victress project, she is working on proactive deal sourcing in key areas of interest to the firm and analyzing various companies that Victress may fund in the future. At school, Bridget works at the Duke Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics (COLE) whose mission is to empower leaders of consequence to change the world through knowledge and connections, where she initially learned about Victress’s summer internship program. Recently, she has been inspired by young adults leading the Black Lives Matter movement and protesting against police brutality. She especially admires how they use social media platforms to inform, inspire action and strengthen collective commitment to equity. Bridget enjoys consumer brands that use vibrant and positive colors and considers herself a Paper Source superfan.
Grace Maxwell is a rising senior at the Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts. This summer, she is analyzing social media trends for Victress and using those insights to suggest ideas for content creation for portfolio companies and the firm. While Grace expects to major in a business-related subject in college, she enjoys her high school STEM classes, especially physics. Outside of class, Grace sings and acts in her high school’s theater productions. She discovered her love for acting at the young age of 7 when she played the lead role in her first musical, Annie.
Grayson Welo is a rising sophomore at Northwestern University, majoring in journalism. This summer, I am writing a series of articles — including the one you are reading right now — to give investors an authentic, inside-look at Victress and its people. Outside of classes, I write for The Daily Northwestern, work as a journalist on a Northwestern comedy show and play club tennis. Similarly to my fellow interns, I am drawn to Victress because of its dedication to gender diversity and prefer to support consumer brands with similar missions. One of my favorite companies is Re-Inc, a lifestyle brand founded by players on the United States women’s national soccer team built to challenge the status quo.
