There’s a quiet shift happening in venture capital right now. Not just in what gets funded — but in who gets believed, who gets access, and who gets to define what “institutional quality” even means. This week I hosted an Unprecedented Lunch focused on one big question: What precedents in venture are no longer serving innovation? Around the table: emerging managers multibillion-dollar funds university endowments family offices operator-investors impact allocators ecosystem builders Collectively representing well over $100B in capital. But what made the conversation powerful wasn’t the AUM. It was the willingness to challenge assumptions that have quietly governed this industry for decades. Questions like: — What signals of credibility are outdated? — Has venture become too consensus-driven? — If we rebuilt the industry today from scratch, what would we never design the same way again? — What patterns are being missed because they don’t fit the historical playbook? The future of venture won’t be built by people protecting precedent. It will be built by people willing to question it. That’s the room I want to keep building.

Comment “WATCH” for the full episode 🎙️ On this week’s Trailblazers pod, I sat down with @leah_solivan , founder of @taskrabbit and now the founder of @precedent.vc . Her journey is one of the clearest examples I’ve seen of how your career can evolve alongside different seasons of life. One thing that really stayed with me from our conversation is how her biggest pivots didn’t just come from business decisions. They often came during major life moments. She started as an engineer, then took the leap to build TaskRabbit, helping define what we now know as the gig economy. After years of scaling the company and eventually selling it to IKEA, she spent nearly a decade in venture, backing and supporting founders at the earliest stages. But in between all of that were personal inflection points. Pregnancy, starting a family, and taking time to reflect. These weren’t pauses. They became moments that helped her rethink what she wanted to build next. That reflection eventually led her to start something new. Precedent VC, a fund focused on backing founders who are setting new standards and building in unconventional ways. What I loved most about this conversation is how it reframes growth. Not just as constantly pushing forward, but as being willing to step back, reassess, and build in alignment with where you are in life. This episode is a reminder that your path doesn’t have to be linear. Sometimes the biggest moves come from paying attention to the season you’re in and having the courage to evolve with it. ✨

I review thousands of deals a year. The signal problem is real. So I built an AI co-pilot to sit alongside my process—not to replace judgment, but to structure it. Every company I evaluate gets scored across the same dimensions: founder-signal, market opportunity, product, traction, go-to-market, and competitive landscape. Applying the same framework consistently removes a lot of the noise—and some of the bias—that creeps into how deals get evaluated. The result? Less noise. More pattern recognition. Better triage. I’m opening up a piece of that system for others to use. If you’re evaluating a deal and want a structured second read, you can forward it to [email protected] or drop it at dealscoreai.xyz. You’ll get back a clean summary and score using the same framework I use internally. I’ve found this works best when you’re looking at a set of deals, not just one. The real value comes from comparing signals and seeing how something stacks up relative to everything else you’re evaluating. The edge isn’t just access anymore. It’s how you process what you see.

I used to think productivity was about fitting more into the day. Now I think it’s about protecting the few hours that actually matter. The ones where you’re focused, clear, and able to make real decisions. Not reacting. Not catching up. Not sitting in meetings. Building. Thinking. Moving things forward. With four kids, a venture firm, a podcast, and a book in progress, I don’t have unlimited time. So I’ve had to get intentional about where my energy goes—and just as importantly, where it doesn’t. A few things that have made a difference: Designing my day around energy, not the clock Saying no more than feels comfortable Letting go of the idea that balance looks the same every day Most systems weren’t built for the lives we’re actually living. So we have to build our own. Curious how you think about structuring your day. Thank you @businessinsider Images: @audreyannephoto

Here’s what’s actually coming through my deal flow right now. I built a custom AI-driven deal tracker to surface patterns across early-stage companies, and the signal is getting clearer. This isn’t about more AI. It’s about where AI is being embedded. The strongest companies are not selling access to models. They’re building systems that improve how work gets done. Faster execution. Better coordination. Real operational leverage. We’re moving from capability-driven AI to system-driven AI. That’s where conviction is forming. This is an early look at the signals I’m starting to organize through @precedent.vc Labs. More to come.

We celebrate the rebel. But real change doesn’t start with rebellion. It starts with discipline. After my conversation with @ryannece I kept coming back to this idea — the people who actually change systems aren’t the ones ignoring the rules, but the ones who understand them deeply enough to reshape them. From football to investing, Ryan didn’t abandon structure. He translated it. A few reflections on discipline, identity, and what it really takes to create change. Read the latest on Substack.

Such a great conversation with the team at @techcrunch on Build Mode. If there’s one thing I’ve learned — both building Taskrabbit and now investing — it’s that building the right team is everything. And it’s a lot harder than most people think. We talked about why diverse teams don’t happen by accident, how early hiring decisions shape everything that follows, and the role venture capital plays in who gets funded, hired, and ultimately seen. If you’re building a company, hiring, or thinking about the future of work — this one’s worth a listen.

Excited to share that I’m now working exclusively with Outspoken Agency for speaking engagements. As I head into the next chapter with @breakingprecedent the Podcast, my upcoming book (can’t wait to share more!!), and a growing focus on sharing lessons from building, investing, and breaking norms, it felt important to partner with a team that truly understands my voice and audience. If you’re planning an event and looking for a speaker on entrepreneurship, AI, or navigating inflection points, you can now book me directly through @outspokenagency 🔗 book in bio

Leah started her career as a software engineer at IBM. Then she went on to build one of the most well-known marketplace startups of its time — TaskRabbit. She spent nearly a decade scaling the company, raised over $50 million in venture funding, and eventually sold TaskRabbit to IKEA in 2017. What’s interesting is that in the early days, she was literally the first “TaskRabbit” herself. If you hired someone for help in Boston back in 2008 or 2009, there’s a chance it was actually her showing up at your door to complete the task. Today, she’s on the other side of the table as an investor and recently launched her own fund, Precedent VC, where she focuses on backing early-stage founders building AI-native marketplaces, consumer products, and developer infrastructure. Her biggest lesson for founders is simple: investors look for founder–market fit — people who are deeply connected to the problem they’re solving, not just building something because it sounds like a good idea.

20 women. 20 conversations. 20 reminders that the rules we inherit aren’t always the ones we should follow. Over the past two seasons of @breakingprecedent the podcast, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing some incredible women who are challenging assumptions and reshaping industries. Here are a few lines from those conversations that have stayed with me: ✨ @amiura “I’ve always been someone who didn’t like to go with the flow.” ✨ @rojotamara “I was able to question everything because none of it was given to me as unquestionable.” ✨ @windychien “Constant evolution is absolutely a value.” ✨ @jeswolfe “Girl content is for girls and boy content is for everyone.” ✨ @sarahhoov “Almost every woman I encounter has a traumatic story—and that’s not okay.” ✨ @rachsuss (episode coming soon!) “Leadership can look many different ways.” ✨ @sbrown0496 (episode coming soon!) “The more you become who you really are… then you break precedent.” ✨ @samaramejiahernandez “Great ideas can come from anywhere.” ✨ @soledadobrien “The only thing you can really do is work to be the absolute best.” ✨ @halletecco “Change often comes from people working on the edges of a system.” ✨ @jurichlynn “The most powerful thing I’ve done for my future self is strength training.” ✨ @nastialiukin “You want to have it all and do it all.” ✨ @christinatosi “I finally came back to who I am.” ✨ @julierice_ “If people feel hopeful about themselves and root for each other, magic happens.” ✨ @thelastmileorg “Innovation comes from connecting ideas in new ways.” ✨ @sootle “Reinvention is a skill.” ✨ @karagoldin “Ideas don’t become companies overnight.” ✨ @biancagates “People underestimate how hard I’m willing to work.” ✨ @shiza “I realized the power of showing up to make a difference.” ✨ @acampoverdi “Social mobility can feel like a series of costume changes.” Grateful to learn from them. Happy International Women’s Day. #BreakingPrecedent #InternationalWomensDay #WomenWhoLead

Rooms like this remind me why I love building. Upfront Summit is where conviction meets capital — and where the next decade quietly starts taking shape. Listen closely. The patterns are shifting. 👀 Thank you @upfrontvc for an incredible event!! #UpfrontSummit #Innovation #Founders #VC

It’s conference season. Headed to #UpfrontSummit this week in LA and instead of business cards, I’m bringing small decks of question cards. Because I’m less interested in transactional networking — and more interested in real conversations with people who want to build a better ecosystem. With @precedent.vc I’m looking to back founders and work with partners who challenge defaults, expand access, and create durable value — not just momentum. If you see me, pull a card. Let’s build something better.