Erica Wenger (@Erica_Wenger) — posts, photos & videos

My conversation with @saramfoster and Phil Schwarz.

Sara and Erin Foster co-founded Oversubscribed Ventures alongside Phil Schwarz, Partner at @corazoncap. Sara is also an executive producer of the hit @netflix series Nobody Wants This and co-founder of Favorite Daughter, while Phil is the former CMO of @Tinder .

We discuss how they built Oversubscribed Ventures, why the old celebrity-investor playbook no longer works, what it actually takes to help founders beyond writing a check, and where they see the biggest opportunities in consumer investing today.

We also discuss:

- How the cancellation of Barely Famous ultimately led Sara to @bumble
- How Sara and Phil went from $25K angel checks to building their own venture fund
- Why millions of followers no longer guarantee that a product will sell
- Why AI could make prestigious college degrees less valuable
- The overlooked opportunities in women’s health, fertility, and preventative healthcare

Enjoy!

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
6:04 - Does a College Degree Still Matter?
9:24 - How Failure Led Sara to @bumble
12:05 - Why Authenticity Builds a Stronger Audience
19:00 - How Sara & Phil Started Working Together
22:14 - From Celebrity Partnerships to Startup Investing
27:30 - Why Celebrity Endorsements Are Failing
29:02 - Building Oversubscribed Ventures
35:08 - How They Choose and Support Their Investments
41:38 - Reputation, Founders & Managing Other People’s Money
45:57 - The Reality of Being Famous on Social Media
51:06 - Why They’re Betting on Women’s Health & Consumer Products

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Lulu Cheng Meservey@lulumeservey · Oct 8

@Erica_Wenger

Oct 9

Completely agree. Instead of calling it credibility with no shortcuts, I call it “compounded mastery”

Like Lulu said most important piece is that it takes time/compounding because it lives in other people’s memory

prc.beehiiv.com/p/compounded-m…

The evolution of going direct:

Distribution was scarce, so the alpha was in building an audience

Then every company started posting all the time, and attention became scarce

Then attention became exploited with bait and slop, so now credibility is scarce

And there are no shortcuts for credibility

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@Erica_Wenger

Oct 8

How David Haber (@dhaber) invested early in Plaid, now an $8B company:

Years earlier, David and his future @onbondstreet co-founder Peyton Sherwood had tried to solve a problem around transaction data that @Plaid would eventually figure out.

David on how that connection later helped Plaid land @Venmo:

“It was similar to kind of what we were thinking about in 2009.”

“Peyton ended up being the head of engineering at Venmo. Venmo was built on @Yodlee at the time.”

“I remember introducing Zach and William to Peyton. He ends up ripping Yodlee out and replacing it with Plaid. Venmo became Plaid's first customer.”

David Haber: Why Most Entrepreneurs Fail to Stand Out via Trailblazers Podcast

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Erica Wenger@Erica_Wenger · Sep 29

My conversation with David Haber (@dhaber ).

David is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (@a16z ) and the former founder and CEO of @onbondstreet , which he built before the company was acquired by @GoldmanSachs .

We discuss what separates exceptional founders from everyone else, the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when hiring, what David learned building and selling his own company, and how AI is changing what it takes to build a successful startup.

We also discuss:

- Why the best founders study everyone who tried and failed before them
- Why clarity of thought is one of the most important traits in a founder
- The difference between building an “N of 1” company and being one of many
- Why New York produces a different kind of startup than Silicon Valley
- Why your earliest hires need to be people you can trust without micromanaging

Enjoy!

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
06:22 - Why VCs Become Founders and Founders Become VCs
08:34 - Building a Venture Firm vs. Running a Fund
14:36 - How Andreessen Horowitz Operates Differently
15:44 - Why David Joined Andreessen Horowitz and Built Its NYC Office
19:53 - What the Best Investment Firms Do Differently
26:57 - Why Venture Firms Are Becoming Media Companies
28:49 - New York vs. Silicon Valley for Building Startups
33:00 - Does Domain Expertise Still Matter in the Age of AI?
41:19 - What Makes a Founder Stand Out?
43:24 - How to Win in a Crowded Market
44:48 - Why David Looks for “N of 1” Companies
46:44 - How David Became an Early Investor in Plaid
51:48 - David’s Secret Biochemistry Background
56:37 - Trailblazer Trade-Offs

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@Erica_Wenger

Oct 8

Tinder had a branding problem: women saw it as a hookup app built for men.

While leading marketing at @Tinder Phil Schwarz wanted to change that perception and make the product feel more mainstream. That search ultimately brought him to @saramfoster and Erin Foster.

Sara and Phil on how they first started working together:

“The perception was that it was a place for guys to find girls to hook up with.”

“WME said, ‘Well, you should do a content series with the Fosters.’”

“It was obvious to me that Sara and Erin were like the only people to do that. And so we met and we had lunch."

Sara Foster & Phil Schwarz: Why Celebrity Brands Keep Failing via Trailblazers Podcast

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Sara Foster

@saramfoster

Oct 7

❤️

Erica Wenger@Erica_Wenger · Oct 7

@saramfoster built her brand by embracing failure instead of hiding it.

Most people try to protect their image by hiding the moments that make them look unsuccessful. Sara found that openly sharing those moments created the connection and trust her brand depended on.

Sara on turning vulnerability into a brand strategy:

“We built our entire brand being self-deprecating.”

“It's endearing for someone to be like, ‘I was fired. I feel like a failure.’ That connects us.”

“Without connecting with our audience, we have no show, no brand, no anything.”

Sara Foster & Phil Schwarz: Why Celebrity Brands Keep Failing via Trailblazers Podcast

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@Erica_Wenger

Oct 7

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@Erica_Wenger

Phil Schwarz says he’s currently going through one of the biggest challenges he’s faced as a parent.

After 18 years of helping guide his son through life, sending him off to college means learning when to stop giving him the answers and let him make his own decisions.

Phil on adjusting to this new stage of being a parent:

“It's a crazy thing to invest all of your mindshare, all of your time, all of your effort, all of your heart into something and then just let it go out into the world.”

“I went for 18 years being able to give him the advice and say, ‘Here's what I think you should do.’”

“I feel like I'm now at the point where he's got to make that call on his own.”

Sara Foster & Phil Schwarz: Why Celebrity Brands Keep Failing via Trailblazers Podcast

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@Erica_Wenger

Fun fact about today’s Trailblazers podcast episode!

@saramfoster & I first met 7-8 years ago when she spoke at a conference I threw/created (see left photo)

Flash forward to today, she came on this week’s Trailblazers with one of her co-GPs at Oversubscribed, Phil Schwarz (see right photo)

The world is small & you never know how relationships will come back around! Also, she hasn’t aged!!! 😂🤍

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@Erica_Wenger

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Very few understand that the Omani pilot & jihadists actually prefers this route!!

He asked to be killed as soon as it was clear he wasn’t successful

Jihadists create martyrs out of those who die for the cause (aka killing Jews) even if it’s via death penalty

Eyal Yakoby@EYakoby · Oct 6

BREAKING: The Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami is expected to face the death penalty in the UAE.

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@Erica_Wenger

Oct 5

TY to @beehiiv team for including me in your campaign at Austin airport!

If you access the wifi there, we're one of the 12 featured newsletters (DM me if you see it when there).

Let's go!! Best newsletter platform out there

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@Erica_Wenger reposted

Big Brain Business

@BigBrainBizness

Oct 4

Billionaire Mark Cuban says almost nobody succeeds in business without this one trait.

Unless they got really, really lucky:

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@Erica_Wenger

Oct 4

David Haber (@dhaber) spent 10 years thinking he was going to become a doctor.

It wasn’t until college that he realized what he actually wanted was to build something of his own.

David on the realization that changed his career:
“From age seven to 17, I thought I was going to be an orthopedic surgeon.”

“I recognized early on in college that if I became a doctor, I'd open a private practice. And I was like, wait a second, I don't have to become a doctor to become an entrepreneur.”

“I stuck with biochemistry. I graduated from Harvard with that degree. And I'm grateful for that because I think it taught me how to think. But my interests changed.”

David Haber: Why Most Entrepreneurs Fail to Stand Out via Trailblazers Podcast

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Erica Wenger@Erica_Wenger · Sep 29

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