(The band draws parallels in another way to Sequoia’s leadership, which was composed entirely of men until 2016, when it hired the first female investment partner in the U.S., Jess Lee.) As a CEO, I think I was good at two things. I’m a Partner at Sequoia Capital and co-founder of All Raise, a non-profit dedicated to diversity in tech. I was there four years as a PM on Google Maps, and I learned a lot. [4], "Introverts can use vulnerability to become strong leaders", "Why Polyvore fashion CEO Jess Lee 'wears a uniform, "How One Startup Found Success by Making an Obsessive User Its CEO", "How I Made It: Jess Lee's unlikely path to running Polyvore", "How One Complaint-Filled Letter Landed This Ex-Googler At Her Dream Job", "Polyvore CEO Jess Lee Is Cracking The Code On Diversity In Fashion", "Jess Lee of Polyvore joins Sequoia Capital as its 11th investing partner", "Sequoia Capital Hires First Female Investment Partner in U.S.", "One of Silicon Valley's oldest and most successful venture capital firms just hired its first female investing partner", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jess_Lee_(business)&oldid=1004057683, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 31 January 2021, at 22:13. It's a tough space that requires a founder with a lot of grit. From our Obsession. Do a few things well. I don’t think I quite fit the traditional mould for what a CEO is supposed to be like. [5], In 2004, Lee was recruited into Google's associate product manager (APM) program,[4][6] which had been founded and was then still led by Marissa Mayer. You need grit to get through the entrepreneurial journey. 5,991 Followers, 1,747 Following, 657 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Jess Lee (@jesskah) She built the Associate Product Manager program at Google and I was in the third class of APMs. In my first interview with Marissa she told me, whenever she’d had to choose between two paths, she always tried to pick the more challenging one. I’m personally interested in AR and VR. I just fell in love. She’s the co-founder and CEO of Polyvore, a shopping site for fashion and home decor. And I think being there for an entrepreneur during those tough times can be one of my strengths. Previously, she held leadership positions at Google and Polyvore. Then on the product side, I’d say I had a strong sense of user empathy and some UI design sensibilities. Prior to to Polyvore, I was a product manager at Google, where I worked on Google Maps. [10] Hired at age 33, Lee became one of Sequoia's youngest partners. Sequoia had been wooing Jess Lee since 2012 . I’m a company builder, I’m a team leader, I want to do it with my own two hands.”. Jess Lee (born 1982) is an American venture capitalist. My first boss was Marissa Mayer. I can’t help but say what I’m thinking. Women control 80% of household purchasing power and make 80% of healthcare spend decisions, yet are often underserved. Her badge identified her employer as Sequoia Capital, an Apple Inc. and Google backer that was gearing up to raise more than $12 billion in several new funds. And then finally, today, Sequoia has announced it is breaking with its alleged “MadMen” history and hiring Polyvore and Yahoo’s Jess Lee. I love spaces that others underestimate. Meet Jess. No one is good at everything. Personality-wise, a certain set of skills, being introverted — none of those things are your classic CEO. A million variables have to line up for things to work out, and sometimes it feels like everything that could have gone wrong is going wrong. Watch more My firstminute episodes Rio Ferdinand & Michael Acton Smith . [6], In 2016, she joined Sequoia Capital as an investing partner,[9] becoming the venture capital firm's first female partner in the United States in 44 years of operation. It’s always meant a lot to me. While at Google, Jess was a product manager for Google Maps. A long silence followed that piece and the Goguen scandal. Previously, she was the CEO of Polyvore - a journey she likes to call “unusual.” When she was at Google, she became obsessed with using Polyvore and sent in detailed user feedback through e-mail to the original co-founder. Sequoia had been wooing Jess Lee since 2012 . It drove me to be CEO when I was VP of Product. She is a partner at Sequoia Capital and the former chief executive officer of Polyvore. To be clear: This is nothing but good news for everyone involved. Sequoia Capital has brought aboard Jess Lee as its eleventh investing partner in the U.S., becoming the firm’s first senior female U.S. investor in its 44-year-old history.. Lee … I spent most of my career in consumer, so I lean towards consumer and B2B2C products. Then one day someone showed me Polyvore. "Strive to do something transcendent and your imprint can outlive all of us." The strength of an introvert is that, if you don’t like the spotlight on yourself, you put it naturally on your team. While at Google, Jess was a product manager for Google Maps. Timing is the question. Sequoia had been wooing Jess Lee since 2012. I know that from personal experience. She's the co-founder and chief executive officer of Polyvore, a shopping site for fashion and home decor. [4] Her role expanded to honorary co-founder in 2010 and she was promoted to CEO in 2012. Sequoia Capital has brought aboard Jess Lee as its eleventh investing partner in the U.S., becoming the firm’s first senior female U.S. investor in its 44-year-old history.. Lee was a former Google product manager turned CEO of the fashion site Polyvore, which was acquired for $230 million in cash by Yahoo last year. [4] There she worked with a team of five engineers to create My Maps, a project that allowed users to create maps of their own. Consumers can be fickle — in love with a service one day and over it the next. Read writing from Jess Lee on Medium. Jess Lee is a partner at Sequoia Capital. Jess Lee. The art is in understanding the user, creating a kernel of delight, and having the resilience to ride out the storms. Rio Ferdinand (Former England and Manchester United Captain) in conversation with Michael Acton Smith OBE (Co-founder & … Before joining Sequoia, I was CEO and co-founder of Polyvore, (acquired by Yahoo in 2015). I partner with founders at the seed/A/B stages. We eventually sold to Yahoo. Figuring out how to lead in my own style, authentically, has shaped me tremendously. Jess Lee, a partner at legendary Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, recounted her experience receiving an offer from the firm in a Bloomberg interview Monday. Over our 45+ year history, Sequoia has had the privilege of partnering with many great enterprise companies, from Oracle to Cisco to Dropbox to Qualtrics. And I remember thinking, “I want to be just like these people.”. That’s really exciting to me. You have to figure out the one thing you’re really good at and just work your ass off. Jess Lee is a partner at Sequoia Capital. [8] Lee initially wrote code for Polyvore but later started to handle social media, hiring, and finding new locations for the office. Jess joined Polyvore as a product manager in 2008 after providing their co-founder with feedback on issues with the website. Jess has been involved in many ventures, but through all of them, she kept one thing constant: where am I going to be challenged the most? She is a partner at Sequoia Capital[1] and the former chief executive officer of Polyvore. Inc. acquired it last year for $230 million, and as Yahoo is now being bought by Verizon Communications Inc., Lee agreed to join Sequoia. Jess Lee is a partner at Sequoia Capital investing in seed / Series A companies and beyond. She was later named VP of Product, an honorary co-founder, and ultimately CEO. I’ve been on that roller coaster. [11], She currently resides in Mountain View, California. Previously, she held leadership positions at Google and Polyvore. Yahoo! That equals opportunity. It drove me to go to Polyvore when I was happy at Google. I think those are the next big platforms post-mobile. Somewhere along the way the other founders came to me and said, “We’ve always thought of you as a cofounder, so we’ll just call you an honorary cofounder from now on.” What an amazing and generous thing to do. Outsider Insight: How to get the help you ... Outsider Insight: Build your company like ... Outsider Insight: How to get the help you need, Outsider Insight: Build your company like a product. Startups are really hard. Growing up I wanted to be a comic book artist. [6] Lee then guided the company to cut down on features such as the "Ask" section and opened another office in New York City. Jess Lee is an investing partner at Sequoia Capital and the former chief executive officer of Polyvore (a fashion web site allowing users to create shareable collages of clothing and interior designs). Is supposed to be clear: This is nothing but good news for everyone involved 11... 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