Episode Details

In this episode, we sit down with Kate McAndrew, Co-Founder and General Partner of Baukunst, a $100 million pre-seed venture fund investing in the next generation of founders. After spending more than a decade investing in over 100 early-stage companies, Kate shares how she evaluates entrepreneurs long before the rest of the market catches on. We discuss what makes a startup worth investing in, how great investors think from first principles, the traits that separate exceptional founders, how to build company cultures and institutions that last, and the unconventional path that led her into venture capital. If you're interested in startups, investing, entrepreneurship, or understanding how the best venture capitalists think, this episode is for you.

This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, Kalshi

Sydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazers

beehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-4&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)

*beehiiv has a major announcement coming July 16 - can't say more, but you won't want to miss it. RSVP here: https://www.beehiiv.com/summer-release-2026

Granola: https://granola.ai/trailblazers

*Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Check out the episode show notes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/8dccb81c-ac02-48e1-afb3-b6a7d8ff9160-00b881l8

Kalshi: https://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazers

Wispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazers

HEX: https://hex.ai/trailblazers

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Trailblazers is your favorite tech + VC podcast, hosted by Erica Wenger (GP at Park Rangers Capital). Each week we sit down with founders, operators, and investors who’ve found conventional success in unconventional ways. New episodes every Tuesday.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

1:37 Kate’s Biggest Struggle

3:55 How Going To An All-Girls School Impacted Kate's Life

8:38 What Going To An All-Girls School Is Actually Like

11:21 How Kate Thinks About Investing

12:41 What Makes A Great Founder

14:23 How Companies Survive 100+ Years

17:14 Kate’s Unconventional Path To VC

23:15 The Philosophy Of Building A Great Company

27:54 How Kate Got Her First Job In VC

30:04 Kate’s Best Advice For Entrepreneurs

33:29 What Makes A Brand’s Identity

36:49 Why Kate Makes Content

43:30 The Purpose Behind Baukunst

48:04 How Baukunst Operates Internally

52:34 What Kate’s Most Excited To Invest In

54:57 Every VC Hates A Creator Business