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As Chief of Staff at M13, Julia oversees the annual planning process and quarterly tracking of OKRs. Her previous roles include Account Manager at Conde Nast and Executive Assistant at Compass.

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Mariah brings deep expertise in executive search from True Search & Daversa Partners, where she’s helped build executive and founding teams for early-stage venture-backed companies. She's passionate about building diverse, high-impact teams for mission-driven companies changing our everyday lives. 

Mariah Lang

Operator

Mariah brings deep expertise in executive search.

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Mariah Lang | M13

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As Director of Product, Mary brings her experience as a former co-founder to help portfolio companies strategically design, develop, and optimize the user journey. Mary takes pride in building meaningful relationships with founders and sharing her passion for product design, innovation, and creativity. She’s always excited to collaborate with startups and help them achieve their goals.

Mary Lara

As Director of Product, Mary brings her experience as a former co-founder to help portfolio companies strategically design, develop, and optimize the user journey.

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Mary Lara | M13

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As portfolio operations analyst, Amelia supports M13 portfolio companies in their growth and expansion. Prior to M13, Amelia was corporate partnerships and marketing manager at Stampede Ventures, where she built and led marketing launches for new companies developed from joint ventures. Amelia also worked for CAA, HBO, and NBCUniversal. 

Amelia Zack

As portfolio operations analyst, Amelia supports M13 portfolio companies in their growth and expansion.

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Amelia Zack | M13

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As an Investor Relations Analyst, Jennifer provides support, insight and analysis to M13. Prior to M13, Jennifer spent four years in investor relations in real estate private equity, most recently at Waterloo Associates and prior to that at Thrive FP.

Jennifer Fetterman

As an Investor Relations Analyst, Jennifer provides support, insight and analysis to M13.

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Jennifer Fetterman | M13

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Adrianna is the Office Coordinator for M13 East. Prior to this role, she worked as a Community Associate for WeWork, but has a background in the hospitality industry. Adrianna has a passion for people and building community. 

Adrianna Cooper

Mission Control

Adrianna is the Office Coordinator for M13 East.

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Adrianna Cooper | M13

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Brent Murri is a Partner at M13 where he leads early-stage investments in consumer technology companies. Brent joined M13 from Battery Ventures where he focused on growth-stage enterprise software investments. Prior to Battery, he worked in strategy & business development for Samsung NEXT, where he developed and executed strategies around Samsung’s consumer software and services initiatives.

Brent Murri

Partner

As a principal at M13, Brent leads investments across the firm's consumer investment themes. Prior to joining M13, Brent was an investment Associate at Battery Ventures...

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Brent Murri | M13

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As M13's community program coordinator, Samantha aligns with M13’s commitment to creating an inclusive community through authentic experience, dedication to innovation, and creativity. Samantha was previously the development associate for outreach and programming at Rockefeller University.

Samantha Hughes

As M13's community program coordinator, Samantha aligns with M13’s commitment to creating an inclusive community.

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Samantha Hughes | M13

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Karl is the Managing Partner at M13. Karl was previously the COO of DigitalOcean, where he helped scale the business from first product over six years and prepared it for its eventual IPO (NYSE: DOCN). During his full 20 year operating career, Karl also co-founded and ultimately exited two other technology companies as CEO.

Karl Alomar

As DigitalOcean's COO, Karl built the business from first product to >500 employees & $250M ARR over six years and prepared it for its eventual IPO (NYSE: DOCN). Having...

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Karl Alomar | M13

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Sarah was previously the VP of marketing and investor relations at Arlon Group and has served in IR roles at StepStone Group and Citi Private Equity. She is a public company board member, co-founded the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council, and has served on numerous non-profit boards.

Sarah Tomolonius

Sarah was previously the VP of marketing and investor relations at Arlon Group and has served in IR roles at StepStone Group and Citi Private Equity. She is a public company...

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Sarah Tomolonius | M13

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As a product specialist, Rob helps startups strategically build, deploy, fundraise, and go to market. Prior to M13, Rob has been a serial founder as the CEO of BlackSmith Studios and Pecabu, as well as acting in an interim-CMO/CPO capacity at a number of later-stage Bay Area VC-backed companies, including Cala Health, Apnicure, Neodyne & others. He is a recipient of UK Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012.

Rob Smith

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Rob Smith | M13

__At M13, I have a dynamic role__ that includes everything from assisting our founders, with any of their business-related needs, to collaborating on the events side and managing our operating system.

 __I’m here to support the Executive team as a whole,__ creating efficiencies where I can and stepping up to make sure that everyone on the team is freeing up as much of their capacity as possible to collaborate with our unbelievable founding teams.

 __My past experiences working at Allure__ really showed me the type of work environment I thrive in: one with high morale and a shared energy, where employees are both encouraged to be their authentic selves and challenged to be their best. It became clear to me from the very start that M13 had this kind of culture that they were a we-based company, not an I-based company.

 __In my prior role, I had the unique experience of partnering with brands from many different industries,__ each with different wants, needs, and work styles. Every new client meeting or interaction was a lesson in what makes people tick and how we could flexibly deliver the things each brand wanted out of their partnership with Allure. This experience has been invaluable as I’ve moved to M13, reminding me that there’s no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” solution.

 __Everyone at M13—from the interns to the Managing Partners—cares about each person’s success__ and appreciates everyone’s part in creating an amazing legacy for M13. This was all very clear to me from the beginning and is part of what made me so excited to join the M13 family.

 __My best advice?__ Don’t focus on too many things at one time. Your attention is a resource, and it’s more powerful when you don’t spread it too thin.

Julia Daniel

Julia was previously an account manager at Conde Nast and an executive assistant at Compass.

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Julia Daniel | M13

From the start, M13 has encouraged a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through training, tracking diversity stats, and sharing best practices on [psychological safety](https://m13.co/adam-grant-why-startup-founders-should-normalize-asking-for-help/). So in the spirit of developing more leaders, we decided to create an employee resource group (ERG) for the women at M13. 
According to [LifeLabs Learning](http://lifelabslearning.com/), “[ERGs] can increase employee engagement, productivity, candidate interest, and retention while leading to business innovation and growth.” 
Our goal was to create a safe space where we could share personal experiences and learn about one another. We also hoped the group could serve as an opportunity to be action-oriented and discuss how to address challenges that we face both in and outside of work. 
Once we made the decision to start the group, we needed to figure out a meeting format. I imagined a version of our #m13girls Slack channel—a safe space for everything from complaining about wearing bras and discussing which face moisturizers we like best to sharing interesting articles (and memes!) about women who inspire us. 
Over the past year or so that our women’s group has been running, we’ve tried out different formats and adapted to working remotely during a pandemic. Through trial and error, we’re still figuring out what seems to work best for us. 
Below is a quick step-by-step guide on how to start a women’s group (or any ERG) at your company: 
## Step 1: Choose a fearless leader (or leaders!) 
It has been crucial for our women’s group to have one or two women in charge of owning the agenda and maintaining the cadence of the meeting. With how quickly calendars fill up these days (hello, nonstop Zooms!), we’ve found it necessary to have someone leading the charge and making it a priority to get these meetings on the calendar on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. 
Having a few leaders can also ensure continuity and momentum in the event one leader moves on from the company. (My colleague Marie and I inherited leading our women’s group from a woman named Scout, who helped us get started in 2019.) 
## Step 2: Pick a topic for every meeting
We’ve found that having a specific topic can set the tone for an impactful meeting, even if we end up talking about something completely different. It’s helpful to send out relevant articles on the chosen topic in advance of the meeting to make for an even deeper conversation. 
Some examples of topics we’ve used include:
* **Covering:** [Deloitte defines](https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/covering-in-the-workplace.html) covering as “downplaying certain aspects of one’s identity” in the workplace. Covering can take the form of being appearance-based, affiliation-based, advocacy-based, and association-based. This topic is broad and can easily be extended to a more general DEI group. 
* **Negotiation and the wage gap:** Women who ask for a raise are twice as likely to get one as women who don’t, according toLeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company’s [Women in the Workplace 2020](https://wiw-report.s3.amazonaws.com/Women_in_the_Workplace_2020.pdf) report. So why aren’t we asking? We covered the still prevalent wage gap (as of 2018, women made 82 cents for every $1 earned by men of all races), and ended with an action-oriented slideshow of tips for negotiating and getting what you want.
* **Burnout and the effects of quarantine:** As the wild year that was 2020 came to a close, we knew we’d be remiss if we didn’t take the time to reflect as a group on the challenges we’ve faced and how we were coping, both personally and professionally. For this topic, we opened the floor for discussion almost immediately after asking, “How has COVID-19 and quarantine affected you?” 
We had follow-on questions prepared, but we ended up spending the full hour on just this question. It was beautiful to see almost every woman in the group, ranging from a new mother to a caretaker of her mother, speak up on how this “new normal” has impacted them. Women who had previously spent time working from home offered helpful tips on staying sane and developing a rhythm of working that incorporates self-care. Making time to trade coping strategies and support made it one of the best meetings to date. 
## Step 3: End on a positive note 
During the hour-long sessions, it can be easy to lose track of time. We’ve found ourselves on more than one occasion having to hurriedly wrap up what are often deep and vulnerable conversations in the last five minutes. We don’t recommend it! 
Having a timekeeper and saving at least 15 minutes to wrap up the discussion and agree on action items and key takeaways has been vital in making sure we all leave the meeting feeling a little lighter not heavier. The goal of these conversations is to be candid and conversational, but a little structure is highly recommended. 
## Step 4: Bring learnings and action items back to the broader team
To make sure we’re still being inclusive and in the spirit of transparency, we’ve made it a point to bring the key takeaways from the women’s group back to the rest of the organization. The last thing we want is for the women’s group or any ERG to create silos across the team. Highlighting what was discussed and any action items has been vital in getting buy-in from Leadership and implementing changes across the organization. 
According to [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebekahbastian/2019/02/11/how-to-foster-workplace-belonging-through-successful-employee-resource-groups/?sh=1730c969dc73), “Effective ERGs provide a centered space for the communities that they support, as well as opportunities for allies to get involved, build community, and learn about how to support the group. The more people that are actively involved in ERG efforts, the more impactful the groups can be for employees and the business.” 
An example of this came from our women’s group discussion on burnout and the effects of quarantine. Many women expressed feelings of guilt or shame in asking for time off during this time. The feeling was, “Well, we aren’t allowed to travel or go anywhere so it doesn't really make sense to ask for time off.” 
After the meeting and with the group’s blessing, we brought this to Leadership’s attention and an announcement was made in the following all-hands meeting encouraging all of us to take PTO (paid time off). Even if we were just staying at home, the importance of self-care and mental health breaks was validated across the team. 
With these tips in mind, we hope that you too can help widen the DEI lens at your startup and provide a safe space for your team to build community. 
_For more tips on launching an employee resource group at your startup, check out LifeLabs Learning's playbook and M13's DEI guide:_ 
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Consider these four steps when launching an employee resource group at your startup. 

M13's female-identifying employees get together on a Zoom call and smile for a screenshot photo.

What I've Learned from Leading a Women’s Group

Lessons from Leading a Women’s Group

Learn how starting a women’s group (or employee resource group) widened the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens at M13, a venture capital firm.

Julia Daniel

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Lessons from Leading a Women’s Group

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