Well Connected

Kelly Hoey is a serial networker. And that's exactly how the former bankruptcy lawyer was named one of five women changing the world through venture capitalism and entrepreneurship according to Forbes, one of 25 Smartest Women on Twitter from Fast Company, and one of 100 most influential tech women on Twitter by Business Insider. She's also a moderator of special roundtable discussions for Apple and Google around the world.

Hoey, 48, is the chief marketing officer of Cuurio, an index of 700 digital startups that helps match big brands and agencies to relevant startups. She's also a founder of Women Innovate Mobile - an accelerator focused on digital ventures founded by women. Hoey has advised more than 50 startups since she transitioned to work in the industry in 2009.

Although Hoey declined to share the New York City-based Cuurio's revenues or details on clients, the company's website boasts testimonials from executives of Hotwire PR, L'Oreal, and Critical Mass.

Hoey spoke with the Business Observer during a recent Tampa Bay WaVE Investor Pitch Day Launch Party at the Tampa Museum of Art. Here are edited excerpts of the interview:

How do you identify the best investments? Is there a secret sauce?
There is market knowledge in knowing areas where there is saturation or where there is a difficult hurdle. Is there money on it? And the strength of the founding team. Beyond their skills or experience, what have they done individually or together before? Is there someone who is naturally a leader? I'm all about collaboration, but someone needs to be the boss. What's their roadmap, what are the metrics they're setting up? What's the dynamic between them and can they execute? At the end of the day that's what you look at.

Do people find you or do you go looking for them?
I rely and trust heavily on my network to present opportunities. It's why I ensure I have a really diverse network in terms of globally, in terms of sectors, in terms of gender, so I'm not getting things filtered through the same eyes.

I'm very, very proactive in ensuring that I have the widest net and most diverse net possible in terms of meeting startups. Knowing Christine Mendonca here in Tampa, knowing the folks who run an accelerator in southern Sweden, mentoring an accelerator in Omaha, opportunities I have now with the Canadian government to mentor startups in Vancouver, Wayne Sutton in San Francisco is launching Build Up VCs. Not just middle class white chicks who grew up in nice communities, if I were to base in my own backyard.

What's your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge now is I have to follow my own advice. I've joined a startup, Cuurio, as chief marketing officer. We have to fundraise; we need to scale. So I have to eat the dog food I've been feeding startups since I started in this space in 2011.

Do you have any decisions you regret?
There are things I've put off that I'm only acting on now. I finally am getting around to writing a book. People have been bugging me for years. I didn't do any public speaking until a decade ago. I avoided it like the plague.

What's your advice for startups?
Probably the advice I give to most people is build your network before you need it. I have startups come up to me and say to me, “Hey, I need an investor,” like I'm the purveyor of the old five and dime. It's relationship building and you know what, that doesn't happen overnight. You build that wide and broad network that creates opportunities, and then always make sure that you have that narrow deep network that has your back, who has cold beer or Kleenex whenever you need it most.

What are the main challenges facing woman-owned businesses today?  
Big question. Growth and scaling is a challenge for many business owners. There is a lot of focus on the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs raising money. I'm not going to discount this, but simply want to add that raising money is a huge challenge for entrepreneurs, especially first time entrepreneurs, and only a tiny percentage of early-stage ventures get angel or VC funding. Period.

So, turning this question on its head — what are the trends that women-owned businesses should be excited about?
There are more options for women-owned businesses to grow and get funding/revenue — crowdfunding sites, specifically female-focused funds, accelerators or incubators, rise of co-working spaces, marketplaces for goods and services, etc.