S3E16: Lindsay Knight @ Chicago Ventures on The Platform Model in VC & Chicago:Blend

Chicago Capital

Lindsay Knight manages CV’s Platform, or the firm’s “post-investment” team. She works directly with the firm’s 50+ active portfolio companies on matchmaking talent; connecting into customers; marketing, communication and PR; and building community, content, and events to help scale up and skill up more efficiently. She’s also a Kauffman Fellow, Class 23.

Prior to joining Chicago Ventures, Lindsay spent time at Ocean Tomo, an intellectual property merchant bank, where she was part of the team that launched the industry’s first live patent auctions. She later joined CHOUmedia as Vice President, where she worked with clients in the IP industry on marketing strategy and execution.

We discussed:

-Her early career in Marketing and Comms

-The Platform Model in VC

-Her daily workstreams at Chicago Ventures

-Founding Chicago:Blend

In 2018, Lindsay launched the non-profit Chicago:Blend, a collaborative effort of venture capitalists in Chicago who know that diverse teams and inclusive environments are critical foundations for both the startups we invest in and our own venture firms. She’s a former Chair of the VC Platform Global Community and serves on the Governing Board at Lookingglass Theatre, a Tony-award winning theatre that focuses on the spectacular and the physical. She graduated from the Miami University Honors Program with degrees in English/Journalism and Strategic Communication.