Lauren Kolodny
After developing a passion for international travel while volunteering in Peru and Thailand during high school, Lauren Kolodny went on to study abroad in Barcelona as an International Relations major at Brown University. Interested in the role of technology in economic development, Lauren launched a non-profit while still in college to bring alternatives to firewood cookstoves to communities in Tanzania. Upon graduation, Lauren moved to New Delhi, India, to work with the Clinton Foundation on clean technology partnerships and became the youngest member to serve on the Board of Trustees at Brown University. Seeking to explore her interest in technology further, Lauren returned to the U.S. to work in product marketing at Google, before transitioning to her current role supporting startups and entrepreneurs as Principal at Aspect Ventures. Read on to find out how the global perspective she developed abroad has contributed to her success and what she’s planning next.
IES Abroad: Why did you decide to study abroad in Barcelona? Had you traveled much growing up or studied abroad previously?
Lauren Kolodny: I grew up in San Diego and spent a fair bit of time traveling in Mexico as a kid. I think the proximity to Mexico really made me curious about other cultures and international travel from a very young age. That curiosity led me to seek out opportunities to spend time abroad in high school. I managed to convince my parents – through a fairly well researched PowerPoint presentation – to let me do volunteer programs in Peru and Thailand after my junior and senior years of high school. Those experiences really opened up my world and gave me an insatiable desire for international travel. I ended up studying International Relations at Brown.
When it came time to choose a study abroad program, my priorities were to get to know another region of the world and improve my Spanish. Spain was the obvious choice since I’d already spent a little time in South America and Mexico. I’d heard fabulous things about Barcelona: beautiful coastal city, great art and culture, easy access to the rest of Europe, fun night life. It was really a no brainer. The one thing I didn’t totally internalize was the prevalence of the Catalan language in Catalonia. But I spoke my fair share of Spanish and had an amazing time.
IES Abroad: What are some of the most influential memories from your time in Barcelona?
LK: My experiences were, first and foremost, colored by the opportunity to meet interesting people with really diverse backgrounds and get to know them through the process of exploring a foreign environment together for the first time. As for some specific memories, I remember loving the IES Abroad orientation where we took a weekend trip through Catalonia. We visited the medieval town of Girona, explored the beaches and surrealist museums of Cadaqués, crossed the Pyrenees mountains into France - I remember feeling as though my European history and literature classes were coming alive.
In Barcelona itself, I loved strolling through the Gothic Quarter and stumbling upon a new gallery or cafe. I would often hit up the Boqueria, an open air market in the city center, for its incredibly fresh produce and cheese, and I would host dinner parties using all local ingredients. And I loved spending time at Parc Güell and at the other Gaudi installations, philosophizing with my friends about what the heck he must have been thinking.
IES Abroad: In college you started a non-profit organization offering alternatives to firewood cookstoves in East Africa. How did that come about?
LK: I mentioned I majored in International Relations at Brown, but my focus was really around the role of technology in economic development. I was particularly interested in the ways in which technology – both basic and advanced – could help accelerate economic development in the developing world. Through my research and courses, I was shocked to learn that millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa develop severe or fatal illness every year due to inhaling the smoke from firewood cookstoves. Furthermore, women and children spend significant time collecting firewood everyday that could be spent on income generation and education. In some regions, women and children are also victim to rape and attack when they’re out collecting firewood. It occurred to me that a simple alternative to firewood cookstoves could help address a number of these issues. I put together a team and built biogas digesters and solar cookers throughout the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. We partnered with some local organizations and trained them in building the technology so they could teach their communities how to construct and use the stoves more widely. It was a trying experience and I decided to pursue other things after graduation, but I will say that my prior experiences living abroad gave me a comfort in navigating all of the ambiguity that we faced in this effort.
IES Abroad: How did your study abroad prepare you to work for the Clinton Foundation on Clean Tech Partnership in New Delhi, India?
LK: My time living in Barcelona for a summer got me excited about the idea of living and working in a foreign country after college graduation. I developed a confidence during my time in Spain and elsewhere that made me think I could handle and enjoy the unknown of another country for a longer period of time. Right after college, I moved to New Delhi, India, to work with the Clinton Foundation on accelerating the development of utility scale renewable energy through partnerships with technology companies, the government, and finance institutions. While I faced an entirely new set of challenges during my time in India, I was far more prepared to navigate those challenges because of my past experiences abroad.
IES Abroad: When Brown University created its young alumni trustee position, you were elected as the first and youngest trustee of the Corporation. Were there lessons learned from your study abroad and foreign work assignment that were valuable as you held this leadership position?
LK: The variety of experiences that I had working, studying, and traveling abroad certainly equipped me with a much more global perspective that had a lot of relevance on the Board at Brown. I think it goes without saying that in today’s world any top tier university needs to have a strong global presence and strategy to maintain relevance. There were many conversations on the Board about Brown’s role internationally that I felt more equipped to contribute to because of my experiences. I think what was even more important, though, was that each of my experiences abroad gave more and more confidence to navigate seemingly intimidating situations. While the Board of Trustees at Brown was an entirely different type of intimidating situation – I was a 22 year old without a lot of work experience surrounded by extremely successful professionals at the top of their games – I think that confidence in myself still translated and allowed me to be successful in that role.
Interestingly, one of the people who I found most impressive (and initially a little intimidating) was a GP at Accel Partners, Theresia Gouw, who I ended up working with on a number of projects for Brown, including a redevelopment of career services. She went on to found Aspect Ventures where I now get to work with her everyday.
IES Abroad: After the Clinton Foundation, you worked for Google in product marketing before going on to earn your MBA from Stanford and then transitioning into investments. Tell us about your career journey and ultimately why you decided to go into investing?
LK: I had a great experience in India, but I was the only person from my team on the ground and was learning on the fly. As I began to think about next opportunities, I knew I wanted an experience where I could continue to explore my interest in technology more broadly, build on my experience in partnership development, and learn from great managers and peers. Google was a fantastic place to do those things. I spent most of time there in product marketing for the Google at Work team and led the go to market strategy for a number of new products and features including Google Drive.
My first real lens into venture capital came from my interactions with Theresia on the Brown Board while I was still in India. I remember thinking how awesome it was that she got to help so many great entrepreneurs across lots of industries to build exciting businesses. As I got more exposure to the early stage startup ecosystem in the Bay Area, venture capital became increasingly interesting to me.
When I got into Stanford Graduate School of Business, I used my time there to explore my interests in entrepreneurship and venture capital. As I was gearing up to graduate, I learned that Theresia was partnering with Jennifer Fonstad, another very successful venture capital investor from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, to found Aspect Ventures. The opportunity to join Aspect as the third member of the investing team was an incredible alignment of my interests—investing in great entrepreneurs solving hard problems with technology, learning from very accomplished mentors, and helping to build a new organization from the ground up.
IES Abroad: What has been one of your most satisfying accomplishments to date?
LK: One of my most satisfying accomplishments to date has been helping my partners, Jennifer Fonstad and Theresia Gouw, to build Aspect Ventures. Even though we invest in startups, we are, in many ways, a startup ourselves. As a collective team, we have a lot of experience in venture capital investing, which we’re combining with a fresh perspective to build a new kind of venture capital firm – with a culture that’s more akin to our portfolio companies than traditional venture. I’m really proud of what we’ve built to date in our team and in our partnerships with awesome portfolio companies like Chime, The Muse, Dejavuto, and Hobnob.
As I think about where I’ve come from, I feel very lucky for the path I’ve taken thus far. It would have been very hard for me to predict ten years ago during my summer in Barcelona that I’d be sitting in San Francisco investing in startup companies today, but every step of my path has been an additive learning experience and helped to define what’s come next. I’m pretty confident that my most satisfying professional accomplishments are still ahead of me at Aspect. Talk to me again in ten years, and we’ll see.
IES Abroad: Why do you feel studying abroad is important for students today?
LK: Studying abroad is extremely valuable for students today. We all know the world is increasingly interconnected, but that doesn’t mean we all live the same way. I think the best future leaders across industries will be the people who have an understanding for diverse perspectives and cultures. Silicon Valley is a great example of this. I won’t deny that Silicon Valley is a bit of a bubble, but people in this community are building technology that is used globally. I think the companies here that will be the most successful long-term are the ones that can figure out how to build products that are accessible and useful for people all over the world.