Charlotte Van Reyk (Lightspeed) & Leah Sutton (Balderton Capital): The Impact & Value of VC Platform Roles

40 Minute Mentor

“People think VC is about chasing the next big thing…but actually, it’s not about making quick money. It’s about the long game and deep relationships.”

We often talk to Investors on 40 Minute Mentor, but today we’re taking a deep dive into an increasingly important role within VC, the Platform role.

To help us explore what a Platform role can look like, why it’s so important and how you can get into the role, we’re joined by Leah Sutton, Chief Portfolio Talent Officer at Balderton and Charlotte Van Reyk, VP of Platform at Lightspeed.

On top of taking a deep dive into Platform, we also discuss Charlotte and Leah’s incredible careers before VC and their predictions for 2025.

Episode Chapters:

➡️ From Google to VC [08:30]

➡️ Act like an owner and think like an entrepreneur [12:00]

➡️ Building businesses through People roles [13:20]

➡️ Lessons from scaling high-growth businesses & navigating Covid [18:40]

➡️ More about today’s sponsors [21:45]

➡️ Learning resilience from parenthood [23:30]

➡️ Squiggly routes into VC [26:30]

➡️ Biggest misconceptions about VC [31:30]

➡️ Relationships vs Networks [34:30]

➡️ Day-to-Day of a Platform Leader [36:40]

➡️ Advice for moving into VC and Platform roles [41:20]

➡️ Trends & predictions for 2025 [51:00]

➡️ A podcast recommendation [56:30]

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Charlotte: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-van-reyk-8a4481b5

➡️ Connect with Leah: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/leahsutton

➡️ Find out more about Lightspeed: https://lsvp.com/

➡️ Find out more about Balderton Capital: https://www.balderton.com/

🔔Find out more about today’s sponsors

Today’s episode is sponsored by Foundation Partners, an Amplified People Group business.

Growing technology companies don’t have the financial resources, capacity or experience to tackle the challenges of scaling a business and driving performance.

A world-class People, Culture & HR operation is instrumental for this. Foundation Partners have built a blended service, so companies get the experience and support - both strategically and day-to-day - they need to build an exceptional business.

Find out more: https://www.foundationpartners.co.uk/

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