Mondays are my favorite day of the week, as I get to reconnect with colleagues, learn about new investment ideas, and pitch my own. While an hour-long uber ride isn’t always something to look forward to, one unexpected benefit is that I have been able to witness some pretty amazing sunrises from I-280 (the scenic highway connecting San Francisco to points further south). Mondays are especially early for me, as I commute down to our office in Menlo Park for the investment committee meeting with the full Lightspeed Partnership. I’m not a morning person, but have learned to become one, as the morning offers a brief window of peace and quiet before emails fire-up and meetings get going. What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive? My expertise is in growth strategy – getting companies up the hockey stick in a way that is cost-effective and affords long-term sustainable growth. ![]() While I’ve since stopped the consulting work, given my full-time commitment at Lightspeed, I absolutely love the opportunity to work with our portfolio companies on strategy projects. The projects afforded me the ability to make a steady income, while simultaneously working on some business ideas (and ultimately recruiting for VC jobs). During this time, I primarily worked with two startups on growth strategy – Fundbox (fintech) and BetterUp (wellness). What had once been a side-project turned into a full-time job upon graduation from business school. Consulting was a natural fit, given that I had started my career as a management consultant with Bain & Company.Īfter a few months of consulting exclusively for Thumbtack, a few former colleagues heard about my projects with Thumbtack and introduced me to startups looking for help with growth strategy. I loved this balance and continued consulting for the following two years. These projects enabled me to work on real-world problems, while simultaneously immersed in the largely theoretical world of academia. While my category management job required daily touchpoints (and thus wouldn’t be a fit for part-time consulting), the marketing team had a number of relevant research and strategy projects that were a fit. I loved my job at Thumbtack and wanted to find a way to continue working, while also attending school. When I left Thumbtack to start business school at Stanford, I didn’t feel that my work at Thumbtack was done. Where did the idea for your company come from? Ashley helped to build out Thumbtack’s Events and Weddings platform, helping to propel it into becoming one of the premier online marketplaces for hiring events-related services.Īfter graduating from Stanford Business School and leaving Thumbtack, Ashley sought new adventures and was eventually linked up with Lightspeed Venture Capital where she remains today.Īt Lightspeed, Ashley has been delighted by the opportunity to continuously work with early-stage startups, meeting the challenges and living the thrill that she and other entrepreneurs know can only come from exercising their creative genius for the good of all. ![]() While there, she learned the value of not just possessing both foresight and insight but also of using sophisticated tools like economic modeling to help shape actionable business intelligence.įrom there, she was recruited by Thumbtack, a tech startup that sought to connect professionals with local clients. Fresh out of Duke University, she went to work with consulting giant Bain & Company. She has also helped to diversify Lightspeed’s operations further, providing keen insights into the female-driven consumer retail market, the single most significant driver of economic activity in the United States.Īlthough modest about her accomplishments, Ashley has worked for a veritable whos-who list of power players in the world of cutting-edge tech finance. As a partner with Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ashley has brought her unique perspective and striking knack for both spotting and creating trends to bear. Today, while Ashley has pivoted away from architecture, she is at the forefront of architecting the future of business.Īs an integral member of the investing team at Lightspeed, one of the most broadly diversified venture capital firms in the world, Ashley gets to use both her extensive knowledge and deep love for creating new products every day. As a child, Ashley was captivated by her father’s architectural work and loved to sit at the drafting table with him. From the earliest age, Ashley has been fascinated by the process of developing new products, services, and business models. The ability to be flexible is absolutely vital for successful entrepreneurs.įor someone still early in their career, Ashley Brasier has racked up an impressive list of career accomplishments, including making critical contributions to the development of some of the last decade’s top companies.
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