Synergist Senior Sound Bites - December 2021:

Emily Calkins

Vice President, Spectrum Equity
B.A. Williams College; M.B.A. Stanford Business School

Background:

Emily Calkins is a Vice President at Spectrum Equity, a growth equity firm based in San Francisco, where she invests in rapidly-growing B2B and consumer internet companies. Emily joined Spectrum in 2021, after graduating from Stanford Graduate School of Business. During her time at GSB, Emily served as Co-President of her class and received the Arbuckle Leadership Award for distinguished contributions to the community; over those two years, she held roles in consulting (Bain & Company), growth-stage operations (AllTrails), and venture (Heartland, Floodgate). Previously, Emily was a growth equity investor at Mainsail Partners and an analyst in Credit Suisse's Investment Banking Division. She holds a BA with Honors from Williams College and an MBA from Stanford GSB.

How did you decide to work in growth equity?

During my days in Investment Banking, I worked on a growth capital fundraise for a government technology business called Accela. The junior-most person on the team, I had the great fortune of a boss — Tom Chung — who always created space for me, and thought to include me: he made sure I was invited to the closing dinner for that deal which was in the Bay Area. I flew out for the event a few days early, rented a car and went camping before heading to wine country. That was my first trip to Yosemite, something I now regard as a weekend that totally changed my life. I flew back to New York convicted about three things. I wanted to invest in companies like Accela that were tackling big problems; I wanted to work with people like the investors I met in that process; and I wanted to live close to places that inspired happiness and wonder the way that Yosemite National Park does. The next week, I started sending cold emails and interviewing at growth equity firms in California — I joined Mainsail about a month later and have been a growth investor since. 

What is your favorite aspect of your current role?

Man, this job is cool. My favorite part is the way it requires active use of both modalities of your mind: optimism and skepticism. Skepticism is critical because it's the core of a data-first, objective and rigorous analysis of the evidence a company is giving you — in its financials, its customer references, its track record. But optimism is key because it's not our job just to create litanies of reasons why something will fail, to focus only on the reasons not to, to write the 'risks' section. It's also our job to identify potential, to build conviction, to identify which ones are truly special. Creating an unbiased mind-stadium for those two things to duke it out is such a treasured part of this job for me.

Most challenging aspect?

Navigating the distance between companies/entrepreneurs you admire and companies/entrepreneurs that are a perfect fit for the mandate of your fund. There's a venn diagram for all of us: things we personally want to geek out on and things most likely to be a great "fill in name of fund here" partnership. Ideally, we work in places where that overlap is almost 100%, but being true to your gut on where there's a difference is key. I recently wrote an email to a female founder who I thought was an absolute badass, but whose business wasn't a perfect fit in this financing round. Knowing that difference is key.

What are some skills and key lessons learned to be successful?

Make a 'sunny day' folder. Anyone who knows me well knows that I do this religiously in both my professional and personal lives. "Sunny day" folders are where you save down happy moments, things that made you smile, e-mails that gave you conviction in your abilities or judgment. In every work inbox I've had, folder 0 — at the very top — is this folder. Whenever I find myself second-guessing my ideas, feeling burnt out, or slipping into a lull of routine rather than cultivating real curiosity I read back through these notes and take stock not just in my work but in the ways my colleagues and team have made me feel seen and appreciated.

 What advice do you have for young women in investing?

Expand your understanding of who is on "your team." There's a Synergist-catalyzed world where half of every investment team is made up of women (hooray!), but between now and then it can feel discouraging to spend each day feeling like one of the first or one of the only (across many axes of difference) at work. Rather than thinking of your team as just the folks you work with, expand that circle — create a makeshift 'Associate Class' alongside peer women at other firms, talk openly about career goals with other women at your level, solicit feedback and seek advice from senior women in this and other industries. One of the most important things I've done since leaving GSB and starting work is starting a weekly tradition: "board meetings". Every woman in our class is invited (standing, open-invite, same time each week) to a two hour hang on my living room floor. We talk through leads when someone is looking for a new job, scan our LinkedIn networks when someone is trying to identify a female board member, or practice important discussions upcoming at work. Knowing these women are in my corner emboldens me — and each of us — to be bolder and more engaged team-members in other arenas of our lives.

Biggest accomplishment?

Getting into the GSB was a dream of mine since my second year at Williams. Waking up as a student there felt like winning the Nerd Olympics first thing every morning. It was the most challenging, reflective, and wonderfully curious few years of my life and I'll be grateful for it forever.

At Stanford GSB you were Co-President to the Student Body, recipient of the Ernest C. Arbuckle Award, recipient of the 2020 GSB Student Leadership Award, the 2021 Commencement Speaker, and Creative Director & Writer of the GSB Show, all while doing several MBA internships! How were you able to manage your time and what tips do you have for getting the most out of a business school experience?

On managing time: accept that doing something means not doing something else. Opportunity cost is so visceral when you're getting your MBA. On the way in, you think deeply about the opportunity cost of not working for two years. And every day while there, you're presented with a menu of more things than you could ever actually do at one time — and a million good reasons to do each of them instead of the other. Rather than panic, take it as a challenge; wherever you are, be there 100%. If you're celebrating a friend's birthday, show up on time, write a card, sing poorly and loudly at the restaurant even if it embarrasses him. If you're attending a lecture, turn of your phone, take notes, write a thank-you afterwards that you know will make that person's day. If you're taking care of yourself, snuggle up and go to bed at 9PM without the agony if watching everyone else's evenings on social media live stream. Choose and then follow through!

What is your favorite national park?

Yosemite National Park is my favorite place in the world. It's the place that launched me towards California, the spot I go to when I need to process loss or grief, the hikes I take troupes of friends on when we're hankering for an adventure. A site of both immense peace and true adventure, Yosemite holds a really special place in my heart.

Thank you for your time, Emily! To learn more about Spectrum Equity check out https://www.spectrumequity.com/