Rachel Chalmers aspired to be an English professor before being inspired by a technology journal to relocate from Ireland to San Francisco. She has since covered over 1,000 startups as an industry analyst and invested in many more as an investor. Rachel is passionate about representing the under-represented and encouraging all those who have been told they can’t  live their dreams. This is a must-listen for entrepreneurs who have ever felt disadvantaged by circumstances out of their control. It’s also the episode in which I volunteer to chair the Chalmers 2024 campaign.

Listen and learn…

The burn rate rule of thumb for startupsWhy “venture capital wants to perpetuate itself”The origins of the Silicon Valley myth that “all talent is concentrated in white males”How to eliminate institutional biases that constrain women and under-represented minorities when raising money and building companiesHow Rachel is defining the future workplace where humans and machines collaborateReferences in this episode:

Ravi Belani and the Alchemist AcceleratorThe Innovators Inside podcast by AlchemistXCharity Majors and HoneycombEdith Harbaugh and LaunchDarklyCiro and Jacopo from Tooso on AI and the Future of WorkFilip Dousek from Workday on AI and the Future of WorkProject IncludeArlan HamiltonKate Crawford’s Atlas of AISeeing Like a State by James C. Scott