Sarah Kunst is the managing director of Cleo Capital and a contributing editor at Marie Claire magazine. She has served as a senior advisor at Bumble, where she focused on their corporate VC arm Bumble Fund, and she’s on the board of the Michigan State University Foundation endowment.
Kunst has been named a Future Innovator by Vanity Fair, Forbes 30 Under 30, and a Top 25 Innovator in Tech by Cool Hunting. She has been recognized in Business Insider as a 30 under 30 Women in Tech and Top African-American in Tech, a Pitchbook Top Black VC To Watch, a top woman in VC by The Wall Street Journal, and was named a top DealmakeHer by the National Retail Federation. She was also named a coach for the Cartier Women’s Initiative.
Sarah's Investing Style
How many years of investing experience do you have? 10-20 years
What is your investing risk tolerance? High
What is your portfolio size? 10-20 stocks
What are your favorite investing sectors? Financials, consumer discretionary, information technology
Before diving into our Q&A with Sarah, get more insight on her investing style and experience in this interview on Motley Fool Live below.
When did you get started in investing and why?
I started investing with my 401(k) match at my first job out of college. My dad preached the gospel of compounding interest, and I didn't want to miss out. A few years later, I got started as a professional investor in the VC world, and I've been actively investing as a VC and angel in private markets and still putting my 401(k) and IRA money away annually, of course! I also started investing in crypto in 2013 and continue to allocate to interesting and higher-risk asset classes, alongside my more conservative investing.
Can you tell us a little bit about your relationship with money at an early age?
When I was very young, my parents made it clear that money was a reward for work, not something that was handed to you. I had chore charts and a sizable allowance for a young kid, but I also was responsible for buying many of my own basics outside of food, etc. I learned at a young age to shop for shampoo when it was on sale, and I successfully convinced my parents that if I wasn't allowed to shave my head, they had to give me extra money for hair care products. Negotiating, saving, spending, and earning have always been a big part of my life. So many people are scared to talk about money. I'm grateful I was raised in a home where it wasn't taboo.
What has your journey been like as an investor, and what are some of the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey has been long! I started investing and saving as a kid and got into Bitcoin in 2013 and venture capital in 2012. The biggest challenge early on was having capital to invest into the spaces I'm excited about. Being right about a bet on a small scale drives a lot less returns than being right on a large scale.
With so many new or younger investors dipping their toes into investing, what’s the best advice you have for someone who may be looking to start investing or who may be newer to the industry?
Read and listen and learn! So much great content out there and so much to learn from following markets and macro events, as well as going deep on a few areas you're excited about.
Even if you don't have money to invest, you have time to learn and see if you're right about things as time goes by. It all adds up to help make you a better investor.Sarah Kunst
What advice would you give to a newer investor who may be experiencing market volatility for the first time?
Invest into fundamentals, and, if you like what you're invested in, hold. Don't buy high and sell low!
You juggle so many tasks and wear so many hats. How do you manage the balance between your work life and your personal life and still manage to meet your investment goals?
I don't see my personal and professional goals as [being] at odds with each other. I focus on living an integrated life where my work and life can coexist. Apps and technology make portfolio tracking and investing easy, so instead of opening a social media app for the 50th time, I'll open my finance apps and make sure I'm aware of what's happening.
If you could go back in time and change one thing about your investing strategy, what would you change and why?
I'd buy more Bitcoin when I first heard about it from the Winklevoss twins in 2013! I was interested and saw how passionate they were, but I didn't go deep enough when the price per coin was low.
What are three things that really excite you about the future of investing?
More diversity in investing, more companies being founded, and technology making it easier to access deal flow.
What are three things that scare you about the future of investing?
The lack of diversity at the top of capital allocation and company leadership, the continued reliance on fossil fuels, and geopolitical instability.
Who are some leaders in the investing industry you admire and why?
I admire Alfred Lin, top VC at Sequoia Capital, for his tireless focus on investing in world-changing start-ups and his endless support of his founders.
What are some of your favorite educational resources (books, podcasts, websites, etc.) that you’d recommend for investors of all ages?
I strongly recommend a wide media diet. Find sectors or companies that interest you and spend time learning about them from as many angles as possible. I learn as much about consumer companies from TikTok as I do from earnings calls.
How do you feel about cryptocurrency as an investment?
TO THE MOON!
