Kristen Faulkner's incredible success in winning two Olympic gold medals was born out of lessons she learned in her previous career as a venture capitalist.
Faulkner is an associate investor at Threshold Ventures and previously at Bessemer Venture Partners, but left the venture capital world in 2021 to pursue cycling. She wasn't originally scheduled to race the 158-kilometer (98-mile) road cycling race, but competed at the last minute to replace teammate Taylor Knibb. Faulkner beat the favorites that day to win the gold medal, her second medal as part of the gold-medal-winning U.S. women's track cycling team.
“As a venture capitalist, you get to meet entrepreneurs every day who are doing something they're passionate about. They have big ideas. They're taking risks,” she told Fortune, adding that that mindset helps her win the race. “Just because a VC thinks a company has a 50% chance of success doesn't mean they're going to put all 50% into the company. When you invest, you assess the risk and make a decision, but then you go all in. You can't look back. You have to commit. I think that's what shaped me.”