Kimmy Scotti, Venture Capitalist & Wellness Entrepreneur
Kimmy Scotti is so engaging and effervescent, I’m sure you’ll easily see how she has become such an accomplished business woman.
Aside from being a Partner at 8VC, her venture capitalist firm, she was one of the first investors in Sakara Life; and she is also a co-founder of a women’s health & wellness company with her sister called Monthly Gift. Kimmy co-founded a direct-to-consumer healthcare company that has helped millions of Americans afford their prescription medications, and she even started a fashion jewelry line that was sold in Bloomingdale’s when she was in college.
In this conversation with Kimmy, you’ll learn what this venture capitalist looks for in the start-ups and the entrepreneurs that she invests in. We discuss Kimmy’s customizable feminine care business, the healthcare industry, being a woman in the male dominated finance industry, using meditation to enhance gut instinct, and Kimmy’s super unique mindfulness practice.
Recognitions:
Partner at 8VC
Investor in Sakara Life
Founder of Monthly Gift
Co-Founder of a direct-to-consumer healthcare company
Former Director of Business Development
Creator of Mimz New York (fashion jewelry line sold in Bloomingdale’s while in college)
Featured in Forbes
Topics discussed in this conversation include:
Shoe swapping for good karma
Growing up with close siblings in New York
Childhood crafts and becoming a “maker”
Starting her first business at the age of 15 years old
Mims
How Kimmy’s businesses got to span so many different industries
Passion for healthcare
Sakara Life and how it made Kimmy an official investor
Monthly Gift – Kimmy and her sister’s feminine care subscription company
Tampons vs Pads
The necessity for customization of feminine care product bundles
Dear Kate acquisition
Monthly Gift’s commitment to giving back through Days for Girls
Balancing a business plan that incorporates charitable giving with an accessible price point for every woman
Finding the balance of reciprocity or charity in business
Kimmy’s reciprocal business strategy - making profit from solving a big problem
Qualities that Kimmy seeks in startups and entrepreneurs
Magnetism vs Metrics
Kimmy’s wellness regimen and her strict breakfast routine
Bari trampoline class - (now at Fithouse)
Our broken healthcare system
Businesses falling short on wellness programs
Practicing prophylactic medicine
Fixing healthcare by fixing prescriptions
What Kimmy sees many tech entrepreneurs focusing on that isn’t working
Making the cost of care accessible
Trends Kimmy sees in wellness, work-life balance, startup culture
Biggest challenges in business
Pitching male investors a tampon company
Being bi-coastal
What makes business leaders successful
How Kimmy perceives her own success
Meditation with Headspace
Active meditation with floral arrangements
Activities being mindless vs mindful
Converting to Judaism
Shabbat dinner being meditative
Strengthening your “gut instinct” through meditation
Imposter Syndrome as a woman in business
Flower arrangement meditation process
Applying mindfulness to the cut-throat venture capitalist world
Sh*t happens
Accepting a base of worst case scenarios
Having empathy for the founders Kimmy invests in
When mindfulness and empathy are a detriment to business
How to know where and when and who to trust
Animal instinct
How Kimmy sees the world 5 years from now and how she intends to contribute to it
Healthcare science and innovation
Valuable advice for entrepreneurs
Bio:
Kimmy Scotti is a founding partner at 8VC where she focuses on consumer and healthcare investments. She oversees the fund's investments in companies such as Blink Health, uBiome, and MakeSpace. She also is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of the women’s health and wellness company, Monthly Gift.
