#but overcast and high 40s low 50s would be awesome

[squidsquadlove]

manifesting good weather Monday, manifesting good weather Monday:

please please please please!!!

[gregkatepetegowest]

The Beginning of the End - Yellowstone

Alert: This is going to be a long one. I am going to try to include lots of detail so when someone asks me about what to do in Yellowstone I can just send them here.

Our drive from Idaho Falls to The Yellowstone River Motel was just under three hours with 1.5 of those hours driving through the park. We lucked out with the weather that day as it was in the low 60’s and overcast (perfect weather for safely leaving Greg in the car for a few minutes). Once we realized we would be driving through the park for 1.5 hours regardless we decided to make some stops so we would have less to cram into the next two days. We stopped off at numerous hot springs and geysers with the highlight for me being Artist Paint Pots. “Paint Pots” are basically little geysers that have heated the rock up enough to melt it and turn it into a mud/clay like substance. They bubble and shoot this mud/clay substance into the air. It’s mildly addicting to watch. After we had our fill of hot springs and geysers for the day, we continued north to the park exit. A few miles before the park exit, we hit a ton of traffic. Someone told me before our visit that if there are traffic jams and cars pulled over, to keep your eyes peeled. Since we were Yellowstone rookies we almost kept driving (also because Pete was stressing about work), but, at the last second, I saw a spot to pull off so we did. We got out of the car and tried to act like we knew what everyone was staring at. Then we saw it! A little chunky black bear rummaging around in the bushes below us. We watched the bear do bear things for a while and then hit the road, feeling lucky we had seen a bear so soon into our time in Yellowstone. The lucky feeling was still fresh when Pete spotted another bear, potentially a small grizzly, running along a ridgeline a half mile before the park exit (and very close to town).

Initially, I really wanted to stay in West Yellowstone. The road throughout the park is set up like a figure eight and the West Yellowstone park entrance is the most central. If you stay in West Yellowstone, you can essentially see/do all the major sites/hikes without ever having to backtrack driving wise. Of course, because I waited so long to book accommodations (and because we had a dog with us) there were no available accommodations in West Yellowstone, or really ANYWHERE. Planning Yellowstone was probably the biggest trip stressor for me once I realized we might be staying 40+ minutes away from a park entrance. Through extensive internet searching, I found the Yellowstone River Motel, which is located in Gardiner, MT. The only way to make reservations is to call them (CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE) and I truly think that’s the only reason I ended up securing a room. The motel was awesome. Dated, but clean and steps away from the north park entrance. The motel was also right on the Yellowstone River and had an amazing patio/yard space with grills, picnic tables, chairs, etc. Highly recommend staying here if you want to save a few dollars and stay right outside the park. Also, no sales tax in MT so win win.

After five or six stops in the park on our way to the motel, we arrived around 5 pm. Pete had an angry client so he needed to send a tax return out so this man-child would stop sending him angry emails. Most restaurants in Gardiner that were within walking distance closed at 8 pm on week nights so we had very limited food options since Pete didn’t wrap up work until 7:30 pm or so. We discovered the Iron Horse Saloon was open later and a short walk from us so we headed there. The bar/restaurant was right on the Yellowstone River and had a huge deck overlooking the river. We had to wait to be seated so we got a drink and stared at the river, which was lovely. The food was decent and cheap and we are easy to please. Pete got an elk burger because when in Rome! I would recommend this place if you are visiting Yellowstone/staying in Gardiner. No other establishment offers river views like Iron Horse. After dinner, we got right into bed because the plan was to get up EARLY and head to Lamar Valley in hopes of seeing some wildlife. Lamar Valley is where a lot of bison hang out which brings the bears, wolves, coyotes, etc.

Our alarm was set for 4:50 am and sunrise was at 5:30 am. This is where we went wrong. Lamar Valley was an hour drive from us and we should have planned to be there at 5:30/5:45 am. Seems crazy but that truly gives you the best chance to see some action. Alas, we were up walking Greg by 5:20 am or so. I was on high alert for bears and elk. The elk are EVERYWHERE in Gardiner and they are used to people but they will be aggressive if they feel threatened. My worry is always Greg acting a fool and causing an animal to come after us. Luckily, we mostly saw elk from afar on this walk. However, we were walking down a little bank towards the river when Pete pointed out a tiny deer on the hillside. I assured him it was fake because it was so still and looked exactly like those fake deer people set up in their yards to use for target practice. We continued on and when we looped back Pete pointed to the fake deer who hadn’t moved at all with the exception of it’s head so it could watch us. Long story short, the deer wasn’t fake and luckily it was a doe so she just stood like a statue and waited for us to leave her alone. From here, we dropped Greg off and headed to Lamar Valley.

The drive through the park at this early hour was a breeze. I cannot stress enough, especially in Yellowstone, that the earlier you make it into the park the better. We were in the valley by 7 am. Lamar Valley is gorgeous and this was both Pete and I’s favorite part of Yellowstone. You are away from the crowds and it’s quiet and peaceful (if you’re there early or late). Upon arriving to the valley, we realized we were idiots because we didn’t have binoculars. Literally every single other people/couple we saw had binoculars. UGH! Regardless, we had a wonderful morning despite only seeing bison. We left around 9 am to get back to take Greg out before horseback riding at 11 am.

We arrived to Hell’s- A-Roarin’ ranch just before 11 am after driving 10 miles up an unpaved mountain road. We had scheduled a two-hour ride around the mountain. We waited around a bit before getting on our horses. Pete was assigned Jimmy and I was assigned Pet. We started out and three minutes into the ride, Jimmy was kicked by another jerk horse, which of course caused him to jump sideways. Pedro handled it like the true cowboy he is, but I wondered how the next hour and fifty seven minutes would go. Two minutes after this incident, one of the guides/fake cowboys gives me the heads up that Pet was very bad on a ride earlier and “needs her space” or she’ll kick. Oh great. So now I have one hour and fifty four minutes to worry about Pet kicking another horse and potentially causing someone else to fall off/get hurt. We trudged onward and I warned anyone around me to stay back from Pet’s booty or else. Luckily, she did give signals when she was getting angry and, because I grew up riding horses, I could read these signals. Halfway through the ride I decided it was best for mine and Pet’s anxieties if we moved into the caboose position so that’s what we did and we had no incidents, thankfully!

Back to Pete and Jimmy… I really didn’t see Pete much during the ride. On trail rides, the horses typically have “friends” who they like to walk near so you are supposed to let them choose their marching order. I’ll let Pete step in here to give you the 4-1-1 on Jimmy’s overall disposition:

Jimmy is a stubborn and tired old horse. He only has one speed and it’s just slightly faster than the horses in front of him. Despite my continuous pulls on his reigns, he refused to give the other horses their space, preferring to ride up on their hind sides until his nose was nearly touching their rears. He would slow down momentarily and in a matter of seconds we would be back where we started. We spent time near the front of the pack, at the back of the pack, and eventually ended up somewhere in the middle. Jimmy didn’t seem to have any “friends” and couldn’t seem to find his place in the marching order. He mostly followed my lead, but I could tell he didn’t care much for me.

Throughout the ride, the guides/cowboys chatted us up. They were both super young (17 and 22) and lived on the ranch. They all bunked up in a basement together similar to the depiction in Paramount’s series, Yellowstone. Guide one, Logan, was 22 and from South Carolina. He was heading into his senior year at Clemson and was doing this for the summer before joining the rest of us in the rat race. Prior to earlier this spring, he had no experience riding horses. Guide 2, Hanley, was 17 and from outside of Billings, MT. He was… a “good ole boy” if you know what I mean. He meant well but was annoying AF and talked to me for at least 20 minutes which was painful. He grew up on a ranch and recently dropped out of high school, because another student had “disrespected” our flag and/or anthem. He worked his way among the group, telling the same stories over and over about killing rattlesnakes, rodeo injuries, and about that one time last year when he dropped out of high school.

The ride continued and, at this point, I was wishing it was one hour and not two. The ride was very slow. Many stops to wait for people who didn’t really have control of their horse (horses going of the path, stopping to eat grass, etc.). Finally, though, we were in the home stretch back to the ranch. Even though Pet and I were pulling up the rear we had a good view of the horses in front of us. All of a sudden, I see Jimmy and Pete jump sideways and up onto a hill after the horse in front of him decided to back up into Jimmy. Once again, Pete managed to stay on Jimmy and crisis was averted. Phew. This happened again just before the trail ended at the road to the ranch, this time with Jimmy jumping off the trail over some logs and into the long brush. We were both ready to say goodbye and Jimmy, Pet, Hanley, and the rest of the group.

After the horse ride, we were pretty exhausted (mentally and physically) so we headed back to the motel to shower/walk Greg/nap. We had decided earlier in the day to go back to Lamar Valley that night to see if we could spy some wildlife after talking to a woman at the ranch who told us about a wolf den located in Slough Creek. She had been there that morning and seen some of the pups playing. SO JEALOUS.

Before heading back to Lamar Valley, we stopped off and bought binoculars. I will just say, I was very thankful there is no sales tax in MT and I plan to take up bird watching once I get back to Nashville.

We headed out around 5 pm with plans to arrive to Slough Creek around 6 pm and continue into Lamar Valley after. As we were driving through the park, we once again saw people pulled over so we did the same and were delighted to see a mother black bear and her cub. The cub was adorable (obviously). Although the bears were not far from the road, we quickly put our new binocs to use for an up-close look.

We continued on to Slough Creek and Lamar Valley and saw lots of bison but not much else. We realized we should have asked the woman at the ranch exactly WHERE the wolf den was. Fail. Regardless, it was really cool to be back in the same area 12 hours later. We caught the “golden hour” in the valley and again we didn’t have to deal with traffic/crowds/trouble parking/etc. In my option, the move for Lamar Valley is to be there at sunrise or sunset (the sun sets really late this time of year, around 9:20 pm) and post up in camping chairs with some ‘nocs and just wait.

The next day was our last day in Yellowstone and we planned a marathon drive around the bottom loop to see as much as possibly could. We had already driven the top loop, with the exception of the Tower Falls stretch of road, which is closed until next year. I knew that the Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful would be a nightmare of people so we planned to be on the road early. We stopped at many other geysers and hot springs this day as well. They are basically endless to the point that Pete stated he was done with geysers and hot springs. Oh Pete. We arrived to Grand Prismatic about 9 am. A lot of cars were pulling into the parking lot, so we opted to park on the road and walk. There was a trail and it was a 10 minute walk so not bad. Since it was early in the day, it was 50 degrees out which meant all of the springs in the park were extra steamy. Hadn’t thought about that when it came to seeing the colors of the Grand Prismatic. This one was a let down for me. Although still stunning, there was so much steam you really couldn’t see much. When the wind blew, you could see a bit more but still it wasn’t what I had seen in pictures. We also tried to stop here on our way to Grand Teton National Park as it was on the route and we figured that later in the day, when it was warmer, we would be able to see more. We arrived around 1:30 pm and the amount of people – OH MY GOD. We bagged it and continued onward. We could see from the road that there was still quite a bit of steam coming off the springs so I’m not sure how you really win here unless you manage to go early in the morning in July/August on a really breezy day. If anyone has tips, please share, because I’m sure we will be back in Yellowstone at some point!

From Grand Prismatic we continued to Old Faithful. The National Parks app predicts when Old Faithful will erupt, but there is no cell service in the park so this was relatively useless to us. OF’s eruptions occur every 60/90 minutes. We arrived a few minutes after 10 am and had no trouble parking. We hustled over and could see a large crowd already there. A good sign. We found spots to sit on the ground and eavesdropped on people nearby to determine when OF was scheduled to erupt. We ended up only waiting 25 minutes or so which felt like a major win! Old Faithful was spectacular as were all the other geysers in this area (there is a trail that wraps around the backside of OF with many other geysers and hot springs. We spent quite a bit of time at this stop before continuing onward.

Once past Old Faithful the traffic and people thinned out a lot. The loop takes you past Yellowstone Lake which is the largest lake in the United States at a high elevation (I believe it’s around 7k feet). We stopped at one of the beaches to walk around and noticed lots of animal poop on the beach. As I was getting back into the truck, I noticed a sign stating the area was closed due to bear activity. Whoops. We had lunch in Hayden Valley, which was very similar to Lamar Valley and known for lots of grizzly and other wildlife activity. We hung out for a while in our camping chairs but we were there in the middle of the day, so I didn’t expect much wildlife. We saw more bison and did some birding watching thanks to the newly acquired binoculars. We also stopped at the Mud Volcano which was really cool and fairly quick (and no trouble parking) and The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone which is incredible. There was a hike down into the canyon that looked fairly easy and rewarding, but by this point, Greg had been alone in the motel room for most of the day so we didn’t have time to hike down into the canyon. I would highly recommend this hike and had I known how beautiful and impressive the canyon was, I would have skipped over some of the 175 hot springs/geysers we saw.

Finally, after nine hours in Yellowstone, we made it back to a very happy Greg. We went for a walk and then Pete and I treated ourselves to rainbow trout for dinner.

All in all, an amazing couple days. Pete and I both agreed one more full day would have been perfect and we would have started it by going back to Lamar Valley again for sunrise. A couple other pro tips:

- BINOCULARS.

- Download the Yellowstone map so you can access it offline. You are still able to see your location while offline and the map clearly shows all of the points of interest. We referenced this map multiple times every day.

- If you plan to hike, bring bear spray (duh).

- In hindsight, while West Yellowstone is very central I imagine this area is the worst for traffic/parking/annoying crowds of people. If you don’t mind driving a tad more, staying at one of the other entrances may be the better move.

- I would love to get on a boat on Yellowstone Lake. No idea what the options are but this area is so beautiful and again, less people.

[alittlenomadchristina]

Best Time to Visit Egypt [by a local]

If you’re wondering about the best time to visit Egypt, this guide is for you.

Whether you’re a history buff looking to explore Cairo, the pyramids and all the ancient temples Egypt has to offer, or do a once-in-a-lifetime Nile Cruise, 

or prefer to go desert hiking (like Mount Moses) or scuba diving and snorkeling the Red Sea, I’ve listed the best times to travel to Egypt for every occasion and type of traveler.

I'm a solo female expat based in Egypt since 2016 and I've experienced all seasons as well as done all the major tourist attractions.

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I can really give you an authentic overview of the best seasons for each travel purpose, not like some other travel bloggers who only visited once for a week or two.

If you're still unsure whether you want to travel to Egypt or not, here are the Top 10 reasons that might convince you.

I've also linked to many of my other insider information blogs throughout this article to find out more about all the main destinations in Egypt.

What's the best time to visit Egypt

For Pyramid Visits, Scuba Divers, Nile Cruisers, and Desert Hikers

There is a reason the Ancient Egyptians worshipped the sun. 

The southern city of Aswan is the third sunniest place on Earth, with over 3,863 hours of sunshine every year. 

Egypt has an African desert climate with only two seasons. A strikingly hot summer blends into a mild chilly winter, with little spring or fall weather. 

If you’re used to rainy, overcast days then you are in for a real surprise! Weather in Egypt is arid and dry, with little to no rainfall. 

You’ll never need an umbrella, but if you’re visiting lots of outdoor historical sites you may want one to protect you from the sun ;) 

Best Time to Visit Cairo and the Pyramids

The Pyramids of Egypt are the only Ancient Wonder of the world still standing in the modern era.

They are a must-see destination for world travelers, and if you choose to visit Egypt you cannot miss them.

The Pyramids are an outdoor-only attraction. You may think there are advantages to coming in the summer; maybe the kids are out of school or its your only vacation time.

As a resident of Egypt for a few years, I can say that you will be HOT and I don't recommend it!

Temperatures climb over 100° F (38°C) easily, so if you’re going to brave the summer heat make sure to take a large supply of water and stock up on sunscreen.

The best time to visit the Pyramids would ideally be from October throughout the winter until around April.

There are also amazing night time activities at the Pyramids, such as the Pyramids Light Show. October to April this show begins at 7pm, and May to September at 7:30pm.

If you go during the winter, make sure to bring a jacket as the temperatures can drop to 50° F (10°C), though the average temperature in the winter is about 59° F (15°C).

Cairo itself is a bustling city full of activities, with gardens and museums to discover.

If you’re planning a trip that will be mostly indoors, you can absolutely visit in the summer, as most places like this will have air conditioning.

If you plan on a garden tour, or want to visit local churches or mosques, I suggest coming in the cooler months.

Best Time to Do a Nile Cruise

It’s quite easy to book a Nile Cruise, which can take you from one end of Egypt to the other.

A cruise from Cairo all the way down to Aswan takes around two weeks though, which is why most ships just go up and down the Nile between Aswan and Luxor for 4-5 days, this is where all the main attractions are.

If you want to visit Aswan and Luxor, the site of many historical temples and tombs, it is an idyllic way to view these cultural treasures.

Some travel operators will even meet you at the Cairo Airport, where you will transfer to a smaller airplane and fly to Luxor.

You will spend your days seeing amazing locations, and your nights floating on the Nile (some afternoons you'll be cruising as well).

The ancient sites are numerous with temples, grand burial sites, and even a mummification museum. 

Since most of the activities are outdoors, you’ll want to avoid doing a Nile Cruise during the summer months.

Aswan and Luxor are in the south of Egypt where the heat is even more intense, with summer temperatures reaching over 104° F (40°C).

There is little shade and most of the most interesting statues and sights are directly under the hot Egyptian sun.

The best time to take a Nile cruise is from November to March. I went in October and it was bearable, but I'm used to the sun.

Even if you go in the coldest of winters, the temperatures usually fall in the 70s F(20°C), which is perfect for roaming the “open-air museums”.

If you’re interested in swimming in the Nile, aim for fall. The water will still be warm enough to enjoy, but you won’t bake under the sun. It's not the cleanest river, though.

Best Time to Scuba Dive in Egypt’s Red Sea

Egypt’s Red Sea Coast has amazing beaches and resort towns which cater specifically to tourists who are looking to go scuba diving.

If you’re interested in marine life, like dolphins and sharks, the best time to visit the Red Sea of Egypt is June and July. Though it is very hot, you will have the best chance of seeing amazing aquatic animals.

If you want to spend time in the water as well as on land, you should visit Egypt between September and March when temperatures cool off.

The water temperature can vary a lot from season to season, as well. The water will not be as warm in winter, but April and May will see water temperatures around 22°C.

In Marsa Alam, the water can be mid-80s F (28°C) in the hottest part of the summer, but I think a fall visit to the beaches is perfect. 

I’ve spent time at the beaches in all seasons, and the water is just fine for swimming through most of the year.

If you’re sensitive to the cold, you might want to put on a thin wetsuit in winter. For diving, you will definitely need one unless you go in July/August/September or are not getting cold easily...

Some of the best places to go scuba diving in Egypt are the following:

Sharm El-Sheikh is not only the best scuba diving destination in Egypt, but one of the best in the entire world. Marine life is buzzing and big creatures like sharks, dolphins and manta rays stop by frequently, especially in Summer. Check my scuba diving guide to Sharm El Sheikh for more information about the best dive sites etc. I also have a guide for snorkeling in Sharm.

Dahab is a paradise for most people, locals and expats alike, and has been my home since 2006. It's a mix of traditional Bedouins and foreigners living peacefully without any hotel- or restaurant chains, just a simple life by the beach with lots of street art and street dogs & cats. It is home to the world-famous Blue Hole, a dive site that every scuba diver should have experienced at least once. Here's my scuba diving guide to Dahab.

El Gouna is a gorgeous, European-standard town with surprisingly good diving opportunities just north of Hurghada. It’s a relatively new town, only about 30 years old, and custom-made for awesome vacations. It is clean and organized with prime restaurants, hotels, and dive centers. This is where Egypt's elite owns vacation homes and keeps their yachts - Egypt's St. Tropez. Here's my scuba diving guide to El Gouna - it shares many dive sites with Hurghada, I'm still working on the Hurghada diving guide. If your timing is good, you can also attend the El Gouna Film Festival which usually takes place in September. 

My most popular scuba diving blogs:

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Scuba vacations are a great affordable adventure in Egypt!

If you’re not a scuba diver, there are also amazing snorkel and swimming opportunities. For more specific information check out my other articles linked above.

Best Time to Hike Mt. Moses and Visit the Sinai Desert 

If you plan to visit Mount Moses and the Sinai Desert, be prepared.

While the city of Cairo has indoor activities that may provide you with Air Conditioned respite from the heat, the desert will give you no such luxuries.

You can also take the more direct route up the 3,750 rocky “Stairs of Repentance” to the monastery on the peak.

There are two paths to summit Mount Moses. You can climb a 2.5 hour winding trail, or hire camels for the journey.

Here are 8 Things You Need To Know Before Climbing Mount Sinai as well as my guide to St. Catherine, the monastery, and other hikes around the area where I give more details about the climate all-year round.

While the best time to visit Egypt’s mainland (Cairo, Luxor, Aswan…) would be the winter, remember that in the desert temperatures can drop almost 20° C from day to night.

I highly recommend that you take your climb up the peak of Mount Sinai in Spring, when the desert begins to bloom.

In winter, the temperatures can drop below 0°C with the possibility of snow on the mountains. For more information, I have a guide to Climbing Mount Sinai here. 

For hikes other than summit climbing, and if you don’t intend to sleep in the desert, the winter is absolutely perfect as it doesn’t get so hot during the day.

High Season and Low Season in Egypt

As with all other destinations, Egypt obviously gets more crowded during the holiday seasons.

It mostly depends on the European school holidays, as most tourists who come to Egypt are from Europe due to the short distance (ca. 4-5 hour flights) and much better climate down here.

Don’t expect to see empty beach towns during these peak seasons for Easter, Summer, October, and Christmas.

As a final note, you should also check out when the Holy Month of Ramadan falls.

Ramadan is a month-long religious ‘holiday’. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, and most daytime activity is suspended.

Stores may be closed during the afternoon, and restaurants will be packed exactly at sundown for the fasting break. 

The best time to visit Egypt will change depending on this holiday, as the beach towns along the Red Sea and North Coast will be filled with Egyptian tourists and hotels mostly booked long in advance.

Check out when exactly Ramadan will occur here, as the time of the year always changes. I have an article about navigating traveling to Muslim countries during Ramadan here. 

So, what's the best time to travel to Egypt after all?

Overall, it is very hot in June, July, and August and quite cool in December, January, and February.

You’ll have the best time in Egypt when avoiding the oppressive heat of the summer months, unless you go snorkeling and diving only.

The spring will afford you the best in blooming flowers and wildlife.

The fall will give you cooler temperatures. October is my personal favorite month of the year in Egypt, as you can do anything from Nile cruising to beach bumming.

Anytime you choose to visit Egypt will give you amazing sites and sounds that only an ancient country can provide.

The people are welcoming and accepting of tourists, and I loved it so much I made it my home. 

Post Source Here: Best Time to Visit Egypt [by a local]

[smartworkingpackage]

Podcast: Taking Note of Company Culture with Jess Lee

In the latest episode of the “Taking Note” podcast, we sat down with Jess Lee, an Investing Partner at Sequoia Capital and former CEO of Polyvore, a popular style community that democratizes fashion and e-commerce. Jess discussed what she learned when starting her career at Google, how it helped her grow Polyvore, the challenges of innovation, why some companies are unable to cultivate good company culture, and why women in the tech industry are still struggling to get ahead. She also shares her methods for staying grounded and organized throughout her day (hint: it includes both handwritten notebooks and Evernote). Check it out:

Taking Note: Episode 9

Length: 39 minutes iTunes | SoundCloud | Overcast | MP3 | RSS

In this episode:

[1:20] What does Jess’s work week typically look like?

[6:10] What skills from her time at Google did Jess bring to Polyvore?

[7:20] What leadership lessons did Jess learn as Polyvore grew?

[12:55] Jess is now in venture capital, why the shift?

[14:55] What areas of innovation have Jess’s attention right now?

[16:55] What are some of the biggest roadblocks to innovation?

[20:40] About to start your first company? Build something useful and delightful.

[22:25] Why is it still difficult for women to get ahead in the tech industry?

[24:55] How can we fix toxic culture at work?

[26:45] How does culture impact innovation and creativity?

[28:45] As a VC, what does Jess look for in a company?

[33:50] What is Jess’s daily routine?

[36:10] How does Jess manage information overload?

  Here are some selected highlights from our interview. To hear the rest, click on the player above or look for us on iTunes, SoundCloud, Overcast, or your podcast platform of choice.

You’ve had a fascinating, varied career, and it doesn’t follow the standard narrative. What are your core interests? What is it that drives you personally?

I think when I look back on all my career decisions, I’ve been primarily motivated by growth and learning. Basically, if I feel like my learning is plateauing, then it’s sort of time to do something different. That’s what’s driven me at all the major pivots in my career.

After [four years at Google], you wound up doing product management at Polyvore, which is a very interesting company.

Polyvore is a fashion community app, where basically you can mix and match all your favorite products in different stores into outfits or collages, and then millions of people come every month to browse and shop those looks.

When I first discovered Polyvore, it was just the outfit creation tool, and it was kind of like online Photoshop, but with shopping integrated, and it was super fun to play with. So I started playing with it all the time. I was using it maybe three or four hours a night, as a very addicted user. Then I wrote a note to the co-founders with a series of complaints and suggestions for how to make the product better. They wrote back and said, “Hey, why don’t you just work on this stuff yourself? Why don’t you just come join us?”

I ended up joining as the first PM, and that eventually grew into a co-founder role, strangely in reverse, and then eventually the CEO role. But part of the reason I went there was definitely because I felt like I would learn a lot, ’cause there were only three other people at the time.

Were there any specific things that happened at Polyvore which affected the way you view leadership?

I had never managed a single person before arriving at Polyvore. So I kind of had to learn it from scratch, on the job, through a lot of trial and error. You can read a lot about management best practices, but there’s no replacement for actually doing it.

“You can read a lot about managing best practices, but there’s no replacement for actually doing it.”

I think one of the biggest lessons for me was how to lead authentically. I tried for a while to copy different leadership styles that I had seen, especially very classic, extroverted leadership styles, which you see in the movies. Sort of like the War General.

It took me a while to figure out my style, because I’m more of an introvert. I was an inexperienced first-time CEO, so I couldn’t say with much authority, “I know exactly where we’re going,” exactly what we needed to do. I figured out eventually that, at the end of the day, you need your team to trust you, and to feel like they have a purpose and a mission. There’s an art to cultivating that, and I realized that rather than pretending that I knew everything all of the time, it’s actually better to just sort of point the ship in a general direction, say, “This is the destination I would like us to get to. It’s going to be bumpy along the way, and I need you, I need your help to get there.”

I was really inspired by Cheryl Dalrymple, who is the CFO that I eventually hired at Polyvore. When I first met her, I just remember being really blown away. She’s now the CFO at Confluent. She taught me that you can be a leader while still being very warm, and very authentic, a little quirky. People would follow her to the ends of the earth, and that’s something I took a lot of inspiration from.

After I met her and realized she had this quality, and I could learn a ton from her, I bent over backwards to just try to hire her, to try to get her to be an executive at Polyvore so that I could learn as much as possible from her.

That’s maybe another lesson, surround yourself with awesome people who you admire.

What are you most proud of, from your time at Polyvore?

I’m proud that we built a company that was profitable for three years. I’m proud of the impact we had on some of the users who would write in to say things like, “You gave me more confidence in life, because I figured out a style that worked for me. I felt better.” We even had one girl write in to say that she was inspired to study Computer Science by Polyvore. That was her admissions essay into Cornell, was about Polyvore. And that was a really proud moment.

I was really proud when we won “Great Places to Work.” We won in 2014, overall, for tech. And then in 2015, for best workplace for diversity and women. I’m proud of the culture and the team that we built.

You’ve moved from there into a new role in venture capital. What drove that move?

Part of it was definitely, again, maximizing for learning and growth. Investing is not something I’ve done before, and that’s the best way to learn, is to do something you haven’t done before. On top of that I thought, “How do I leverage the eight and a half years of lessons from Polyvore, through all the epic highs and epic lows, the ups and downs?” Some of those lessons were really painful. “How do I leverage that, and make a big impact?”

I thought if I could help the next generation of entrepreneurs and founders, and help them maybe shave off a day here, not make a mistake that I made, or just advise a little bit, and then spread out that help across the portfolio companies, that I would feel great about that.

Also, there aren’t a lot of women in venture, and I think that ends up impacting the number of women who get funded. That impacts women executives, and then eventually, the percentage of women in engineering. It all trickles down and I thought, maybe I can make an impact there, as well.

Working with Sequoia, I’m sure you’re seeing a lot of very interesting pitches coming your way, you’re involved with a lot of interesting companies. What areas of innovation are particularly exciting to you right now?

There are so many. I have been spending most of my time in consumer, but that doesn’t just mean consumer, internet and mobile. I’ve also started to look a little bit at consumer use cases in robotics, in direct-to-consumer brands, in AR and VR … there’s a lot going on. That’s been exciting.

I feel like I’m seeing a big trend towards tech moving out of your devices and into the real world, whether that’s home automation, or tech-enabled commerce, or tech impacting the way we work on a day-to-day basis. I think that’s one of the more interesting trends. I’m seeing a lot of activity, and I expect to see a lot more.

What do you think are the biggest roadblocks to innovation within companies today?

I think companies can get addicted to their own success, and then start to fear jeopardizing it, or feel like if they step away from that core business, that something might go wrong. So I think the best way to get around that is to dedicate an entire team whose job is to just think about what’s new. You kind of want to create a little bit of separation.

We did a little bit of this after Polyvore was acquired by Yahoo. We took a portion of the Polyvore team, and got them staffed to just work on completely brand-new ideas in the lifestyle space. While we were there, we actually shipped maybe five or six prototypes of apps that we were able to brainstorm and build in, I think around seven weeks turnaround time, from inception and brainstorming to putting them in the App Store.

We were able to test quite a few ideas. One of which eventually turned into Cabana, by Tumblr, which is a live streaming app that the Polyvore team worked on.

It sounds like a good approach to fighting that fear of change that can become ingrained in a large company. There’s also, I think in a large company, that problem of, once something’s that large, it’s hard to turn the ship. Is there a way to fight that sort of inertia?

I think part of it also comes from setting the tone of the culture at the very top. Companies that are able to reinvent and reinvigorate are the ones that are a little bit paranoid and have a really, really high bar. If you know from the get-go that you’re a consumer company… it depends on the product, exactly, but for some consumer-use cases, like social communication, a lot of that is driven not just by the utility or the functionality of the product, but also by how cool it is.

“Companies that are able to reinvent are the ones that are a little bit paranoid and have a really, really high bar.”

So, if you accept that you’re on this treadmill of cool, which is definitely the case for some hardware, some communication apps. I think Apple gets that. I think Snapchat gets that. So they hold the bar very high, and even though they’re doing well, they still feel this urge to reinvent and raise the bar higher and come up with the next thing, or the next feature. I think that’s baked into cultures, at the very highest levels.

When we’re talking about little companies, startups or individual entrepreneurs … of course, the fact that they can pursue the cool is their advantage, but it can also be a downfall. Maybe it’s hard to know when an idea is worth pursuing. When do you think is the right time to jump on an idea?

You know it’s good when people start to tell each other about it. You find this kernel of delight. And delight isn’t just, “Yes, this was useful.” It was a moment of, “Wow, that was cool.” And then the notion that you might want to tell someone else about it. That’s what leads to word-of-mouth, that’s what leads to growth, and that’s how you know that something is worth pursuing.

What would your advice be for someone who’s maybe thinking of starting their first company?

Build something useful and delightful, might be the first one. Second, just understand that great companies take, usually, a while to grow. There’s no real overnight success. Polyvore was an eight-and-a-half year journey, and I think our acquisition by Yahoo was seven and a half years in. But the average exit time for a successful startup is eight years. So, pick an idea and a co-founder that you’d be excited to be married to for at least eight years. That would be my advice.

I want to dig a little deeper into some of the issues of leadership and culture that you brought up earlier. In particular, you mentioned that one of the things that inspires you in your role now as a VC is the opportunity to help more women get involved in engineering, in company-building, in all of those fields.

This is a part of the world that still, I think, has a very male-dominated culture. There are lots of women working [in the field], but it seems like almost every month, there’s another story about how it’s still difficult for women to make an impact in the world of tech and get ahead. Why is this still a problem?

Part of it, I think, is the ratio. But part of it has been, up till now, kind of a lack of recognition that it is a problem. I think what’s the good part of all the news that’s come to light lately is, people were talking about it now. And also, it reflects a change in the norms, in that when someone comes forward, it’s no longer the norm that her career is destroyed … I think that was more the norm, before. So just the shift that’s been happening over the last few months represents a change.

[…]

I think now that the news is starting to come out, people are realizing, “Oh wow, this was happening all along. This is happening in my organization, I’ve just been unconscious of it the entire time.” But now that that recognition is happening, that’s when change can begin.

This intersects with other areas of culture, and we’ve had some prominent examples where culture can just go toxic. When that happens, it doesn’t just necessarily affect the company itself. It can also affect the economy at large.

I think about some of the more prominent cases lately of toxic culture, and these are sometimes some very large companies that are very disruptive in their space, and that are considered real trendsetters. If they can’t get it together, what does that mean for tech as a whole?

Startups go through all kinds of ups and downs, and culture can be your lifesaver when you’re in the downs. When you’re no longer winning, and crushing it, and going “up and to the right,” and there are issues, people flee your company. They will flee if your culture is bad, because that was part of what was making them unhappy all along. But they’re willing to put up with it to be part of a winning team. And as soon as you’re no longer winning, they leave.

I think culture is something you entirely control, as a founder within your company. You are the person who sets the example, you hire the people. It’s something entirely within your control, unlike economy or the market or competitors, which are all risks to your startup. So there’s really no excuse for getting it right, because you entirely control it. And the benefit of getting it right is whenever you hit a bump in the road, your team is much more likely to be loyal, and to believe, and to want to stick around to fight the battle, if they love the culture and they love the team.

So, culture is something you should absolutely invest in, unless you plan to be winning 100% of the time, which is impossible, as has been shown by all the latest news. It’s just not possible to win all the time.

How does culture impact innovation and creativity, and how did you foster innovation and creativity when you were at Polyvore?

At Polyvore, our three core values were, “Delight the user,” “Do a few things well,” and, “Make an impact.” For every new person who joined the company, day one on orientation, I would walk them through … probably the first meeting of the day, after they signed their papers, was to meet with me and I would walk them through those three values and what they meant with quite a lot of detail into the examples.

The bulk of orientation was culture, and then part of it after, we went into the product and the strategy and the users. But I felt like hearing from me as the CEO what the culture meant, and how to live it, was actually a really strong indicator that the culture’s really important. It was also an opportunity to ask questions about it, and to understand it. That’s part of how I tried to make sure the culture permeated through the company.

In terms of innovation, “Delight the user,” going back to that one, the first value, I would explain kind of what I talked about earlier. How you have to constantly raise the bar, and not just build a functional product, but a functional and delightful product. You would constantly have to top yourself.

I would give examples. I used Apple as an example of how people think they want a better, faster horse, but really what they want is a car. And they’re not going to tell you, if they’ve only ever seen a horse, that they need a car. So you have to come up with it.

And then, even when you build that car and people are really happy with it, then you have to come up with the rocket, a spaceship, whatever’s next.

It sounds like the concept of being functional and delightful applies externally, in terms of the product you build, but also applies internally, in terms of the culture you build.

Absolutely.

How about now that you’re on the VC side? What do you look for in a healthy company?

I think there are some classic things that pretty much all VC’s look for, like a very large market, a founding team that’s capable. For me, personally, a few additional things that I look for are grit… because, like I said, it takes a really long time to build a great company, and you want someone who can weather the storms, who can go through the ups and downs. So, I look for grit.

Another trait I find quite useful is the ability to take something complex, and explain it simply. That applies to so many things. It’s your elevator pitch when you’re talking to investors, it becomes important. Your ability to communicate to your team, and even more important than that though, to be able to run an all-hands and explain to your team where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. All of that is really, really important. So, I look for the ability to explain complex things simply.

Is there one particular skill that you wish every businessperson would learn?

Maybe empathy. The ability to understand something from someone else’s perspective. Whether that’s a coworker or an employee, or even your customers, that’s a pretty useful skill.

We’ve talked a lot about culture and working effectively as a team. How about working effectively as an individual? How do you manage your very busy time?

I take a lot of notes on everything, to be honest. They may not always be the most organized of notes, but I do find it’s important to capture the information. I can always go back later and make sense of it, but it’s helpful to have it there so that I can even try to retrieve it in the first place.

I take a lot of notes on everything, to be honest. They may not always be the most organized of notes, but I do find it’s important to capture the information.

I do it both on my computer and Evernote, as well as… since I love to draw, I always have a small sketchbook with me, and a pen. So, I’ll take notes on paper as well. And then I take photos of it using Evernote’s capture feature, and then store it in Evernote so that it’s searchable later.

I know a lot of people who are into that visual note-taking approach, the sketch notes idea. Do you have a particular way you like to do it? Is there a format? Do you have a shorthand of visual symbols?

No, it’s not particularly organized. They look probably like doodles.

I find that what I’ll do is, I’ll just take notes during a meeting, and then later I’ll go back and kind of draw and organize them at the same time … create dividers, draw in little pictures, sort of summarize, and then the key things jump out at me later when I go back to look at them. Key numbers, sometimes I’ll draw a little picture to indicate something that was important.

So notes are a cornerstone of how you manage your time. Is there anything else that you use? Do you have a particular toolkit?

I think it’s really just document everything. And then, for the key things that I have to do every week, that I cannot miss, which is basically keeping up-to-date and communicating with companies that we might want to invest in, or might be passing on … keeping a running list of those, and making sure that those really, really important to-do’s get done.

[…]

I feel like my brain is not particularly organized, kind of like a black box. And then, occasionally, connections will spark, and I’ll come to some sort of Eureka moment about a company, or a trend, or an idea that I want to go back on, and then I have it all there at my fingertips in Evernote, so I can go back and search for it.

That’s what creativity and innovation are, really, isn’t it? It’s making those connections. It’s finding those moments of spark between the things that you’ve already collected and just drawing that new link.

There are so many inputs in our world, and in our lives. We’re constantly getting messages from all sorts of different apps and media and we’re expected to deal with it all. “Information Overload” is not a new term, that’s been around for decades, but it’s still very much with us. How do you manage it?

I try to clear the slate in my brain as well. If something is not immediately important, I just kind of tuck it away, and hopefully that black box brings it up at the right moment, the random spark of connection. But I think it’s important to keep the slate clean. I find that yoga helps clearing the slate as well, so that’s something small that I do.

This is a partial transcript of our interview. For the rest, be sure to listen to the complete podcast.

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