In the green room at Phocuswright Europe with... Katherine Grass

Katherine Grass, venture partner, Thayer Ventures

Katherine Grass brings more than 20 years of experience in technology to her role as venture partner at Thayer Ventures. She will serve as a Battleground Dragon at Phocuswright Europe 2019.

In a series of interviews with executives participating at the event in Amsterdam in May, PhocusWire finds out what makes them tick...

Why isn't the travel startup survival rate higher than it is?

All industries have a difficult survival rate. This is also the case for travel.

I would say though, perhaps the one difference in travel is sometimes the ideas take longer to come to fruition. Sales cycles with customers are bit longer than in other industries, so startup cash flows are a consideration.

What is the most critical component of your business (apart from its people, technology and customers)?

As a travel-specific investment fund, our industry network and connections and well as industry knowledge help set us apart.

How do you want to be remembered as a leader in your company?

I hope to be seen as someone people can look towards to trust and learn from. I'm direct and transparent and aim to treat others as I would like to be treated. An easy but golden rule as so many don't follow it.

What are you like outside of work?

Outside of work I'm a mom and spouse. My children are still young, and our free time is spent outdoors and shuffling around to various activities.

Who is the person you most admire within the industry?

Not sure whether I admire just one person. I love to watch industry CEOs and how they talk about their business and people.

I do admire the startups for taking the risk and dedicating themselves so wholeheartedly to their businesses to try and create success.

How do you stay inspired?

Having a job where you talk to startups every day and see their energy and ideas helps stay inspired.

Do you hit the snooze button?

Usually always once, and that is it.

What's your one travel hack everyone should know?

I travel with just hand luggage, saves tons of time. But not sure that is much of a hack.

What are you reading right now?

Bad Blood [by John Carreyrou]. From a venture capital perspective, it is fascinating. It is about the rise and fall of Theranos and how the lie was pumped up and survived for so long with an insane about of funding.