Breaking Into The World of Startups and Venture Capital with Miki Reynolds

Miki Reynolds is the Head of Programs and an investor at Slauson & Co, where she develops and leads programs — like their Friends & Family accelerator — that advance their mission of economic inclusion. She brings a fierce passion for supporting an inclusive community of entrepreneurs, having directly advised 350+ early stage companies from idea to seed stage, primarily led by Black, AAPI, Latinx and Women founders who have raised over $120M in capital collectively.Prior to Slauson & Co, Miki was the CEO & Co-Founder of Grid110, an award winning non-profit providing free entrepreneurship programs to underrepresented founders in partnership with the City of Los Angeles. She has spent the last two decades working in tech, encompassing IT project management, digital marketing, creative services, product management, software development, and e-commerce. After managing digital projects at global entertainment corporations like MGM Studios and 20th Century Fox, and leading operations and product for a software development company, she launched the Downtown LA location for tech education company General Assembly. She left GA mid-2017 after being appointed to the founding Executive Director position at Grid110.Miki has accepted commendations from former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on behalf of General Assembly and Grid110, has been recognized by LA Biz Journal as a Woman of Influence, was named to Techweek's #Techweek100, and sits on the advisory boards for PledgeLA and Grid110. She has also spoken at Creative Mornings, General Assembly, SXSW, Silicon Beach Fest, All Raise, Nashville's 3686 Festival, Venture Atlanta, LMU, USC and UCLA.A proud UCLA alum, taco fiend, rescue dog owner times two, and passionate advocate for the LA startup community.🎧 Tune in to learn:☀️ What it truly takes to build a community-driven accelerator and the lessons Miki brought into venture investing☀️ What venture capitalists look for in founders beyond product and traction — and what non-traditional traction really looks like☀️ Miki's honest perspective on the gaps in early-stage funding and what needs to change for founders… and a whole lot more!✨ Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more episodes._____Follow us:⭐ Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/5KU29jHzfDHpIOmKnLhZQ8⁠⭐ Apple: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-the-work-by-jessica-santana/id1801349168⁠⭐ Instagram: ⁠http://instagram.com/jessworldwide⁠⭐ YouTube: ⁠http://youtube.com/behindtheworkshow⁠⭐ Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/behindtheworkshowpodscan_zTgRyH7MAGQsiLRA9KAk2z3UyJJ7Y62p

Show Notes

Miki Reynolds is the Head of Programs and an investor at Slauson & Co, where she develops and leads programs — like their Friends & Family accelerator — that advance their mission of economic inclusion. She brings a fierce passion for supporting an inclusive community of entrepreneurs, having directly advised 350+ early stage companies from idea to seed stage, primarily led by Black, AAPI, Latinx and Women founders who have raised over $120M in capital collectively.

Prior to Slauson & Co, Miki was the CEO & Co-Founder of Grid110, an award winning non-profit providing free entrepreneurship programs to underrepresented founders in partnership with the City of Los Angeles. She has spent the last two decades working in tech, encompassing IT project management, digital marketing, creative services, product management, software development, and e-commerce. After managing digital projects at global entertainment corporations like MGM Studios and 20th Century Fox, and leading operations and product for a software development company, she launched the Downtown LA location for tech education company General Assembly. 

She left GA mid-2017 after being appointed to the founding Executive Director position at Grid110.Miki has accepted commendations from former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on behalf of General Assembly and Grid110, has been recognized by LA Biz Journal as a Woman of Influence, was named to Techweek's #Techweek100, and sits on the advisory boards for PledgeLA and Grid110. She has also spoken at Creative Mornings, General Assembly, SXSW, Silicon Beach Fest, All Raise, Nashville's 3686 Festival, Venture Atlanta, LMU, USC and UCLA.

A proud UCLA alum, taco fiend, rescue dog owner times two, and passionate advocate for the LA startup community.

🎧 Tune in to learn:
☀️ What it truly takes to build a community-driven accelerator and the lessons Miki brought into venture investing
☀️ What venture capitalists look for in founders beyond product and traction — and what non-traditional traction really looks like
☀️ Miki's honest perspective on the gaps in early-stage funding and what needs to change for founders

Connect with our host, Jessica Santana:

• Subscribe to the Behind The Work newsletter: https://jessworldwide.substack.com/
• Follow Jessica on Instagram: http://instagram.com/@jessworldwide
• Follow Behind The Work on Instagram: http://instagram.com/@behindtheworkshow
• Follow Jessica on TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@jessworldwide
• Follow Behind The Work on TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@behindthework

About Behind The Work: Behind The Work is the show for the ambitious person looking to level up their lives, their career, and their businesses. Hosted by Jessica Santana, Behind The Work goes deep with the executives, founders, and leaders who are building from a place of power. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the real work — the strategy, the setbacks, the pivots, and the purpose — behind the people, companies, and organizations shaping what's next.

What is Behind The Work by Jessica Santana?

Jessica Santana is a business and leadership coach for entrepreneurs and executives. She specializes in teaching founders, entrepreneurs and executives how to build strong businesses, careers and lives they love.

Behind The Work is the podcast show for ambitious executives and entrepreneurs looking to build businesses that scale and careers that leave an impact. Hosted by Jessica Santana, each episode features in-depth conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and executives who are building companies from the ground up and are succeeding in their career fields. Discover the real successes, honest failures, pivots, and the vision behind the most successful people reshaping industries.

Some episodes, we’ll sit down with some dope guests and hear about their journeys. Other times, it’ll just be us—breaking down the lessons, strategies, and real talk that I have learned as an entrepreneur and executive – It will be everything you need to keep pushing forward and you’ll always walk away with something tangible and practical.

This show will provide answers to questions like:
- What does the real journey from zero to success actually look like—beyond the highlight reel?
- How do I turn my business idea into a profitable, scalable company?
- How do successful founders navigate failure, pivots, and setbacks without giving up?
- What's the difference between entrepreneurs who scale to millions and those who stall?
- How do you secure funding, and what should you know before approaching investors?
- What does it actually take to build product-market fit?
- How do you build a high-performing team and company culture from the ground up?
- What blind spots do first-time entrepreneurs have, and how do you avoid them?
- How do you balance growth with profitability and sustainability?
- What's the real behind-the-scenes strategy that successful founders use?
- How do you stay motivated and resilient through the tough seasons of building?
- What's the path to building a company that can scale beyond you?
- How do you know when to double down on your vision versus pivot?
- What does leadership actually look like when you're building something from scratch?
- How do the most successful entrepreneurs think differently about risk, money, and opportunity?