What happens when a Bay Area-born VC operator turns a solo consulting practice into a scaled firm and a thriving community for venture's back office? Kristen Ostro shares how she built Strut Consulting, why she rebranded Let's Talk Ops to VIA, and what she's learned about choosing clients, scaling thoughtfully, and creating leverage without losing quality.
In this episode, Kristen breaks down:
How she moved from NEA and emerging funds into consulting, and why the pandemic and a major life reset pushed her to scale.
Why consulting can be a powerful path for VC operators who want more choice, more autonomy, and more breadth of experience.
How she thinks about seeding a consulting business through referrals, alliances, and community. What changes when you scale from solo to team, including people management, systems, and the real costs of growth.
The tech stack she uses to keep Strut running, from Front and Slack to Ramp, Airtable, Notion, and ChatGPT. How she stays grounded through mentorship, workouts, long walks, birds, travel, volleyball, and a life outside work.
Plus, Kristen shares why the best consultants know how to build trust, stay visible, and make it easy for the right people to say yes.
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