Why Intentionality Wins: Lessons on Slowing Down From Renew VC's Kt McBratney
Kt McBratney's career path may have started in marketing and strategy, but community has always been at the heart of her work. Now leading the community at venture capital firm Renew VC, Kt shared her thoughts on how intentionality is becoming a powerful counterweight to startup culture's obsession with speed.
“I was doing community the whole time. I just didn't have the right word for it and there wasn't as much of a home for it really within organizations.”
At Renew, Kt's role is varied, from supporting portfolio founders through the highs and lows to designing founder-only spaces for meaningful connection. But no matter the format, .
"We talk about this in the community world a bunch; this idea that 'move fast and break things' is a mantra that should be applied to everything. We see what happens with that. We see so much burnout."
For Kt and her team, purpose and profit don't have to be opposites. They believe relationships, not just capital, are what fuel long-term success in startups.
"What can happen if we look at these outcomes, both financial outcomes and making the world better, and hold those at the same time? It's like jet fuel."
This philosophy extends to the smallest of details. Whether it's welcoming new members into a founder space or designing print materials that feel permanent in a digital world, Kt believes the best communities are the ones where people feel seen, not processed.
"I didn't launch it. I opened the doors and started welcoming people in, and there's a different feel to that… If we need to respect those community members, then a little bit of friction on the front side can be massively valuable for everyone."
I asked Kt if there was a single metric she uses to measure success in her community, and this surprised me…
“[During a video call] How much are they multitasking? If people are fully plugged in and present, that is incredibly valuable information. That's magic."
Is the content you're providing, the space, the place, and the people enough to keep folks' attention, or are they answering an email at the same time?
Listen to the full episode with Kt McBratney on the Digital Community Leaders podcast.
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