Kristen Koh Goldstein
Portfolio Manager & Advisor at AthenaPartners
Kristen Koh Goldstein
Portfolio Manager & Advisor at AthenaPartners
San Francisco, California
Overview
Work Experience
Portfolio Manager & Advisor
2003 - Current
Allocate assets of a family office Actively invest in equity and derivatives Function as interim CXO and advisor to private companies in the portfolio such as HireAthena, AngelList, and Anaplan
Advisor
2015
Co-Founder and Chairwoman
2016 - 2017
HireAthena is a marketplace focused on finance, accounting, payroll and HR. The company is bringing together the best work-from-home talent with industry-leading workflow software. The company delivers services to startups, non-profits, and SMBs and has a social mission to bring one million moms back to work.
Acting CFO/CCO
2011 - 2017
Co-Founder, Chairwoman and CEO
2010 - 2016
BackOps is an integrated, web-enabled, paperless back office solution for SMBs that combines work-from-home talent with Scalus technology which offers an all-in-one solution for workflow, process automation, and communication designed for inclusive collaboration. We are a national network of moms and dads who support the back office (accounting, finance, and HR) of entrepreneurs so that they can focus on product and customer development. Thank you for supporting our right and duty to raise our young children while working from home. Through this work flexibility enabled by Scalus, we are not only there, truly present, for our children after school, but also able to maintain our professional identity, which is closely tied to our sense of self and worth. BackOps is proud to be the showroom for the Scalus technology and be part of the mission to bring a million moms back to work, alongside other best-in-class services firms.
Interim CFO
2012 - 2014
Joined a small early team in the US with a development office in the UK as primary G&A owner. Left after (1) hiring my replacement (a classmate from HBS), (2) recruiting the first enterprise sales leader (friend in the network with SVP Global Sales experience at a public enterprise software company in the financial reporting space), and (3) onboarding the CEO from SAP.
PT Stay at Home Mom and PT Portfolio Manager
2007 - 2009
Damned if we do; Damned if we don't - After struggling to juggle an intense, full time C-level position at a software company, with two children under the age of two, I off-ramped from my hard earned career in an attempt to gain balance in my life, as many women do during this stage of life. I quickly descended into self-doubt as my professional relevance seemed to evaporate quickly without a path to reclaim it, and my children were no better off, not quite ready to execute against their OKRs, despite - and due to - the constant presence of their Type-A mom. Lemonade out of Lemons - During this phase of self - discovery, I realized that as a society, we are damaging another generation of children by setting up their moms to fail. During my lifetime, we have degenerated from the Greatest Generation (our grandparents) that represented selfless sacrifice and doing the right thing for the sake of it, to the Millennials, a generation that represents trophies for last place. Unfortunately, we all know it will get worse, if we let it, through driveby parenting. Without having experienced this dark period, I would not have the courage to demand that other moms stand up for themselves and for their children. The health of our society depends on it. The teams at Scalus and BackOps have dedicated their careers to proving that we can indeed set up moms and their children to succeed. Please join us in our mission to get a million moms back to work, on our terms.
Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer
2003 - 2006
Created the company's financial models. Prepared the Board deck and managed venture/investor relations. Managed the closing of Series A round of financing. Supervised the Controller, HR manager, and outside Counsel. Was the Corporate Secretary. Procured office space and oversaw all purchasing.
VP, Investment Analyst
2000 - 2002
Performed as Senior Software Analyst for the GS Technology Hedge Fund, a relative value, market neutral long/short fund. Generated software investment ideas for Portfolio Manager using management meetings, industry contacts, and channel checks. Liased with generalists in Volatility Arbitrage and Convertible Arbitrage on software investment ideas.
Director, Finance
1999 - 2000
Created revenue model and synchronized financial projections to business opportunities/realities. Recommended resource allocation by evaluating trade-offs between company’s product vision and revenue/business objectives. Negotiated bizdev contracts, including that which initiated the dealtime/shopping.com relationship.
Education
Latest Articles
Product, Process, and People: The 3 Lessons I Learned as An Employer in Trump Country
Talks about Startup, Entrepreneurship and 2016 Election
Tech Founders, How Many Jobs Will You Create in Trump Country?
Talks about 2016 Election, Women In Tech and Hillary Clinton
Reinventing Work — What Will It Take To Bring A Million Moms Back To Work?
Talks about Startup, Entrepreneurship and Women In Tech
Our Secret Society in Silicon Valley
Talks about Startup, Tech and female tech entrepreneurs