the z list 💥🧿✨#61

Hi friends! Back again with another edition of The Z List - I will likely be in NYC till the end of the year, so I’m all in on hosting events, creating community, and meeting incredible founders here as we wrap up 2024. Other quick updates below:

• I’m currently interviewing consumer app founders and consumer app VCs for the essay/report I’m putting together. If you have a POV you’d like to share and your voice to be circulated with 50,000 readers — apply here.

• Partnering with Parallel to bring LifeWork, a community for young professionals to learn, build, and create together + bringing you more panels again!

• I’m excited to invite new venture scouts to join the Headline consumer investment team! Interested in being part of our journey? Apply here. 

• I will be back in Asia in part of December and January. Would love to connect with founders, operators, & investors while I’m back home in Hong Kong and Singapore (reply to this email)

Also what an honor to be on Techcrunch’s list of New York’s top VCs under 30 with so many incredible friends. Thank you to all the founder, operator, and investor friends that make me so excited to call NYC home.

Deel & The Z List (tldr they’re the best)

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We handle all of the paperwork, exchange foreign salaries into local ones, and ensure compliance with local regulations.

Join over 35,000 customers like Nike, Dropbox, and Shopify, who rely on Deel to make global hiring easy across 150+ countries.

Interested? Get $1500 in Deel Billing Credits by booking a demo here.

Note from Zehra: I’ve had a number of portfolio companies work with Deel and they are without a doubt, hands down, the absolute best for everything related to hiring but especially for hiring abroad. If you have engineers or talent in general out of the country please consider taking up their offer of $1500 in Deel Credits.

Z List IRL hosted by Zehra

REMINDER: As such, I’m making a commitment to meet 5 new founders, 3 new VCs, 2 new operators, and 1 new angel investor IRL a week. 

Here are some of the cool new people I’ve spent time with in the past few weeks:

• Bobby at Verse (his company is going viral)

• Mason at NEA

• Bryce at Primary 

• Arjun at Cloaked

• Kristy at Trashie

• Maxine at AmbassCo

• Layla at Female Founders Fund

• Zoe at HBS (Headline’s incredible Consumer MBA Intern)

If there are specific practical events that you’d like to see in the coming months reply to this email and let me know!

wednesday 10/9

• fête

  • for who: founders, VCs, executives + creators

  • hosted by: all in all + me

thursday 10/17

• Consumer Founders, VC's, & Operators Breakfast

  • for who: like the title says! anyone who loves consumer

  • hosted by: Life Work (Parallel + me)

wednesday 10/23

• Crossing the pond - How to fundraise and sell in the USA

  • hosted by: Deel & The Knowledge Shop

  • I’m speaking on this panel

The first IRL to URL dinner is ~3 weeks away!

Apply to join here — for those of you that have my phone number, expect a text from me in the next few days!  

VC Ecosystem News (No GPs Allowed) 

• Sequoia’s Alfred Lin on the art and math of spotting outliers interviewed and written by my incredible friend Allie Garfinkle

  • “Lin holds a unique distinction in Silicon Valley. He’s one of the most successful investors at one of tech’s most storied VC firms. He’s been Sequoia’s lead investor in DoorDash, Airbnb, Citadel Securities, and Reddit. The last time Lin talked extensively to Fortune was in 2021, when both DoorDash and Airbnb went public within just a couple days of each other. Another idea to hold in tension—Lin also led Sequoia’s investment in FTX, the collapse of which sent shockwaves through crypto and tech. (Lin said last year that the firm was misled.) Nevertheless, Lin remains widely regarded as the best of the best, a remarkable distinction in the long-game venture business.”

• Claim announced their $12M Series A led by VMG Partners. Sam, the founder, shared the following: “we’re here to revolutionize how brands connect with Gen Z — by replacing endless scrolling and ads with meaningful social interactions.”

• For AI agent startups, deal count is up 81.4% year over year, says PitchBook

• Ankur Goyal built infrastructure for AI products twice before at Impira and Figma. Now, his AI evaluations startup Braintrust is valued at about $150 million following a $36 million Series A round led by a16z.

• OpenAI is officially worth $157 billion

Friend’s of The Z List: Events & Projects
Wanna feature your event? Fill out this form.

thursday 10/10

• Bulletpitch x InnoCrew Exclusive Founder Dinner #SFTechWeek

  • hosted by: Brett + Bulletpitch 

thursday 10/17

• Bulletpitch Presents: Startup Soirée, an Event for Founders And Funders

  • hosted by: Brett + Bulletpitch 

thursday 11/21

• Bulletpitch Presents: Foundersgiving

  • hosted by: Brett + Bulletpitch 

The Z List job drop, powered by Parallel. I swear by listing jobs on Parallel + finding new jobs on Parallel.

Sperta - Sperta's risk decision platform automates complex decision-making processes for businesses, enabling them to make accurate and timely decisions in areas like fraud detection, credit risk, and insurance underwriting.

• Software Engineer - Apply Direct

DTCo - A high-performing boutique growth agency, helps businesses achieve growth through strategy, media buying, ad creation, and advanced analytics. Their experienced team builds strong client relationships to deliver impactful results.

• Growth Marketing Manager - Apply Direct

North Cloud - North cloud is an AI-powered platform that slashes cloud costs up to 50% by automating financial management and leveraging advanced analytics, freeing businesses to focus on growth.

• Cloud Engineer - Apply Direct

David - David is a platform to design high protein, low calorie, blood-sugar-friendly foods that are craveable. Our protein bar has the highest percentage of calories from protein (CFP) on the market.

• Growth Analyst - Apply Direct

• Manager of Strategic Channel - Apply Direct

Thera - Thera is a financial platform that offers various apps for global teams, including payroll, banking, and accounts payable/receivable. It aims to help businesses save money through its comprehensive suite of financial tools.

• Account Executive - Apply Direct

+Deel is hiring a Partnerships Manager for Private Equity! Apply here. 

Resources

• Expand your presence on LinkedIn and elevate your personal brand with Windmill Growth! We specialize in building influential profiles using best-in-class strategies and exceptional content. Don't miss the opportunity to consult with Ben, our founder. Book a session today and experience the impact with a complimentary test post!

• I use Meco to read all of my newsletters without cluttering my inbox! Check it out here.

• Looking to hire & pay talent abroad? Deel allows you to easily hire, pay, and manage contractors and employees in 120+ countries. Get 20% off + a free HRIS by booking a demo at the link above.

• Need a graphic designer? Celine has been a friend for 4 years and is an incredible designer. She’s worked on brands that you’ve definitely seen on Twitter.

• Figuring out how to manage your money as a founder or wanna learn how to maximize your tax return?  Sign up for Carry.

• Need an EA but can’t afford one? Howie is the fastest and most responsive scheduling assistant on earth. You can email him anytime to set up meetings and coordinate your calendar.

• Hiring as an early-stage company? Parallel is the all-in-one hiring operating system, designed to convert top talent & maximize your hiring efficiency. Sign up for a free trial.

• Want to make more money on your Shopify store? Platter is offering free website audits to identify opportunities to boost conversion rate and average order value. Grab a time while you can by clicking here.

• Wanna start a newsletter? I use Beehiiv for all three of my newsletters. Cannot recommend enough (you get a discount)

• Looking for a high profile speaker for your company's next event? The Trailblazers Agency is a speakers bureau that represents leading, diverse AAPI talent. As your companies organize events for Heritage Months, ERGs, Diwali(!), the Agency can connect you to inspiring, expert speakers across a broad range of industries. The Trailblazers Agency was born out of Z-List partnering organization, South Asian Trailblazers. The Trailblazers network has welcomed the likes of ClassPass Founder Payal Kadakia, Actor Kal Penn, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan, and Legendary Investor Anjula Acharia, and many other top speakers. For more information, please contact South Asian Trailblazers here.

Discounts

• Kulfi Beauty, use code “zehra” for 20% off. I use their concealer rose rush and their kajal eyeliners in nazar-no-more everyday.

Want to work with Zehra?

• If you’re interested in working with me, I have some bandwidth and would love to learn more :) fill out this form. 

Please reply to this email if you'd like to amplify your events with the z list community or if you'd like to collaborate on an event together.

Have fun! 💥🧿✨👩🏻‍💻