Thread by @sevensevensix

As our final Operator Office Hours of the year, we are taking a look back ➡️ at 2021, from the POV of our Operators in Residence 🏛️

This was the first year of our Operators in Residence program, and we have been blown away by the incredible work and life @hiramv @tgmason and @cristina_laki have brought to our team!

Here is an in-depth look at the program, the recruiting process, and a welcome to our Operators in Residence, written by @katelin_cruse
➡️ 776.vc/WelcomeOiRs

Before we dive into the outcomes of this year, let’s break down what they’ve been working on:

The Seven Seven Six OiR program has three main functions (as listed by @cristina_laki)
💡 We serve our founders and their teams grow within our areas of expertise
📝Learn the ins and outs of Venture Capital Investing
⚙️Help build the Seven Seven Six firm

Now that they have been with us for a year, we asked the OiRs how they would describe their roles:

➡️ @cristina_laki would say: “I work at a new investment firm that is changing the paradigm of the VC industry. You can see that in terms of how business is done (e.g. Cerebro, OiR program, investors with operating experience) and access to the industry (e.g. open applications).”

In addition, @cristina_laki’s specialty is “Experience Design and all things related to users. That can include: Go to market, Ideal Customer Profiles, Customer Journey Mapping, Onboarding, Retention strategy, Implementation of Jobs to be done, UXR, and People management, etc."

How @tgmason summarizes his role: “I tell people I help entrepreneurs and really brilliant engineers make new rules when the old ones no longer work. (And usually that’s the case when you are building emerging technology and trying to push the envelope!)”

We can’t forget the incredible work the OiRs have done to help build Seven Seven Six from the ground up: “ We’ve been able to help build out the fund, the team, and the processes, and in my case, the software that we use to automate a lot of the processes– Cerebro.” – @hiramv

What makes any team worth working in? The people.

“It’s been one of the few times where I’ve felt very comfortable from day 1. On a personal level, it feels great to have teammates that are super accomplished and push me to bring my best self to every meeting we have.” – @hiramv

“In low-performing teams, someone on the team thinks their piece of the pie is the most important. At Seven Seven Six, we see the whole pie. And we bring our different pieces and angles to attack the problem. It’s been really refreshing to see everyone jump in.” – @tgmason

Low-performing teams with high egos, even in high-performing companies, can spoil the workplace. @tgmason notes:

Don’t take our word for it! @cristina_laki describes her fellow OiRs as: “Masters of their craft who put the desired outcome of the task above their own egos. It's a wonderful (and unfortunately all too rare) occurrence to have the gift of working in a high-performing team.”

Our OiRs bring the perfect balance of knowledge and humility to our small team. As @cristina_laki points out:

Why does a VC fund need to be backed by software, you ask? “We are rarely stumped. Even if we don’t know, we know someone who knows. That is the power of Cerebro.” – @tgmason

And why is it important to have wide-ranging experience as an operator? @hiramv explains:

Why is @tgmason so great to work with?

“As a former founder, policy was not something I gave much thought to. Thanks to Travis, I now know better. Travis is able to give founders insights on wade through very murky waters (or people ;)” – @cristina_laki

Why is @hiramv so great to work with?

"His ability to “Hiramify” anything. He is a masterful Product Manager, always looking at how to “cut the fat” from repetitive tasks. He's granted our entire portfolio the ease of a 1-click intro to anyone in the 776 network" @cristina_laki

“This team has trained me to look 360 at an issue. Now I know when there’s a weak customer journey (because of @cristina_laki) when the product is a little flimsy (because of @hiramv) or there are culture issues (because of @katelin_cruse).” – @tgmason