Dear BAMf Podcast: Episode 67 with Nick Kim

Dear BAMf // Episode 67: Nick Kim Principal of Crosscut Ventures talks about proactively preventing crises.

In this episode of the Dear BAMf podcast, we speak with Nick Kim, Principal at Crosscut Ventures. He makes pre-seed and seed investments at Crosscut and works with their founders to help them grow their businesses. In this episode, Jamie answers tough marketing and PR questions from our listeners, including this one about crisis communications.

Dear BAMf,

One of our clients got mentioned, by name, at a niche but very important conference in a negative light. Some competitors were mentioned too, but we're the dominant player in this space. Now we have customers who are reluctant to be used for our media outreach. So far three have pointed to this conference as why. We're a tech company that handles sensitive information and we've never had a problem. What can we do to proactively get ahead of this issue even though it's not yet immediate issue or crisis.

Listen now to hear how Nick advises this writer to move forward.

Dear BAMf: Episode 67

Episode 67 highlights:

What is Crosscut Ventures?

NK: Crosscut Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund based in LA. We make investments at pre-seed, seed and sometimes Series A. Additionally, we support entrepreneurs, feed positions as investors, and get involved at various stages of a company's growth. We invest mostly in technology and technology-enabled services. 

What are you most proud of accomplishing in the last 12 months?

NK: Professionally, this has been a really tough time for everybody and just being able to show up for work every day and do the job that you are set out to do is hard enough. I think I'm most proud of our team coming together and using this as an opportunity to look at the way we do this business and radically question everything. Over the course of the last several months, we've started to think differently about what seed investing means, what it means to run this firm, the types of investments that we can be making and expanding the scope of the stages of companies we invest in. Thinking about the business a little bit more creatively has been one of the things I'm most excited about accomplishing over the last 12 months. On the personal side, I'd hardly call it an accomplishment of my own. My wife played a much bigger role in making this happen, but we just had a baby five months ago, a little girl named Luna and we are over the moon.

Do you have a favorite way to tell a story?

NK: My favorite way to tell stories is with my voice and actually saying them. I was on Clubhouse and it seems like there's less happening there now. I also love writing because it helps me learn about myself and it helps me better understand the things that I'm thinking about. We write deal memos all the time and a lot of it is storytelling about why an opportunity is compelling for us to invest in. It really helps you connect the dots and consolidate information.

How do you communicate a brand refresh to media?

NK: I view this as an opportunity, especially if you're a leader in this space, use it as a chance to educate your customers on what you do with sensitive information and all of the steps you're taking. This is an opportunity to show the pride you have in what you do as a company and a leader. Additionally, you can showcase what you want to continue to be. Use this as an opportunity to talk about your values or specific steps you're taking to build trust with your customers instead of the other way around.

What is Dear BAMf?