Kiki Mills Johnston: supporting female founders, athletes and investors

Kiki Mills Johnston is full of admiration for founders. "They just see through blockades," she says. "They see how to cross mountains and figure out how to get things done. That's why we do this job – it's just so inspiring to speak with founders every day." 

Kiki is our podcast guest this week, and in a wide-ranging conversation, we learn what drew her to the industry, the sectors that are exciting her right now and how she's working to improve the representation of women across the VC space, the startup world and the sports industry. We also dive into the founding story of Drive by DraftKings, its investment thesis and what the team looks for in the founders behind potential investment opportunities.

Drive is an early-stage VC firm led by CEO and managing partner Meredith McPherron. It focuses wherever sports meets tech and media, counting Sports Loft member FEVO, fitness wearable scale-up Whoop and publishing platform Just Women's Sports among its portfolio. Its founding partners include sports betting company DraftKings and VC firms General Catalyst, Accomplice and Boston Seed Capital.