Ten Years of Strutting Forward
By Kristen Ostro
Today, Strut turns ten.
When I started this firm in 2016, I wasn't thinking a decade ahead. I was just thinking about a problem I couldn't stop seeing.
At that point, I had spent nearly a decade inside venture, across firms of nearly every size. I began my career at New Enterprise Associates, Silicon Valley's largest and most established VC, in roles spanning administration, operations, events, and marketing. From there, I led operations through the formative years at Homebrew, Xfund, and Zetta.
From my seat, the problem was impossible to miss. A new generation of fund managers had come to market, changing the venture landscape at a pace not seen in the prior 80 years. Big-shop GPs spinning out on their own, operators, founders, and athletes alike turning into VCs, raising and deploying capital from their own vehicles for the very first time. They were ambitious and talented, but didn't have a playbook to navigate the challenges of building strong, backable VC firms. That knowledge historically lived in close-knit circles, shared amongst colleagues and friends. This left many to learn by trial and error, often repeating the same expensive mistakes.
I saw how the biggest shops operated and how small teams succeeded with a lean-and-mean approach. As emerging funds continued to multiply, I knew exactly what these managers were missing: someone to help them build a healthy foundation from day one. Selecting the right fund admin, tax, and legal support, choosing the best tech stack, successfully raising a first and subsequent funds, creating hiring plans, and instilling the operational rigor that institutional LPs look for in diligence. That's the resource I set out to build.
The turning point came in 2020. In the middle of the pandemic, I reached critical mass with clients. The firms that launched in the mid-2010s were now raising Fund IIs and Fund IIIs and needed help to scale and reinforce what they had built. I had a decision to make: stay small and serve only a handful of firms in my orbit, or try to do more. I asked myself whether I'd look back 10 years later and regret not trying, and the answer was immediately clear.
Aside from all the recon and diligence I did on scaling, my first official step forward was actually quite comical: I accidentally butt-dialed a former VC colleague who called me right back (bless you, Kelly). She was a seasoned operator who knew the ecosystem well and happened to be between roles. She insisted I hire one more person, who ended up becoming my COO and trusted business partner, Nicole Fuller. Together, we embarked on building the foundation: tinkering with the service offering, implementing GP feedback, and rebuilding how Strut would both differentiate itself and deliver best-in-class care to its clients.
Today, Strut is a team of over 20 professionals serving more than 65 VC firms across the United States, Europe, and Asia. We have deep expertise in the areas that make or break a firm: fund operations, investor relations, and finance. Our clients range from first-time managers building from 0-to-1, to what I lovingly call the "established emerging manager," many of whom are on their fourth, fifth, or sixth fund at this stage. We have helped our clients navigate billion-dollar fundraises, high-stakes financial transactions, impeccable firm operations, and impactful AGMs. These critical moments, and all the smaller ones we support in between, determine whether a firm merely survives or flourishes.
The venture market has only grown more competitive, particularly in the last five years. Beyond returns, one of the best ways to truly stand out is to run an exceptional shop with operational rigor, investment discipline, and an effective strategy execution plan. That is the work we've built Strut around.
When I started Strut, I couldn't have imagined being invited into some of the rooms we now help create. Referrals, alliances, and community have been the bedrock of who I am from the very beginning, and with Strut, it's only grown stronger.
None of what came after would exist without the clients who trusted us before we had a track record to point to, many of whom are still with us today. You let us into the details and made the work matter. Thank you.
Beyond client trust, Strut could not have accomplished all of this without our incredibly talented team, all of whom are deeply passionate and dedicated to the work we do. The market will keep shifting, and the firms we serve will keep raising the bar, but I'm confident this team will consistently deliver excellence in every moment, in everything we do.
After ten years, there's nothing else I'd rather be building. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone in my orbit who helped carry Strut to a milestone of this magnitude. Sincerely, thank you.
If you'd like to learn more about what Strut can do for your firm, I'd love to connect.