Episode #11: Using the Enneagram in Venture Capital Investing

In this Fund81 podcast episode, we talk about something that has made our team at MergeLane better investors - the Enneagram Personality Typing System. We use the Enneagram in the work we do in Conscious Leadership. Understanding the Enneagram has forever changed the way I assess and support startup founders. To talk about how the Enneagram can help other VCs, I invited Kaley Klemp to join the podcast.

Kaley is a master Enneagram specialist, as well as a highly sought-after speaker, certified YPO Forum Facilitator, and a transformational executive coach. She helps individuals and organizations outperform their competitors by unlocking a deeper understanding of what motivates and drives people. Kaley co-authored The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, and The Drama-Free Office, and wrote The 13 Guidelines for Effective Teams.

To learn more about the Enneagram, you can start to identify your Enneagram Type by taking the Enneagram Institute’s RHETI test. I also highly recommend Kaley’s online Enneagram course.

We invite every startup founder that attends our free one-week startup Funderator program to identify their Enneagram type. This increases our understanding of the founders and their understanding of each other. For me, using the Enneagram and the work we do in Conscious Leadership helps me recognize red flags in cofounder relationships and unconscious commitments that can impede startup growth. I can better validate whether a team is truly determined to achieve the extraordinary. It helps our portfolio companies leverage their strengths to achieve seemingly impossible things and see the blind spots they couldn't see before. It helps me connect with our portfolio companies and offer support in a radically different and refreshing way.

I hope this work will help you as much as it has helped me.

Onward.