吉米斯科蒂是8VC公司的創始合伙人，8VC是一家專注醫療領域科技創業的風投公司。她領投的創業公司有uBiome、Blink Health和Honor Elder Care等。在專職從事風投前，她曾經創辦過一家直接面對消費者的醫療公司Script Relief，和一家女性醫療健康公司Monthly Gift。

在最近接受《財富》采訪過程中，斯科蒂談到了她的運營經驗給她的投資策略帶來了哪些幫助，為什么她不介意創業者半夜給她打電話，以及“悄悄話網絡”都在硅谷做了哪些事。

《財富》：你的個人職業發展歷程很有意思，首先是入職時尚行業，然后是自己創業，現在又進入了投資行業。你的運營經驗對你現在的投資決策有哪些影響？

斯科蒂：我很幸運曾經擁有17年的運營經驗。我可以花很多時間跟創業蹲在同一個戰壕里，幫助他們解決一些常見的問題。他們跟我談的理念和挑戰都不是純理論上的，而是具有一定可行性的，因為很多都是基于我自己的實際經驗。這讓我對很多事很容易上手，而且我對創業者所處的情形也更容易感同身受，這種優勢是很多其他投資者不具備的。

你告訴創業者們可以凌晨三點打給話給你，為什么？

斯科蒂：這個問題我稱之為“凌晨三點原則”。在研究一筆我打算領投的投資時，我經常會選擇在凌晨三點做思考。換句話說，如果現在就是凌晨三點鐘，如果這個創業者給我打來電話，我到底想不想接？如果在我困得不行的時候，這個創業者的電話還能讓我從床上跳下來，說明我真的非常看好他。如果我在凌晨三點沒有起床接你的電話的興趣，那我就不應該繼續投資你的公司。

我之所以經常提到“凌晨三點”原則，是因為我有一半時間待在舊金山，另一半時間待在紐約，因此大家經常不知道我在哪。如果你在半夜三點還在工作，這時候你給我打電話，我很有可能會接的。我的電話經常在半夜響起，經常是遇到問題的創業者打來的。我希望投資者如果遇到問題不要瞞著我，希望他們能沒有心理負擔地給我打電話請求幫助。

你認為你的同事們也會在半夜三點接電話嗎？

斯科蒂：如果能就這個問題做個非正式調查那就太有意思了。我認為我遇見這種情況的概率要比我的男同事多。這有兩個原因；第一，作為一個女人，我天生顯得比較柔和。我是一個待人溫和的人，這能在很大程度上改變你和一個人的關系。另外我還是意大利裔，這也給了你一種熱情感——我不光會接你的電話，說不定還會給你做個宵夜。第二，由于我自己也有創業的經驗，所以他們知道我或許也經歷過類似的情形。

你以前曾說過，你喜歡成為全是男人的環境中的唯一的女人，你能說詳細點嗎？

斯科蒂：很多人都提到過作為這個行業中的少數女性之一所面臨的挑戰。然而我認為，很多時候這種身份也是有好處的。首先，你很容易給別人留下印象，因為你是屋子里唯一的一個女人。在這個行業，要想讓創業者源源不斷地來找你，首先要讓他們記住你這個人，讓他們知道你是他們要找的人，知道你是一個很好的合作伙伴。要在幾百個男人里記住一個女人是很容易的。另外，作為女人，我們的消費觀也跟男人不一樣。很多人為男人才是消費主力的東西其實是被女人買走了，比如汽車。作為消費者，女人的消費觀是很獨特的。作為從事消費業務的投資人，這也是一個很大的優點。

另一方面，你認為風投業需要更多的女性風投資本家嗎？

斯科蒂：是的，我們絕對需要更多的女性風投資本家，我也一直致力于為行業培養更多的女性風投。我經常半開玩笑地說，所有聰明的女孩應該團結起來。我也一直在尋找與女性創業者和投資者合作的方法。我們公司的投資組合里就很幸運地擁有幾位極其優秀的女性創業者，她們致力于解決一些大問題，我對此感到非常驕傲。

去年，女性創業者只獲得了融資總額的2%。怎樣才能改變這種局面？

斯科蒂：坦率地說，要做的有很多。我認為，隨著一批女性創業者功成身退，她們也會成為投資人，希望她們也能投資多元化的創業者群體，尤其是面向其他女性創業者。在8VC公司，我們投資的創業者有男有女，都很優秀，因為我們只想投資那些杰出的創業人，不過我認為多樣化的團隊往往意味著更優秀的公司。

女性創業者創辦的企業應該能夠解決女性的問題。我認為在很長一段時間里，很多男性創辦的公司自認為他們也能解決女性的問題。比如你可以看看50多年來快消行業的廣告話術。有的衛生棉條包裝盒上印著一個女人在打排球，她還穿著一條白褲子。這給人造成了一種對女性居高臨下的感覺，完全跟不上今天的時代。我認為，這個廣告的策劃顯然不是一個女人做的。

請你再解釋一下，為什么一個女人穿白褲子打排球，就會讓人覺得對女性居高臨下？

斯科蒂：因為你知道，第一，這不是你來月經時的感受；第二，這不是你來月經時會做的活動。這廣告實在有點愚蠢。這種產品和廣告的話術實際上是蠱惑你隱藏自己來月經這件事兒，根本不注重女性的感受。

讓我用Monthly Gift舉個例子。Monthly Gift這家公司將科技（一款月經追蹤器和一款生殖健康應用）和一款女性快消產品有機結合了起來，但它是讓人愉悅的，而不是讓人感覺居高臨下的。Monthly Gift的話術會給女性以力量感和誠實感，我認為這就是為什么人們這么喜歡我們的產品。

從2017年你聽說過的所有這些創業計劃看，哪些新興趨勢讓你最注目？

斯科蒂：有很多計劃都著眼于解決便利性的問題，但我認為便利性在醫療行業不是個問題。我們的投資組合中有一個很好的例子就是Blink Health，這家公司正在降低處方藥的價格。我認為處方藥市場是個完全碎片化的市場，我從2011年左右就開始關注并參與這個領域。而Blink Health為市場帶來了某種透明性，它正在以一種前所未見的方式重振這個行業。很多藥品銷售平臺和主打便利性的創業公司的創業者都只看到了片面的問題。如果你深入研究這個領域，你很快就會發現，便利性在醫療保健行業并不是一個真正的問題，成本才是。

風投界最近發生了一些性騷擾丑聞。人們應該如何應對和解決這個問題？

斯科蒂：這個問題顯然很長時間以來都是一個大問題，我覺得現在它受到關注是一件好事，而且女性朋友們也有了一個平臺去討論她們遭遇的問題。

很多女性現在都在這個所謂的“悄悄話網絡”上傳遞信息，告訴其他女性可以跟誰共事，又要盡量避開哪個人。坦率地說，很長時間以來，女人都是靠八卦活著的。我們會悄悄互相提醒：“不要跟這個男的共事”，或者“跟那個男的共事沒關系，他是安全的”。

現在對這些問題有了更強大的舉報工具，我們也能更好地舉報自身遭遇的性騷擾和虐待等問題了。顯然，舉報這些問題的義務仍然要由女性來承擔。從我個人經驗看，舉報這種事讓很多女性感到恐懼。但我覺得現在要比過去30多年好了一些，因為你不用直面這些恐懼，而是可以把它隱藏在一個悄悄話網絡里進行傳播。隨著風投界和創業界的女性越來越多，我認為這也是打破“男性俱樂部”的唯一方法。

在你們公司前身還是Formation 8的時候，你曾擔任過它的顧問。那時候，創始人喬·朗斯代爾也遭到了性騷擾的指控。（不過所有相關指控最后都撤銷了。）有了這種教訓，你和你的公司現在采取了什么不一樣的做法嗎？

斯科蒂：這些指控很快就撤銷了，它們是極惡劣且不真實的。雖然在Formation 8時代我只是一個顧問，但是無論當時還是現在，我們對所有找到我們的創業者都報以同樣的尊重。這一點對我們非常重要，我們并不因為創業者的性別而對他們區別對待。對我們來說，戰場是公平的。

說到性騷擾，我認為如果你遇到了這種事，還是有辦法可以舉報的。如果一個女性創業者遇到了這種問題，比如很多女性創業者可能不在我們公司，但是卻是我的朋友或同事，她們就會找我來幫忙。我既是女人，也是一個風投合伙人，我覺得這樣的話，就會使問題有一個軟著路。

你獲得的最好的商業建議是什么？

斯特蒂：別人給我的最好的一個建議，就是不要讓別人決定我能帶來什么價值。我的背景既不是金融也不是投資，所以當我創辦8VC、第一次與創業者開會、第一次做盡職調查的時候，我認為我肯定要在金融和投資上克服很多困難。

不過在遇到困難時，不要讓別人對你和你的能力的預期局限了你，要相信你的能力。除了少數人真正支持你，大多數人只想把你局限在一個盒子里，讓你為他們創造價值。幸運的是，雖然我的背景不是投資專業，但我的合伙人卻很信任我。你也不應該讓其他人決定你的價值。（財富中文網）

譯者：賈政景

Kimmy Scotti, a founding partner at 8VC, specializes in technology companies with a focus on healthcare. She led investments in uBiome, Blink Health, and Honor Elder Care. Before professionally investing, Scotti co-founded Script Relief, a direct-to-consumer healthcare company, and Monthly Gift, a women’s health and wellness company.

In a conversation with Fortune, Scotti discusses how her operating experience has helped her investment strategy, why she tells founders to call her in the middle of the night, and what “whisper networks” have done in the Valley.

FORTUNE: You’ve had an interesting career path starting in fashion, then building companies, and now investing. How has your operating experience affected your investment decisions?

SCOTTI: I feel lucky to have had experience as an operator for the past 17 years. I can spend a lot of time in the trenches with entrepreneurs helping them solve day-to-day problems. The ideas and challenges they talk about with me are not theoretical, but they are more actionable as they are based on my own experiences. It allows me to be very hands-on and have empathy for founders’ situations in a way that a lot of other investors can’t.

You tell founders they can call you at 3 a.m. Why then?

SCOTTI: I call it “The 3 a.m. Principle.” When we’re looking at an investment that I’m planning on leading internally, I try to think about it at 3 a.m. In other words, if this founder was to call me in the middle of the night right now, do I want to pick up the phone for them? If it’s something I’m jumping out of bed for when I’m most exhausted, it passes the 3 a.m. gut check. If I’m not going to wake up for you at 3 a.m. then I really shouldn’t be working on your business.

The reason I think about this so much is that I spend half the time in San Francisco and the other half in New York. That means no one ever really knows where I am. So if you call me at midnight when you are still working or you call me at 6 a.m. when you get up, there’s a pretty good chance you’re getting me at 3 a.m. My phone is constantly ringing in the middle of the night with entrepreneurs who want to throw the ball around on a challenge they’re having that they’re really worried about. I want to be that investor that when they’re having a problem, they’re not hiding from me. I want them to be comfortable enough to call for help.

Do you think your colleagues get the same calls?

SCOTTI: It’d be really funny to do an informal survey of this. I think I get more of these than my male counterparts for two reasons. One, as a woman, I’m a bit of a softer landing. I’m a warm person, and that changes your relationship with people a lot. I’m also Italian, and I think that kind of gives you a general warmth — I’ll take your call and I’ll probably make you a meatball or something. And two, because of my experience as an entrepreneur, they know that I’ve probably been in that situation before.

You’ve previously said that you actually like being the only woman in all-male rooms. Can you elaborate?

SCOTTI: People talk about the challenge of being one of very few women in this industry. I actually think that a lot of the time it’s a great benefit. For one, you’re highly memorable as the only woman in the room. In this industry, so much deal flow comes from the fact that founders remember you’re a person they should be reaching out to and that you’d be a good partner. It’s very easy to remember one of very few women in a sea of hundreds of men. Additionally, as women, we have a very different view on being consumers than men. We consume much of what you would think of as male-dominated purchases, like automobiles for instance. We have a unique perspective as purchasers, which is a huge benefit as investors in consumer businesses.

On the flip side though, do you think venture capital needs more female VCs?

SCOTTI: Oh, yes. We definitely need more female VCs, and I’m always trying to bring up other women in this industry. I always say, half in jest, that all the smart girls need to stick together. I look for ways to partner and work with other female entrepreneurs and investors. I’m very lucky to have incredible female entrepreneurs in our portfolio solving huge problems and I’m really proud of that.

Female founders received 2% of all venture funding last year. What needs to happen for this stat to change?

SCOTTI: A lot, honestly. I think that as as female entrepreneurs start to exit their companies, they will become investors and hopefully invest in diverse entrepreneurs, many of which will be female. At 8VC, we invest in great entrepreneurs — male and female. We really just want to invest in great founders, but I think more diverse teams mean better companies.

Women need to build companies that solve our problems. I think for a long time, men have been building companies they believe solve the problems of women. Look at the way CPG companies have been speaking to women for 50+ years. You look at a tampon box, and it’s got a woman playing volleyball in white pants on it — this tone is condescending and off the mark for where we are today. It’s very obvious to me that a woman didn’t make that ad.

Explain the difference in tone. Why is it condescending to see an ad of women playing volleyball in white pants?

SCOTTI: Because you know that’s A) not how you feel on your period and B) that’s not what you’d be doing on your period. It’s just a little bit silly. The tone of these commercials and products is very much about hiding your period versus feeling empowered.

I’ll use Monthly Gift as an example. It’s a company that marries technology (a period tracker and fertility app) to a CPG product (tampons and liners) that we all use every month in a way that is uplifting rather than condescending. The way Monthly Gift speaks to women is empowering and honest, and I think that’s why people are drawn to our product.

Based on every pitch you heard in 2017, which emerging trends have stuck out to you?

SCOTTI: I see a lot of pitches that address the convenience problem, or “non-problem” as I say, in healthcare. I focus on issues that are more cost-based. A good example of that in our portfolio is Blink Health, which is lowering the price of prescriptions. I think the prescription marketplace is totally broken and an area that I’ve been focused on and involved in since about 2011. Blink Health is creating transparency and rocking an industry in a way that hasn’t been done before. A lot of these drug delivery platforms and convenience-focused startups really exemplify privileged, young entrepreneurs focusing on issues that they see. If you study the space, you’ll quickly see that convenience is not really a problem in healthcare. It’s really about cost.

Sexual harassment allegations have recently come to the forefront in the venture community. How can people address and solve this problem?

SCOTTI: Obviously this has been a huge problem for a long time, and I think it’s great that it’s more front and center right now and that women have more of a platform to talk about the issues they are encountering.

Women have been passing along information about who to work with and who to avoid via this so-called “whisper network.” For a long time, women survived on gossip, frankly. We warned each other in a hushed tone — “don’t work with that guy” or “work with this guy because he’s safe.”

Now, with stronger reporting structures for these issues, we’re able to better report sexual harassment and abuse as we encounter it. Obviously, the onus is still on the women to report these issues, and from my own experience, that can be really scary. But I think it’s a better time now than it has been in the last 30+ years to push your challenge out in the real world instead of hiding it in a whisper network. As we have more women in venture and more female founders, I think that’s the only way we’ll see the break-up of the boys club.

You were an adviser to the firm back when it was Formation 8. During that time, founder Joe Lonsdale ran into allegations of his own. (All accompanying legal claims against Lonsdale have since been dropped.) Is there anything you and the firm do differently in your process as a result of that experience?

SCOTTI: Those allegations were pretty quickly dismissed. They were egregious and untrue. I was just an adviser during the F8 days, but the same was true then as it is now — we treat all founders that come in and pitch us with the same respect. That’s a point that is really important to us. We don’t treat our founders differently based on gender. For us, the playing field is level.

In terms of sexual harassment, I think there’s a clear way to report issues if you’re having them. If a female founder was having a challenge, like many other female founders that aren’t in our firm but are friends and colleagues of mine, they would reach out to me for help. I’m a woman and a partner, and I have to believe that would make reporting an issue a softer landing.

What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?

SCOTTI: The best advice anybody’s ever given me is to not let someone else determine what value I’m capable of adding. Because my background is not in finance or as an investor, I think that going into launching 8VC and walking into my first pitch meeting, or doing my first diligence, I thought I was going to have to overcome a real hurdle in the finance end of investing.

Rather than let other’s expectations of you and your abilities define what you see as your struggles, it’s up to you to believe in the power of your own ability. With the exception of a few rare people who really support you, most people will try to keep you in a box that creates value for them. I’m lucky to have partners who believed that I could do this despite my unconventional background. You shouldn’t let other people determine your value.