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About the Author

Jenna Birch is the Founder and Principal at SISU, a creative communications consultancy serving both venture capital firms and startups. She specializes in PR, media relations, media training, thought leadership, content strategy, pitch coaching, and cross-channel messaging and distribution.

Before SISU, Jenna led communications functions at venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. She was the VP of Narrative and Communications at NFX, as well as the Head of Content and Communications at Forerunner. In these roles, she worked as an advisor to portfolio companies in addition to building the profiles of well-known venture capitalists.

Jenna has worked extensively across sectors, increasing brand awareness for firms in consumer, enterprise, bio, digital health, fintech, e-commerce, deep tech, and more. She draws on her background as a longtime freelance journalist and author (The Love Gap, 2018, Hachette Book Group) in developing and pitching her clients’ stories.

In addition to consulting, Jenna is an angel investor and Venture Partner at Kaya Ventures. She invests in femtech, digital health, consumer tech, and financial tools. She is also the co-founder of VC Brand Leaders, a community of women platform, marketing, and communications professionals in venture capital.

What is “sisu”?

Sisu is a word that comes from Jenna’s Finnish roots with no perfect translation into English; it’s also a term that Jenna heard a lot from her grandmother growing up. Sisu means steadfast determination, grit, courage, and the ability to push through barriers where others would probably stop. It means incredible resilience.

All founders have sisu. That’s why we love working with them.