Susan Lyne's unusually broad operating career across magazines, television, e-commerce, and digital media—from founding editor of Premiere to President of ABC Entertainment to CEO of Martha Stewart Living and Gilt—shapes how she evaluates founders, as each role forced her to become a beginner again and challenge assumptions. She focuses specifically on backing founders who combine lived experience of a problem with real operating skills, particularly women building for underserved segments like deskless workers and solopreneurs, drawing from her multi-decade pattern of championing women's stories and audiences in both legacy media and tech.

• Strong advocacy for funding underrepresented talent, particularly emphasizing the value of lived experience as a business asset. She highlighted a Latina-founded media company she backed, noting that the founder's personal understanding of the Hispanic market allowed her to build a successful free streaming service for lower-income families who couldn't access traditional banking or subscription models.
• Focus on companies addressing systemic societal challenges, specifically within government technology, climate, and healthcare. For example, she expressed excitement about joining the board of a startup that streamlines interactions between citizens and local governments to accelerate progress on housing and climate goals.
• Interest in tools that empower the workforce and small businesses through emerging technology. She championed a portfolio company using generative AI to help service-based small businesses get discovered and booked, pointing out that this specific market segment has historically been deeply underserved by technology.
• Appreciation for founders who combine ambition with tactical execution and financial discipline. She frequently shares team resources regarding the specifics of building financial models that capture investor attention, suggesting that distinct, well-prepared documentation is a critical step for early-stage companies trying to secure capital.
• Support for the future of work, particularly for non-traditional or deskless employees. She celebrated a pitch competition win for a company dedicated to putting deskless workers front and center, signaling an interest in platforms that modernize employment for those outside the typical corporate office environment.