# Kristen Ostro

> Kristen Ostro is the founder and CEO of Strut Consulting, a venture capital consulting firm she launched in 2016 after operations roles at NEA, Homebrew, Xfund, and Zetta. She also founded VIA, formerly Let’s Talk Ops, a community for venture operators and platform professionals. Her work centers on fund operations, finance, investor relations, and professional development for the people who run venture firms.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Strut Consulting; Founder & Managing Director at VIA
- **Organizations:** Strut Consulting, VIA (formerly Let’s Talk Ops), New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Homebrew, Xfund, Zetta Venture Partners, Baker & McKenzie, Tower Records
- **Education:** B.S. in Business Administration, Towson University
- **Known for:** Founded Strut Consulting in 2016 and expanded it from a solo practice to a team of more than 20 professionals by its June 2026 anniversary., Built VIA, formerly Let’s Talk Ops, a community described by Strut as having 250 VC operations professionals., Helped establish operational infrastructure at Homebrew, Xfund, and Zetta after five years at NEA.

## Career timeline

- **2003** — Became executive assistant to Tower Records CFO DeVaughn Searson after finding the opportunity through Craigslist.
- **—** — Supported the executive director of Baker & McKenzie in San Francisco and Palo Alto, and worked at a licensed broker-dealer.
- **—** — Spent five years as an executive assistant and West Coast marketing coordinator at New Enterprise Associates.
- **2013** — Joined Homebrew during the launch of its first fund, serving as director of operations.
- **—** — Served as director of operations at Xfund and held an operations role at Zetta.
- **2016** — Founded Strut Consulting as a solo practice.
- **2017** — Started the peer community Let’s Talk Ops.
- **2020** — Began scaling Strut beyond a solo practice, with help from Kelly O’Rourke and Nicole Fuller.
- **2025** — Refreshed Strut’s brand and renamed Let’s Talk Ops as VIA.
- **2026** — Marked Strut’s tenth anniversary, reporting a team of more than 20 serving more than 65 VC firms across the US, Europe, and Asia.

## Achievements

- Founded Strut Consulting in 2016 and expanded it from a solo practice to a team of more than 20 professionals by its June 2026 anniversary.
- Built VIA, formerly Let’s Talk Ops, a community described by Strut as having 250 VC operations professionals.
- Helped establish operational infrastructure at Homebrew, Xfund, and Zetta after five years at NEA.
- Featured in a November 2023 Wall Street Journal career article about executive assistants becoming business leaders.
- Spoke on the EA Ignite Spring 2024 panel in Nashville.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — VIA’s Vancouver summit ran September 29-October 1, 2026, and public company updates reported the gathering had concluded.
- **2026-06** — Published Ten Years of Strutting Forward on June 16, marking Strut’s tenth anniversary and reporting more than 20 professionals serving more than 65 VC firms.
- **2026-04** — Appeared on Out There with Lorraine Sanders in an episode published April 13 about consulting, community, scaling Strut, and VIA.
- **2025-10** — Published the announcement of the Let’s Talk Ops rebrand to VIA on October 22.
- **2025-09** — Announced Strut Consulting’s refreshed brand and explained the two meanings of its name.

## Links

- Website: https://www.strutconsulting.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenostro/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/KristenOstro

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kristen-ostro
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-10