This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jesse Draper, the 43-year-old founder of Halogen Ventures in Santa Monica, California. It’s been edited for length and clarity.
I’m the founder and general partner at Halogen Ventures, a venture capital firm.
I started my career as an actor and then became an entrepreneur. I decided to start Halogen in 2015 because of the lack of women in tech. We’re now on our third fund at Halogen, we have over 100 female-founded businesses, and six are valued at over $1 billion.
Here’s a day in my life in Santa Monica.
Most days, I wake up at 5 a.m. like a crazy person
I have three boys, ages 10, 8, and 5, and they’re usually up by 6, maybe 6:30 a.m. if I’m lucky, so that early hour is really the only quiet time I have.
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I usually make myself a coffee. I love my Nespresso. Sometimes I add protein, and sometimes just creamer. I’ll maybe go back to a French press for a bit, but Nespresso is my constant.
Then I go downstairs with my notebook and list for the day. Sometimes I’ll journal before digging into the news. I read the business and VC trades, check The New York Times, and look at our companies’ social feeds. After that, I get into email.
My time with my kids is in the morning
Usually, my youngest wakes up first and comes downstairs. Once I hear the footsteps, I know my quiet time is over. If he comes down before 6 a.m., I lose my mind.
Then we feed the dog and the fish. I make breakfast for the kids, usually eggs, toast, and maybe fruit. I love breakfast and can pull together a full one in three to five minutes.
I usually eat a big breakfast, too, because some days it might be my only real meal.
After that, the morning becomes a rush
I get dressed, shower, and sometimes take the kids to school. I use Yise Beauty Skin Glow, which has a little shimmer. My husband and I split drop-off, but I don’t do pickup. We have a nanny and plenty of help.
If I’m not doing drop-off, I work out. I have a trainer come to my house two to three times a week, and I’m pretty disciplined. We do runs, cross-training, and strength work.
Then I’m in the office, on Zoom, or around town for meetings. Every day is different because we have around 100 investors and 100 portfolio companies, and I’m always meeting new people.
In-person meetings are everything
Venture capital is a trust business, and I need to meet people face-to-face. I try to group my days as mostly Zoom or mostly in-person because switching between the two is hard.
I’ve told my assistant I can only handle about eight items a day. On pitch days, once or twice a month, we take up to 12 30-minute pitches. I take rigorous notes in every meeting.
I use AI for work tasks: ChatGPT, Claude, the product Harvey AI for legal, and Perplexity. I love being efficient. I use it for everything from health to work to board decks.
A couple of my favorite prompts
When you’re targeted by a consumer brand on Instagram you’ve never heard of, pop it into ChatGPT or Claude and ask, “Is this a real or fraudulent company?” Sadly, I’ve almost been scammed by numerous fraudulent companies, and this has been a great hack.
I also use: “You’re a social media strategist for (fill in the blank) consumer technology company. Please audit their socials, tell me where you believe they’re leaving money on the table, and map out a 6-month social media marketing plan with this budget in mind.”
For fundraising for founders or funds: “This is my fundraising pitch. Pretend you are a discerning potential investor. What would you ask that isn’t addressed in this deck?”
I try to schedule lunch and bathroom breaks, but they rarely happen
I often eat lunch in my car or at my computer. I’ll grab something from Kreation, like hummus and chicken, or a Starbucks protein plate. Sometimes a protein shake has to do.
I’m constantly traveling, most recently to New York, Seattle, and San Diego. We’re also doing a lot of work in Alabama because the state invested in our fund. I had never been to Alabama a year ago, and now I’ve been nine times this year.
I’m in the business of meetings, and it’s never-ending
I can’t get back to everyone or do everything. I think people often expect women to be kind and to always have 15 minutes to mentor someone. I’ve gotten much better about boundaries and saying no, but my inbox is still insane.
I stick to a weekly to-do list and constantly reprioritize. Time is my greatest resource as a VC, and I have to be intentional about how I use it.
I try to end meetings by 4 p.m. because my kids are usually home by then
I’ll come home, high-five them, and then get back to work. They’re pretty good about not interrupting. The kids eat around 5:30 p.m. I have a chef come on Wednesdays to make prepared meals for the week. Some nights are a frazzled mess, and we order in. My nanny also helps prep dinner for the kids.
I try to at least say hi during dinner, but we don’t usually have family dinner on weeknights. If the timing works, I’ll grab my food and sit with the kids.
I usually eat with my husband later, around 6:30 or 7 p.m.
On weeknights, dinner often ends with us asking, “Did we eat?” and then pulling something together after the nanny leaves and the kids are in pajamas.
On weekends, though, I’m all in. We all eat together, and I cook. I make a mean Bolognese and lasagna, and a great three-minute hot fudge sauce.
We’re deep in baseball season, so most evenings are spent at the field. My husband signed all three up, which means three separate teams, and it’s a lot. After a full day of meetings, the social side of it can be exhausting.
I used to picture it as a fun, social time with other parents, but now I’ll sometimes sit at the top of the bleachers in a hoodie, cheer on my kid, and keep to myself. Occasionally, I’ll catch up on emails or take a call from there.
My beauty routine at night is simple
I use Your Favorite Ex exfoliating pads from Yise Beauty with a tiny bit of Retin-A. They don’t dry out my face, and they take off all my makeup.
I wind down by saying goodnight to my kids. I read my youngest a book, while the older two read on their own. Then I’ll read, too. Right now, I’m rereading “Gone With the Wind.”
Usually, it puts me to sleep in about two pages.
I recently did my first triathlon
I gave myself three months to train, which forced me to schedule workouts seriously. Some days that meant training at 9 p.m. or biking in the garage while my kids ran around. It was one of the hardest mental challenges I’ve done.
I wasn’t fast and finished dead last, but I completed it. I wanted something for myself because I give so much of my time to my founders, investors, and kids.
Time is always a challenge, but I’ve learned you have to prioritize what matters. My friends have sometimes taken a back seat. I’ve also had to ask whether a dinner or a trip will make me happy or feed my soul. If not, I don’t really have time for it.
