In Conversation With...Sarah Friar

As one of the most influential executives in Silicon Valley, when Sarah Friar speaks, people listen to what she has to say.

The Sion Mills native boasts a CV that makes us proud to have her amongst our diaspora: stints at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey and software firm Salesforce was followed by the role of CFO at Jack Dorsey’s Square, where she led one of the most successful IPOs before building a business valued at several billion. Sarah is now CEO of Nextdoor, the social networking neighbourhood hub, which has been likened to Facebook for neighbourhoods. She helped the group raise $170mn at a $2.2bn valuation last year. 

As if that wasn’t enough, Sarah also sits on the boards of retail giant Walmart and communications platform Slack.

Despite all this Sarah, finds plenty of time to give back - the self-styled “neighbourhood warrior” is also founder of Ladies Who Launch, a global organisation promoting female entrepreneurship, and is a partner in the Ormeau Baths, one of Belfast’s most successful start-up hubs.

In her own words, she is “passionate about giving women an advantage in a world that often offers them harder climbs, less investment, and an all-around tougher climate for building their businesses.”

In the first of our ‘lockdown chats’, Katie Doran talks to Sarah about the recent paradigm shift to working from home; the increased importance of community; female leadership; and the job of rebuilding businesses post-lockdown. And last but not least, her guilty pleasures during lockdown and virtual cocktail hours!

We hope you enjoy.

Watch the full video above.