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From the Editor's Desk

She's the Investor Guru for Online Creators

Li Jin, 31, began backing creators years ago. She has raised her own fund to invest in influencer-related start-ups.

Cody Ko, a YouTube star with 5.7 million subscribers, found himself in a pickle in May. Two different start-ups wanted to give him stock, and he was concerned that they were potentially competitive deals.

So Mr. Ko called someone he trusted for advice: Li Jin.

Ms. Jin, a venture capitalist, suggested that Mr. Ko, 30, be honest and upfront with the founders of both start-ups about the potential conflict of interest. He agreed and ended up pursuing just one of the deals.

"I'd never hesitate to reach out to her if I needed something," he said of Ms. Jin.

If there is such a thing as an It Girl in venture capital these days, Ms. Jin, 31, would fill the bill. She sits at the intersection of start-up investing and the fast-growing ecosystem of online creators, both of which are red hot. And while she formed her own venture firm, Atelier Ventures, just last year and has raised a relatively small $13 million for a fund, Ms. Jin was among the first investors in Silicon Valley to take influencers seriously and has written about and backed creators for years.

A Harvard graduate who was inspired by the ideas of Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, Ms. Jin is also aggressively pro-worker.

Continued here

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