The internship program is one of the pillars of Harlem Capital that we are most proud of. Over the years we have been lucky to work with 130+ interns. Every one of them has left a mark on this firm, and they have gone on to do amazing things across the tech and investment landscape. Once a month, we catch up with an alum of the Harlem Capital internship. This month, meet:

Name: Brianna Zuniga | Current Role: Outcomes Analyst, 776

Why did you choose to apply to the Harlem Capital internship?

One of my mentors at J.P. Morgan told me about it when I said I wanted to break into VC. I’d completed the Analyst-to-Associate program at JPM and was ready to take the leap. I applied to two cohorts back-to-back and got in on the second.

How did the internship shape your career?

I 100% wouldn’t be where I am today without it. I’d been trying to break into venture for years and kept getting no’s — including an offer that was cut a week before my start date. A week later, Harlem said yes. That was the validation I needed to keep going. It was challenging, but it was confirming: I loved the work and the community; the internal team and the founders we got to work with.

What are you doing now?

I’m an analyst on the Portfolio Outcomes team at 776. Outcomes covers a lot by design: everything from a company’s first pitch call through its full lifecycle, to fundraising, to the software we build internally. My favorite weeks have all three: a founder’s first pitch, an LP conversation, and shipping a tool the team actually uses. It’s a lot of surface area for an analyst, and that’s honestly the draw.

What excites you most about AI?

I buy into the abundance framework, “AI for human flourishing” energizes me more than the doom-and-gloom. One portfolio company I love is Monumental Labs, which pairs robotics with human craftsmanship to carve marble and stone. It’s an onshore American manufacturing story, and about making shared spaces beautiful again. It’s easy to imagine a Ready Player One world where everything physical is hideous and we live in simulation. I’d rather bet on the opposite: AI enabling human relationships, mastery, presence.

What advice do you have for aspiring VCs?

It’s cliche and abstract, but be yourself. Venture only works when you’re in full alignment with who you are and what you care about. That’s also what makes breaking in so hard. It has to be the right time, firm, team, and thesis all at once. I got plenty of rejections that made no sense to me at the time. Now that I understand the industry a bit more, they all do. Trust the process.

And one last piece: really care about people. Venture is a relationship business. It’s easy to over-index on what you know or do and forget that nurturing relationships — especially in the age of AI — matters most. 

About Harlem Capital

Harlem Capital is a venture capital firm that backs the next generation of winners. The firm partners with exceptional founders with the irrational motivation to build generational companies. All Winners Welcome.

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