Lessons From KKR and Jay-Z Inform Her Vision of Tomorrow's Creators

Long before Vania Schlogel founded Atwater Capital to invest in digital content creation, she was used to standing out. Growing up in a small town in Idaho, she escaped the cold winters for Los Angeles’s Koreatown, where she helped her mother sell homemade kimchi. In her early years in finance, she felt the isolation of being a rare gay woman of color. Later, at KKR & Co., she saw the early promise of buying music rights and, as chief investment officer at Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, she helped build the music streaming business Tidal. Today, Atwater Capital, which Schlogel started in Los Angeles in 2017, manages $140 million and has backed businesses including Stockholm-based Epidemic Sound AB and Mare of Easttown producer Wiip. Schlogel, who turns 38 in January, spoke with Bloomberg Markets in October about her career, the leadership lessons she learned from Jay-Z and KKR co-founder George Roberts, and how she’s connecting content creators in Europe and the U.S. with partners in South Korea. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

MELISSA KARSH : Looking back, what from your childhood led you to finance?