Meet Christine: M13's Head of Brand Communications on Navigating Crisis and The Importance of Storytelling

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Christine Choi is not your typical venture capitalist. A veteran of both the corporate and nonprofit worlds, she’s mastered the art of translating the scrappy startup mentality into any environment—be it boardrooms or space hangars. With a reputation for building deep, authentic networks that turn even weak ties into formidable connections, her playbook focuses on the humans at the center of every story. 

As a brand leader, Christine’s passion for storytelling is rooted in a genuine curiosity that turns mundane details into captivating narratives. Whether she’s championing the voices of engineers on the factory floor or navigating a crisis with poise, she remains unwavering in her commitment to authenticity.

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Christine has made a career of embracing uncertainty. “Crisis doesn’t have to be scary, and pivoting is not a bad word,” she says. “I've made many career pivots, from public education and arts nonprofits, to music festivals and cannabis, to flying cars and commercial space. These decisions were driven by curiosity and wanting to learn more.”

As someone who values listening as the most important leadership skill, Christine’s not just about occupying the space at the table—she’s about creating space for others, encouraging them to join in the conversation. You’ll find her crafting narratives that celebrate the underdogs, the creatives, and the genuine leaders shaping tomorrow.

We sat down with her to talk about communication, community, and M13’s model of working with founders. 

Christine’s recent publications

• M13’s RocketGuide to Early-Stage PR and Communications
• Startup Comms Strategies from Unlikely Sources: Casey Neistat, Stacy London, and Dan Porter in Conversation
• How to Make the News: The Dos and Don’ts of Pitching Reporters
• 4 Lessons on Mental Wellness for Founders
• AI, Crypto, and Riding Hype Cycle Waves with Brad and Latif

On crisis and communication

What is a common misconception people have about brand, comms, or PR? 

One misconception I see is the idea that crisis is scary. Crisis can be an opportunity to bring teams together and reset an understanding of how we work together, how we communicate, and what it is we know about what we’re doing. 

I often get questions about the crisis playbook I helped build almost ten years ago, when the Virgin Galactic flight test accident happened. This was the early days of the commercial space industry. The accident stirred concern that it would be the end of the industry, because the spaceflight program was being tested, trust was being built, and it was such a tragic event. Some people said, well, commercial space people don’t know what they’re doing. They’re not trustworthy. They’re moving too fast and not thinking about safety. When in fact, none of those things were true. 

This crisis was an opportunity to ask: How can we communicate better with the general public, regulatory partners, and our own community? Especially with new pioneering tech, it’s important to include stakeholders on the journey of vision, process, and progress. Most founders won’t have to face a crisis with such high stakes, but in existential moments, teams will rally around their true mission and why it matters.

I think early-stage companies in particular are well-equipped to deal with the unexpected, because they’re constantly experimenting and responding to change.

Can you share a storytelling tip founders might not have heard before? 

Underdogs have a lot more fun! When you're obscure or not the incumbent, there are more ways for you to be creative and flex your freshness—and not fall back on safe corporate speak.

What’s something you learned from your time in the commercial space industry? 

In new tech movements—like commercial space, AI, or blockchain—there’s inspiration in uncovering the stories of people building industries and adoption that may not yet exist. Spark trust and understanding with fresh voices and authentic stories from “the hangar floor.” 

What’s a comms trend you don’t like right now? 

Quantity over quality. You may have raised a lot of capital, but a movement is energized by the right people.  

How are you thinking about AI and community right now? 

AI is a reminder to flex our humanness. In a time when we are trying to seek even greater efficiencies and answers with the help of AI, I love that people are seeking out other people more than ever. We’re seeking humans to curate experiences, ideas, and information. 

A community expert once told me, “Curation is one inch away from comfort.” I love that idea, and I think at M13 we do that with things like Future Perfect, where our community expects to hear from unlikely pairings of experts to take us in unexpected directions and to insights you didn’t know you need to know.

What makes a founder stand out to you? 

Purpose. If a founder feels a tremendous amount of conviction about what they're doing, it’s infectious. They attract and retain talent, investors, and partners. You can't do anything alone, so it's really important to express purposeful passion that gets other people buzzing and excited to be part of what they’re building.  

Brand sits at the center of so much. Storytelling might start out with something seemingly tactical, but it ends up being so much more than that.

What parts of your experience in nonprofits and commercial space are relevant to the work you do with founders today? 

Communication is more than “get me press” or “make me viral.” It aligns teams by bringing the mission and values back up front to reinforce the why and how—and clarifies behavior that no longer serves the company. 

One thing I appreciate about the Propulsion team is working collaboratively with others, including Matt Hoffman, our Head of People. He has a similar approach to communications, brand building, and focus on people. 

When there are challenges that come up with portfolio companies and their teams, Matt and I encourage founders and their executives to think first about people; make sure that bad news or a change is communicated quickly and with a lot of empathy; and make decisions with respect for the impact they’ll have on people’s lives. We help product leaders become company leaders.

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M13 and beyond

What made you want to join M13? 

Pursuing deep, immersive learning in a new sector and contributing fresh thinking and transferable skills sums up my career journey. My friends call it “Christine swimming upstream.”  It’s important to work alongside genuinely good people. I got lucky fast on the founding team of Teach for America, and then again at KIPP, and then at Virgin, where I worked with Richard Branson and other leaders to build new Virgin companies and industries like commercial space. When it came to venture capital, I knew Carter and Latif as friends, brothers, and husbands of people I adore. That familiarity accelerated my trust in their vision for M13.

What is something most people don’t know about you? 

I used to be fluent in Swedish. I went to elementary school in Stockholm when the only option for me was French language or Swedish school for diplomats’ kids. People think I still have it in me—but I haven’t been back to test that theory. 

Outside of M13, what’s a project you’re working on right now? 

One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is, "Why did you leave Virgin?" I’m writing a book about change, professional transitions, and saying goodbye, something I’m quite bad at. It was something I had to consistently do as a kid when we moved countries. That might explain why community is so important to me. My friend Sylvia says I’m a translator who understands the different languages of communities and can bridge them. And my relationship with Richard is even better now than when I was at Virgin. 

Lightning round

First job? 

In high school, I sold movie tickets at a local fine arts theater.

Guilty pleasure?

Resting with my cats, watching British procedural crime dramas. 

Daily habit? 

I’ve been getting into strength training at my very non-bro-y gym.

Music recommendation? 

Right now I'm having a renewed love affair with WBGO, the Newark-based jazz radio station.

If you weren’t working in tech or venture, what would you be doing?

I’d be writing a travel blog. 

And as a travel writer, where would you be going? 

Oh wow—where wouldn’t I be going?

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