VCs off the Record

On this week’s episode, we sit down with Oliver Libby, co-founding Managing Partner of H/L Ventures and CityRock Venture Partners. The H/L family of companies represents a new kind of venture firm, dedicated to building high-growth businesses that add value to society, with a strong preference for diverse founding teams.  In addition to H/L Ventures, Mr. Libby is also Chair & Co-Founder of The Resolution Project, Inc., a non-profit which works with undergraduate students launching new socially-responsible ventures.  Resolution supports hundreds of young social entrepreneurs in more than 80 countries and across the United States.

Mr. Libby was recently recognized by Crains New York Business’ first ever diversity program awards and has been featured in the New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Reuters for his work as an impact leader. 

Listen in as we dive into the issues in Venture Capital world today, the new face of innovation, and how diversity is everyone’s responsibility.

You won’t want to miss this!

We are back for Season 3 and we are SO excited! We are kicking it off with an amazing entrepreneur, Courtne Smith, founder and CEO of NewNew, a social decision-making app that lets you vote to control the outcome of other people’s lives. 

Prior to NewNew, Courtne spent over a decade on Grammy-award winning artist Drake's management team where she handled his business endeavors and special projects. She is a born entrepreneur with a flair for fashion and innovation and attributes her success to her relentless and resilient spirit. Alongside her business partner, Filip Diarra, Smith has founded a hair-extension line called Tharen, a giveaway game app called Suprize. Her latest innovation, NewNew, has been backed by huge investors like Will Smith, Andreessen Horowitz and more.

Courtne is also one of less than 20 Black female founders in tech to have built an eight-figure, venture backed company. She is a true WOCstar! 

Join us as we get real real with Courtne about everything from raising those first dollars as WOC in Tech to what has led to her continued success in all of her endeavors. Listen now!  

As a former tech founder himself and a relentless advocate for underrepresented founders, Brian Brackeen has witnessed the difficulties of raising capital while black and has made it his mission to provide meaningful mentorship and funding in and outside Silicon Valley. Last year, Brian, alongside his wife and co-General Partner, Candice, launched Lightship Capital, a first-of-its-kind $50 million venture fund for underrepresented founders in the Midwest. The groundbreaking partnership with SecondMuse Capital will invest in early-stage startups launched by people of color, women, veterans, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities in the Midwest and the South (“all the places other investors fly over or vacation in, including Miami,” Brian said).

Their hope for the fund is to make the VC world accessible to all founders and to provide much-needed funding that allows minority-founded startups not only to survive, but to thrive, and to create a more equitable future.

Join us in the first of our new series, Raising While Black, as we chat with Brian about his experiences as a black male founder and investor. This is one you won’t want to miss!

We all know you need money to make money but you also need to "bank" money to use it especially as our world becomes more reliant on technology and touch-free. However, many lower-income, immigrants, and even young people do not have access to traditional financial services like banks. This week’s guest, Capway founder Sheena Allen, hopes to change this for the “underbanked” by restoring trust in and a fair banking system with her latest app.

Allen, a serial entrepreneur at heart, grew up in a small town with one bank. As a result, the people in her community, including family and friends, would keep their money in their home or use other fee-heavy alternative banking options.

She created her very first app with little tech experience and has since developed into an app machine, with five apps under her belt to date. In 2016, Allen had the idea to create the app and digital bank, Capway, which gave Sheena the title as the youngest female in America to own and operate a digital bank. The fintech company connects underserved millennials and Gen Z to today’s cashless economy.

Join us as we chat with Sheena about the challenges of banking while Black as well as what it takes to launch an app in this digital world. 

Entrepreneurs and investors - you won't want to miss this! 

Well, the data is out there! A new report, Project Sage 3.0, from the Wharton Social Impact Initiative and consulting firm Catalyst at Large finds a dramatic increase in gender lens investing over the last few years, and helps to demystify the stigma around impact and gender lens investing.

On this week’s episode, we sit down with one of the leading experts in the field, Suzanne Biegel, Founder of Catalyst at Large and globally renowned speaker on gender-smart investing. She is also Co-Founder of the GenderSmart Investing Summit and co-author of Project Sage 3.0. Her work spans research, field building, and consulting in the area of gender-smart investing.

Join us as we discuss how applying a gender lens to impact investing and using powerful data can bridge the funding gap and build resilient communities even in times of crisis. The data is there and the time is NOW!

LISTEN NOW! 

On today's episode, Diana sits down with Vicki Vasilopoulos, co-founder of  TheElysians.com, a platform for the U.S. market featuring exclusive, hand-crafted, fashion pieces, jewelry, and accessories made in Greece. These inspiring creators preserve their renowned Hellenic culture by reviving traditional techniques – like weaving and embroidery -- in a contemporary and sophisticated style that appeals to American consumers. Vicki and Elysians co-founder, Athina, recently received a $4,000 crowdfunded loan through WE Fund Crowd and Kiva which they attribute to saving their business during the pandemic. The loan of $4,000 will provide working capital to pay for the rising costs of wholesale inventory, fulfillment, and marketing. Join us in welcoming Vicki and Diana discuss the struggles of entrepreneurship and how WE NYC and crowdfunding has helped Vicki survive this past year.

Our next episode is part of our bi-monthly podcast between the WOCstar Fund and the NYC Department of Small Business Services’ WE NYC Initiative featuring the stories of women entrepreneurs in the NYC community! As WE NYC celebrates their 5th anniversary this month, we will wrap our series with a very special guest and one of our personal heroes, NYC SBS Commissioner Jonnel Doris.

As Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), Jonnel Doris is charged with running a dynamic City agency focused on equity of opportunity, that leads to economic self-sufficiency and mobility for New York City's diverse communities. SBS actively connects New Yorkers to good jobs, creates stronger businesses, and builds a thriving economy in neighborhoods across the five boroughs.

We sat down with the Commissioner to chat about the impact of small business owners and the  power of community and collaboration. Doris explains the many ways in which SBS is helping entrepreneurs through amazing initiatives like WE NYC and BE NYC  and how he is committed to raising up our strong and diverse entrepreneurs. To quote the Commissioner, “small businesses are brilliant and resilient and we will get through this!”

Entrepreneurs, allies - you won’t want to miss this one!

Listen now and check out we.nyc and BE NYC for more information!

Our next episode is part of our bi-monthly podcast between the WOCstar Fund and the NYC Department of Small Business Services’ WE NYC Initiative featuring the stories of women entrepreneurs in the NYC community! In part two of this series, we sat down with Deepti Sharma, CEO and Founder of Food to Eat,  an online marketplace where local businesses can order team meals from the best local restaurants, food trucks and caterers. Her goal is to help businesses feed employees great food and build stronger work cultures, while also helping local mom & pop food vendors - many of whom are immigrants - use technology to build sustainable catering businesses. We spoke with Deepti about her entrepreneurial journey and how her mission to serving underrepresented communities led to her involvement with WE NYC and now as a candidate for City Council. 

Entrepreneurs, investors, and allies -  you must listen to this episode!  Check out we.nyc for more information!

Our next episode is part of our bi-monthly podcast between the WOCstar Fund and the NYC Department of Small Business Services’ WE NYC Initiative featuring the stories of women entrepreneurs in the NYC community! As WE NYC celebrates their 5th anniversary this month, we will highlight a few of the instrumental figures of this incredible initiative beginning with a very special guest, Diana Franco, Executive Director of WE NYC. We sat down with Diana to discuss the many programs and resources they offer for women entrepreneurs like virtual events, mentorship, educational workshops, legal assistance, and capital access products at no cost. As huge fans of WE NYC, we cannot wait for you to hear more! 

Listen now and check out we.nyc for more information!

Living Cities, a non-profit dedicated to providing “economic security for all,” recently commissioned Figure 8 Thinking to conduct their study – Radical Collaboration for Black Wealth Creation - examining philanthropy's role in addressing this disparity. Join us for an insightful discussion with Natalie Nixon and Peri Higgins about the report and the power of partnership and creativity.

Natalie W. Nixon, PhD, is a creativity strategist, global speaker and president of Figure 8 Thinking, LLC. She emboldens companies to apply creativity and foresight for transformative business results. She is the author of The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation and Intuition at Work and Strategic Design Thinking: Innovation in Products, Services Experiences and Beyond.

Peri Higgins' experience spans the investment banking, private equity, real estate and consulting industries. She is currently the President of Evolve Advisors, a management consulting firm that advises corporate and non-profit clients. Prior to her work in consulting, Peri raised $10 million to establish two real estate funds and managed the private equity portfolio of a privately held company.

Listen now to our discussion with these fabulous WOCStars! 

In this episode, we join Matt Rickard, COO and Co-Founder of Task.io, a tech company focused on creating positive impact.

With over 20 years working with early stage, fast growing companies, Matt has become a bit of a serial entrepreneur but always maintained a focus on positive social impact. He attributes this to a 2008 trip to a tsunami orphanage which inspired Matt to get involved in the social sector.  With his extensive experience working with early stage, fast growing companies, he has launched a number of social enterprise projects including his recent project, Task.io. The mission of Task is to provide tools that support the social and environmental missions of socially aware businesses & organizations. As businesses change their models around the globe this year, the Task team continues to help businesses connect to their mission and expanded their efforts around the globe. 

Join us as we chat with Matt about what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur while still making a difference with his work. Entrepreneurs, investors and allies - listen up to learn how you can make a difference!  

In her role as Senior Manager of Global Impact at Salesforce.Org, Samira is focused on impact measurement and the SDGs and has worked on global social impact and innovation across corporations, governments, and the social sector for over twelve years. Samira's work spans the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia. She is a former strategy /management consultant at Accenture; and while with A.T. Kearney in Southeast Asia, played a leading role in starting their social impact organization. Samira is also passionate about youth empowerment toward the SDGs and gender.

We sat down with Samira to chat about social entrepreneurship and the power of using both technology and philanthropy to make a significant difference. Listen in as we discuss some of her #BigIdeas2020 and how we can get there with technology and innovation.

In our second episode of the series, we sit down with Beatrice Dixon, founder of the popular plant-based, black-owned feminine care brand The Honey Pot Company. Dixon is 1 of the first 40 women of color to raise $1 million in venture capital. It all started with a dream and a $21,000 loan! Today, The Honey Pot is a multi-million dollar company that sells plant-based feminine care products such as affordable natural washes, wipes, tampons, panty sprays, pads, lubricants and other herbal products at Target, Walmart, and multiple retailers.

As Dixon continues to grow her Honey Pot empire, she reflects on the challenges of spearheading a company through these challenging times and shares her experience fundraising as a Black female founder.

Join us as we chat about her entrepreneurial journey and the philosophy of amplifying your business and your voice “in stereo.”

To kick off Season 2, we’ve teamed up with WE.NYC to showcase tech entrepreneurs from all backgrounds who are defying these odds, and taking new routes to enter this sector. In our first installment of the series, we chat with LatinX entrepreneur Alexandra Zatarain, the co-founder and CMO of Eight Sleep, a technology company focused on helping people sleep better through data and connected home products. The company makes high-tech mattresses and sleep products to turn bedtime into recovery time—filled with healthcare insights and analytics–with hope of sleep quality translating to life quality.

Join us as we talk w/ Zatarain about her journey as a LatinX entrepreneur and how she is giving back to other Latin entrepreneurs through her mentorship with WE.NYC.

If you are an entrepreneur,  investor, or an ally, this is one episode you do not want to miss

In this episode, we sat down with Noramay Cadena, co-founder of MiLA Capital, a LA-based seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in tech you can touch. With MiLA’s extensive experience in manufacturing and supply chain, they are helping startup founders tackle production challenges and get to market in a capital-efficient manner. In 2020, she was named one of 50 renowned women globally in robotics and one of the top 100 influential Latinas in the United States. We chatted with Noramay about her journey as both entrepreneur and VC and her excitement at the growing intersection of technology and manufacturing. Listen in for some fabulous advice from this badass WOC!

If you are like us, you are a huge fan of Showtime’s drama series “Billions” and secretly wish you were Bobby Axelrod or maybe you are a Chuck fan. We promise not to tell! Either way, you may be afraid of the SEC and a little confused about what they actually do. In this episode, we had the honor of chatting with Martha Miller, Director of the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation at the SEC. We discussed how she is making the SEC a “hip” and very helpful place for small businesses and new investors alike in her role as Director of the SEC’s newest office. Entrepreneurs, investors, and allies - listen up as this is one of the best episodes yet!

On this week’s podcast, we are joined by one of our very own WOCstar founders and companies that we’ve invested in, Jessica O. Matthews. Check out an honest discussion about her journey and training to be an inventor, venture-backed entrepreneur, and a fabulous unapologetic black woman. Learn how her team is using focus, resilience and grit to make energy accessible to all. Ms. Matthews’ many accomplishments include: two degrees from Harvard, 11 patents and a Harvard Foundation Scientist of the Year award. All this has led to her transforming our daily lives society in a big way as an inventor and CEO of Uncharted Power, a full-scale renewable energy company.

We are back with Katherine Klein, Vice Dean of Wharton Social Impact for another fascinating episode! Join us as we dig deeper into the psychology behind “selection bias” and how that has impacted not only hiring practices in business but the world of venture capital. We chatted with Katherine about her work at Wharton and how we all need to “get a little uncomfortable” with ourselves if we are going to make any sustainable progress in this movement. We never have enough time with Katherine but this episode has us very excited and hopeful about the work she’s doing! Listen now!

Join us as we sit down with Katherine Klein, Vice Dean of Wharton Social Impact (WSII) for an interview you won’t want to miss! In her unique position as Vice Dean at one of the nation’s leading business schools, Dr. Klein leads WSII’s research on the goals, structure, management and financial performance of impact investing, private equity and venture capital. She is literally shaping WSII’s vision and strategy, research, partnerships, and, in turn, the future of the investment world. We sit down with Dr. Klein to discuss how she envisions the “new normal” and the impact this will have on, not only universities, but the business world and investing in general. This interview was so good we had to break it into two episodes! You don’t want to miss it!

The founder of Zane Venture Fund’s first introduction to venture capital was not ideal. Weeks before trying to invest in a fintech startups,  her daughter was hit by a bullet when mother and daughter were innocently caught up in gun violence. Zane sustained non-life-threatening injuries and it would have been understandable if Burney decided to quit. Instead, she dug in deeper. She has recently launched a 12-week pre-capital program for diverse teams called Zane Access. In this episode, we dive into how founders can leverage the current times to find their passion and change the way they do business. Whether you are an entrepreneur or an investor, this episode will leave you with a new way to think about how you do business!

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Join this episode of “VCs off The Record” as we sit down with Harry Alford, Co-Founder of the venture development firm, humble ventures. Harry founded humble ventures to support diverse entrepreneurs and drive innovation opportunities for industry leaders. Whether in venture capital, education, or sports, Harry's career has always centered around inclusion. We chatted with Harry about his investment philosophy which focuses on innovation capabilities versus market strategy. He shares his belief that consulting and programming generate deal flow which can lead to profit. This episode is full of some fabulous nuggets and advice to use not only when investing but in how you look at the world. Listen now!