It’s easy to understand why venture capitalists pattern match. What worked before might work again. Makes sense, right? So the wire transfers go into the accounts of people who look like the successful founders who came before - usually white, male engineers from a handful of cities, who went to (and often dropped out of) specific colleges.
I get it. I just don’t accept it. Pattern-matching is lazy, and it’s leaving a lot of worthy founders out (and a lot of money on the table). Venture capitalists should be daring, it’s right there in the title. Our job is to spot the revolutionary ideas that come next, the ones that will shape the future. Replaying the things that worked yesterday is not in the job description.
I’m a Latina woman who was born in a small New England town and attended a small women’s college in Virginia. I didn’t match the pattern as a founder, and I don’t match the pattern as an investor. It took another woman of color, Ann Miura-Ko, hearing my pitch to open up opportunities for me within the world of tech. When I later made the transition into venture and joined Fuel as a General Partner, I thought a lot about the chance Ann took on me.
Having had the experience on both the founder and investor side, one thing is clear to me: venture capitalism is broken for people of color and women. The more GPs we have with a different life experience, the more diversity we’ll see at the founder level.
That’s why I’m thrilled to share that Chris and I have both joined forces with Screendoor - a collaborative effort to expand diversity within the venture capital ecosystem.
Screendoor launches today with more than $50 million in commitments from similarly forward-looking investors. The goal? To spark a virtuous cycle of wealth creation for underrepresented fund managers.
Started by a group of impatient early-stage investors who’ve had the experience of building their own firms, Screendoor is designed to identify high-potential emerging managers and then back them up with the capital, access, and network they need to get from start to success. I believe doing this work at the investor level will create a faster impact on diversity and inclusion at the founder level as well.
Chris and I see our participation in Screendoor as a continuation of the efforts we’ve been making within our own firm. At Fuel, we’ve prioritized getting money into the hands of underrepresented founders. Nearly half of all the dollars invested from our latest fund are in companies with a diverse founder, and more than 1 out of 3 companies in that fund have at least one underrepresented founder.
Over the coming years, Screendoor will make 12-15 investments in firms that have at least one Partner from an underrepresented segment. All founding Venture Advisors are investors in the fund itself, and none of us will draw fees or take carry. If you’re a founder, operator, or investor who wants to get involved - please reach out.
Diversity is an issue that has been talked about ad nauseam for years. How do we actually deliver on it? By moving beyond the rhetoric and surfacing investors from everywhere, then giving them the resources and support they need to run.
Leah