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Hello!

You may know me from my work in non-profits, philanthropy, impact investing or technology management. I am moving into the Venture Capital (VC) space professionally and am reaching out for you help with a unique opportunity to use my influence and network in expanding support for underrepresented founders.

So...What is VC? - it's a type of private equity investing in high potential areas. Venture Capitalists (ppl who invest this way) have been popularly associated with startups on shows like Silicon Valley and Shark Tank.
 
VC Unlocked is an intensive training program at Stanford (provided by 500 Startups ) with a goal to accelerate the inclusion of under represented groups on the Venture Capital sector. More info about VC Unlocked 

With the support of 3 people in my network I was nominated to apply and made it through the highly competitive process. Last week I was accepted as part of the 2019 summer cohort! The next step for me is of course, is to submit a payment to secure my spot.

Cost of attendance is $24,000. 

The program is a dedicated two weeks on Stanford campus; so this does not include the unpaid work time I will take to be present or accommodations on site.

Knowing I would be unable to pay this amount out of pocket, I applied for one of the two scholarships offered. I found out this morning that I was not among those chosen.

My participation will have huge impacts on my career and my goals to make the VC and startup world more equitable to those who share similar backgrounds to myself.

I am asking my network to contribute to the cost of attendance. If you are able, please contribute to my goal by Monday August 12th!! (If you can give at a later date please let me know and I will count it as a pledge.)

After the program I will share the wealth of knowledge I gain by holding a panel with other investors, doing a VC workshop for local founders and writing a piece for Medium. Donors to the campaign will be put on a mailing list to find out more!

A little about my background and motivation:

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From the time I could read, I was nerding out on speculative fiction novels like Dune and 1984 (thanks to my scifi nerd father). As an adult, I have become a futurist whose work improves the lives of people living in cities through sustainability, access and impact. I see my role in venture capital as a bridge to understanding. I have always been a divergent thinker. My lived experience growing up in the diversity of Berkeley CA and identifying as a queer, Black, woman, has taught me that more diverse people around leadership tables are - the more scalable and tested their solutions.

A Masters degree in Arts and Cultural Management equipped me with practical business operations skill in the context of creative organizations. Most of my career has been spent building out teams, streamlining processes and improving revenue generation. What I have learned working within and consulting for a variety of business models is that innovation is essential to sustainability. Often times I find the most innovative companies have founders and leaders that do not fit a typical CEO mold and that is their strength.

Like these atypical leaders, I find myself bringing value to the companies by using my ability to hold a high standard for thoughtful and proven practices while maintaining a curiosity for what else is possible.