Flow $350M to Diverse Founders & Funds: Here is How
When I read the announcement that a16z wrote its largest individual check ever, $350 million, to Adam Neumann, it hit me like a level five hurricane in the gut. This is a man who burned through almost $40 billion at WeWork and was asked to leave the company by his own Board. Talk about failing upward.
As a female serial entrepreneur and investor, I have spent most of my professional career fighting to raise money for startups and funds with tremendous struggle.
I asked myself , “How can the future of investing be low density housing in Miami with kombucha and beer on tap?”
When we look at the data, “Global VC funding nearly doubled year-over-year to more than $640 billion in 2021, Crunchbase data shows. Black founders received only around 1.3 percent of total venture funding last year — up from 2020, but still a tiny fraction. On a percentage basis, funding to Latino founders has largely stalled, and for sole female founders, it actually fell last year to 2.2 percent.” Source: Crunchbase
“Adam Neumann received more capital in one venture round than all black Americans received so far in 2022. I’d be willing to bet my entire net worth that investing that same $350 million across a portfolio of minority and woman-focused early stage venture funds and venture studios will deliver 2x the returns that a16z will get from backing Flow. Investors, please take me up on my bet, you’ll win either way!” says Clarence Wooten, Entrepreneur in Residence at X and General Partner at Revitalize.
A recent Forbes article confirms “The Startup World Is Outraged! Venture Capital Has Just Demonstrated White Male Privilege Is Real And Thriving–A System In Serious Disrepair.”
“Of the $105 billion invested in Health and Wellness startups in the U.S. in 2021, only 2% was invested in solutions that serve women. This is a massively underserved market, as we estimate conditions that solely, differently, and disproportionately affect women valued at over $1trillion globally. New women’s health companies are born every day as women in science, technology, and finance navigate the healthcare system and turn their negative experiences into innovations” expresses Jessica Karr, General Partner, Coyote Ventures.
How do we begin to change the system to support underrepresented founders who are making the world a better place?
My answer is to deploy $350 million to the following funds and companies led by talented women and minorities.
This is a call to action for immediate change.
Target Diverse Funds ($25M each)
Coyote Ventures: women’s health and wellness
Fearless Fund: women of color-led businesses
Moore Ventures: climate change, intellectual property and diverse teams
Prelude: climate change, low carbon economy
Revitalize: SaaS and platform-based software startups led by diverse teams
SoGal Ventures: first women-led venture firm
Women’s VC Fund: invests in diverse teams
Target Diverse Startups ($10M each)
Bluedot (energy, female founder), BoldHue (inclusive beauty, female founders), Boss Tech (big data, female founder), ChargerHelp! (clean tech, female founder), ComplYant (fintech, female founder), DiviningLAB (clean tech, female founder), Evvy (femtech, female founder), facil ai (clean tech, African American founder), Gabbi (femtech, female founder), Gather Labs (health, female founder), Gennev (health, female founders), goalsetter (fintech, female founder), Hera Biotech (health tech, female founder), Maharindee (inclusive beauty, female founder), Penelope (fintech, female founder), SEED (clean tech, diverse female founders) and SINAI Technologies (clean tech, female founder).
I would like to give a very special thanks to the trail blazers paving the way for change — Aileen Lee at Cowboy, Arlan Hamilton at Backstage, Jesse Draper at Halogen, Serena Williams at Serena Ventures and to the team at AllRaise.
Please contact me directly at melinda@melindamoore.com to discuss investing in diverse founders and funds.
