The Next Generation of VC: Interview with Alexis Alston of Lightship Capital
Alexis Alston is a Senior Associate at Lightship Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in underrepresented founders in the Midwest. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Alexis joined Lightship Capital’s Managing Partners, Brian Brackeen and Candice Matthews Brackeen, in 2019. This month, the fund launched after it raised past its initial target of $25 million to a new goal of $50 million and made its first investment.
I had the pleasure of hearing Alexis’s perspective on breaking into the industry, what inspires her about her work and her vision for the next generation of VCs.
Dana: When did you start to consider the career path of VC?
Alexis: When I was in college, I ran a sexual education and health wellness non-profit, my first real taste of entrepreneurship. It was really fun, and, in the background, I had a mentor who was a private equity investor. At the time, he was working on a sexual wellness deal, and he asked me to help do research for him. I didn’t know what diligence was, but I now know I was doing diligence with him on the deal. That was my first taste of this world. I then started my full-time career in private equity, but I honed in on the fact that I enjoyed working with founders. I enjoyed being able to build and grow with them in a way that private equity does not allow you to. I always wanted to jump into the venture side.
Dana: What do you wish you had done differently as a student?
Alexis: I wish I had spent more time studying things that excited me. I went through a portion of my academic career where I studied the things that I thought I was supposed to study because it was going to help me get to the “next level,” whereas I should have been following my passions sooner.
I went to college as a pre-med student, and I thought I would become a doctor or get my PharmD. I started in chemistry, but towards the end of my freshman year, I realized that I was more interested in commercializing the technologies that I worked on and figuring out how to bring them to market than I was sitting in the lab all day.
I would say my big moment of realization was a course I took on BioTech investing, and it rocked my socks. It was everything I wanted in life. I had my own startup idea. It was a ketosis indicator that would allow people who are pregnant or had issues with blood sugar levels to identify whether or not they were falling into ketoacidosis quickly.
I loved stuff like that, and I still do. I just do not have a lab anymore!
I went through a portion of my academic career where I studied the things that I thought I was supposed to study because it was going to help me get to the “next level,” whereas I should have been following my passions sooner.
Dana: Do you still have an interest or focus in the HealthTech space?
Alexis: HealthTech is still my favorite, and my pride and joy. I love figuring out how we’re going to look at longevity, fertility and the future of families, oral care, and dentistry…they are really important to me. I love what is going on in the HealthTech/Healthcare world, but I also am interested in A.I. and what’s going on in the Direct-to-Consumer world as well.
Dana: What do you hope to change about VC through Lightship Capital?
Alexis: We exclusively invest in underrepresented founders. For us, that means people who do not identify as men, people of color, members of the queer community, people with disabilities, immigrants, and refugees. We do all the portfolio management that every other fund does. However, on top of that, we make sure that these founders have the same back-door knowledge and access that people who maybe grew up in a family of Mark Zuckerberg’s already have. That includes how to communicate with other investors, what are some of the weird nuances about how to conduct yourself in Silicon Valley, even expectations on how to navigate Clubhouse! We want to make sure they have all the tools to be successful—not only to build a company—but interact and thrive in this ecosystem.
The other idea that we are trying to change is, the work that we do is not charity. We are not a social impact fund. We are not charity workers. We are investing in the best of the best. Others have just ignored them for decades. There is nothing charitable about the way we are looking at returns and potential exits. We are going to see the same, if not better, results from these founders as we would if underrepresented founders were not an intentional part of our fund.
We say internally, homophily is a market failure in any realm, whether it be homophily of gender, race, or geographic background. Nothing good comes out of it. Instead, diversity allows everyone a chance, and the perspectives, experiences and networks that people bring to the table are invaluable.
We are not a social impact fund. We are not charity workers. We are investing in the best of the best. Others have just ignored them for decades.
Dana: What have you learned from producing the show Twitch Pitch?
Alexis: It circles back to democratizing and demystifying the world of VC. Twitch Pitch is a great avenue for us not only to spend more time with founders—some of whom may be a little too early for us or do not fit our thesis—and give them real-time feedback on how a venture investor would see their company. I am also really excited about this: Season 1 ended a month a half ago, and since then I’ve facilitated at least 15 investor intros to companies that pitched on the show. So, not only can companies get access to us as a fund, but it has been a really solid source of deal flow for other investors who are looking for more diversity in the tech industry. We are excited to help other investors see more diverse deals through the platform in a super laid back, easily accessible way.
Dana: How have you found venture investing in the Midwest?
A: I am originally from Baltimore, Maryland, so I am not from the Midwest. However, the first deal that I ever did at my previous firm was based in Ohio. I had no idea that would foreshadow what I do now, but I have been investing in underserved geographies since the very beginning. It has not felt like a significant change. I enjoy it because there is not a sense of pomp and circumstance to investors and founders in the Midwest. Rather, it is about what we can do to collaborate, create vibrant ecosystems, and help the best founders succeed. I love the open collaboration that you see in the Midwest that I do not see as often in other ecosystems.
Dana: What do you want to see changed in the next generation of VCs?
Alexis: I want VC to be an open playing for anyone who’s qualified. No one talks about what it is we actually do. No one talks about how any of us got here, what it actually entails in the day-to-day, or how to get a job in the industry. I describe it close to a pledging process for a sorority or fraternity. Many of us had to go through hoops to get here, and some want everyone interested to do the same as they did. That is not right, and there is bright talent that does not even know how to get into the door. I’d love to dismantle some of that in the future.
I want VC to be an open playing for anyone who’s qualified. No one talks about what it is we actually do. No one talks about how any of us got here, what it actually entails in the day-to-day, or how to get a job in the industry.
Dana: What’s the biggest mistake you think students make when they want to “break into” the venture capital industry?
Alexis: That you have to follow a certain formula to get here. There is a big misconception that you have to go to an Ivy League, work in investment banking for two years, get an MBA, and then try to break into venture by networking your way in. That is not always the case and honestly it goes back to homophily. I would not always want to hire people from the same background. Follow what you’re passionate about and find a fund that has a thesis in that and kill it.
Dana: What is one part of your personal self-care?
Alexis: My biggest form of self-care is that I am a musical theater enthusiast! There is a lot of theater that happens in my house. There is a lot of Hamilton. There is a lot of Chicago. There is a lot of Book of Mormon. I love music, singing, and dancing, and that is how I take care of myself.
Dana: What do you think makes a good mentor?
Alexis: The key is listening. There are a lot of people who want to get into mentorship, and they want to tell people what to do all the time and how they should do it. But a lot of people struggle with stepping back and listening to what the actual needs are of that individual.
My mentor Sandra Moore, the managing director at my previous fund, was really great at that. I would not be here without her. She helped me make a decision to join the Lightship Capital team even though it was not necessarily in her best interests.
Dana: Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?
Alexis: In five to ten years, I hope to be doing exactly what I am doing now. I believe this is what I was meant to do with my life. I love growing things and watching things grow, whether it be a budding company or the plants that I have behind me on Twitch Pitch. It does not feel like work because I enjoy it.
In the future, I hope to be in a position where I have more time and more money to mentor young people who want to explore careers in venture.
Follow Alexis on Twitter, and watch her every Tuesday and Thursday on Twitch Pitch with Lightship Capital.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
