#WCW Monique Woodard: Cultural Change Will Create The Unicorns Of Tomorrow

Welcome to the All Raise Woman Crush Weekly (#WCW) series, where we highlight genius women who are funding or founding tech companies. Please come back to the All Raise blog weekly to find a new profile of an awe-inspiring female VC or founder.

In honor of Black History Month, the All Raise February #WCWs will celebrate black excellence in VC. Meet Monique Woodard, an investor owning the whitespace around demographic change.

Monique Woodard invests in where our world is going, not where it came from. In order to do so, Monique is releasing market-driven insights and raising a new fund — a formidable challenge in an industry where Black women make up only 1% of investors. But Monique is no stranger to venture investing, having been a Venture Partner at 500 Startups and a scout for Lightspeed Ventures. Monique has invested in companies that include Blavity, Silvernest, and Encantos. She also knows the experience from the other side of the table, having been a two-time founder and had many years of operating experience in product and marketing roles. .

Monique is owning the whitespace around demographic change and is focused on thesis-driven and insights backed seed investing focused on companies that follow emerging patterns of demographic and cultural change. One such change is the aging population of people 65+ that Monique wrote about in her 2020 report,“Gray New World.” This report shows a demographic with $7.6 trillion in purchasing power and a need for technology to provide a better quality of life as they age.

Monique invests with the understanding that, as our country’s demographics continue to evolve, a diverse investor lens is not just important, it is essential. I talked to Monique about her new fund, Cake Ventures, and the demographic changes that she believes will deliver the unicorns of tomorrow.

Q: What does it mean to invest in demographic change?

A: My focus is in investing in companies that address the needs of a world undergoing massive demographic changes. There are a few important demographic changes happening right now:

There are 10,000 people turning 65 every single day and by 2030, 20% of the US population will be 65 or older.

Technology has often been focused on serving the needs of a much younger demographic but there is a large population with spending power that is going underserved and lacking innovation. Today’s aging population will grow older differently than every generation before it, from aging in place to remaining in the workforce beyond retirement. We can use technology to improve many aspects of aging and help them age better than ever before.

The second big demographic change is the rising economic power and activity of women.

Companies are being driven to billion-dollar outcomes based on the economic activity of women. We’ve seen it in consumer categories like Glossier, Rent the Runway, The Real Real. Soon, we’ll see it in other categories as well, whether that’s a digital health company like Modern Fertility or a workplace company like Chief. We are also shifting to a new majority, where people of color, (primarily LatinX, Asian and Black) will become the majority population in the US.

We are also shifting to a new majority, where people of color, (primarily LatinX, Asian and Black) will become the majority population in the US.

Those populations have already been a global majority, so if you are building a global company, you should be thinking about how your company connects to engages users who are in a non-white demographic. I’m an investor in Encantos, a kids media brand for multicultural families, as well as Mented Cosmetics, a beauty brand for women of color.

Q: When other investors talk about demographic change, what do you think they’re missing?

When people talk about millennials and Gen Z driving technology adoption, what they’re failing to also talk about is the fact that those generations are much more diverse than previous generations and overwhelmingly made up of young people of color. Take Tik Tok for example. The platform is driven by Black culture, much in the same way that Vine was before it. So, you can’t separate your focus on Gen Z from an understanding of Black culture and how that drives popular culture and technology adoption around the world. It’s important to have women, particularly women of color, on your cap table and in your boardroom to give you a perspective on how to build a company in this new environment where issues of diversity and inclusion could be the thing that ends your company or ends your tenure as CEO.

It’s important to have women, particularly women of color, on your cap table and in your boardroom to give you a perspective on how to build a company in this new environment where issues of diversity and inclusion could be the thing that ends your company or ends your tenure as CEO.

Q: What had the process of fundraising been like so far?

A: It’s certainly the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my career — as it is for most VCs who decide to start their own funds. Fundraising is hard for everyone, but fundraising as a woman is like crawling through glass and fundraising as a woman of color is like crawling through glass with no clothes on and a layer of red ants on you.

Fundraising is hard for everyone, but fundraising as a woman is like crawling through glass and fundraising as a woman of color is like crawling through glass with no clothes on and a layer of red ants on you.

First-time funds are often raised through friends and family. Often times black and Latinx fund managers do not have the kind of network where they have friends and family who can put $200K into their fund. If you look at fundraising by black women, the largest one is at $3.5M. That’s a shame and it shouldn’t be that way.

You have a lot of other people who have a lot less experience going out and raising at least in the double digits of millions of dollars for their funds. It impacts our ability to actually find success and find alpha. Finding alpha is the only reason to raise a fund. Even though I have a background in venture and I have relevant experience and things to point to, my story is still that fundraising is challenging. Some investors will ask me “You’re one of the most well-known black women investors, you can basically just go to any firm, and they would be happy to have you. Why are you in my office, doing something that is difficult and trying to raise the funds?”

Q: Why did you decide to start your own firm rather than join another firm?

A: It was a big decision and one that I didn’t take on lightly. I just knew it was time to step out and do something independently. Starting a new fund gives you the opportunity to set and drive culture. I could have joined another fund, but I would be joining a firm that already had its own distinct culture. The way you create industry-wide change in venture capital is by creating net new culture.

Starting a new fund gives you the opportunity to set and drive culture. I could have joined another fund, but I would be joining a firm that already had its own distinct culture. The way you create industry-wide change in venture capital is by creating net new culture.

I think it’s really important to have a women-led lens within traditional Silicon Valley culture. I also think that my investing thesis and focus is specific enough that it needed its own space to thrive. Finally, I think it’s just sheer ambition. I think we as women investors and entrepreneurs should own our ambition. I want to build my own fund because I am ambitious. I believe in making a dent in the world and there’s no better way to do that right now than starting a fund, doing the hard work of raising money for that fund, investing it in the best entrepreneurs, and making returns for your investors.