Arlan Hamilton: Investing in Underestimated Entrepreneurs
We’re excited and honored to have Arlan Hamilton, Founder and Director of Backstage Capital join us in Albuquerque to talk with local leaders, entrepreneurs and our investment community. Here’s a quick look at why she and what she’s been doing are so important.
CVF Fireside Chat with Arlan Hamilton
But first, please plan to join Coronado Venture Forum the evening of Monday, February 19th at Bow and Arrow Brewing. Sign up Here.
About Backstage Capital
Backstage Capital invests in “exceptional women, people of color, and LGBT tech founders. Started from scratch in the Fall of 2015, we have now invested nearly $2M across 40+ companies in the U.S.” And they’re just getting started.
First, here’s a chat with her and Jason Calacanis on the Angel podcast.
The Backstage Capital Media Empire
One of the most appealing aspects of Arlan Hamilton and the whole Backstage Capital team is how down to earth, smart and fun they are. A great place to experience all that (in addition to a prolific and growing twitter feed) is the Backstage Capital videos and podcasts.
Here are their Mission and Values:
A podcast about the why and how behind remarkable startup cultures. Hear one-on-one interviews with CEOs and founders sharing their company’s mission, vision, and core values, and dive into what it’s really like to work at a high-growth startup. Learn about leadership and find where you belong. This isn’t about growth hacking, life learning, or venture capital funding — it’s about humans, emotions, and trying to make the world 10x better. It’s your life, so make your work matter. A production of Backstage Capital. Hosted & Produced by Bryan Landers.
Find the podcasts here — meanwhile, here are a couple of particularly valuable “Fly on the Wall” segments:
Sharing your Voice with the World
By the way, they also have an excellent series on blockchain startups with Christie Pitts here: http://backstagecapital.com/podcast/blockchain-for-startups-1/. Here’s the intro/primer:
Micro-Grants with “Cover”
It’s often amazing what people can do with relatively small amounts of money. And that’s partially because a few hundred dollars may not seem like a lot for some of us to spend on a worthy cause or project, but to others it can be a HUGE difference. The difference between doing a project, going to a key event or something more important — or not.
Part of that’s because the pursuit of that kind of funding can seem to cost more in time and effort than the funding itself. Maybe there are additional deliverables to consider. In the end, you might have to pursue $1,000 to make it worth getting the $500 you actually needed.
Arlan Hamilton’s “Cover” (http://projectcover.org/) is an attempt to get past all that. What started with the desire to make use of a small windfall that she announced on Twitter, quickly became a real thing with celebrities and others contributing as well. It’s a great way to cut through the B.S. and make some real impact.
Next up and Beyond
Arlan recently shared that she would stop giving talks about investing in diversity in 2019 and focus even more on the work itself.
But first, please plan to join Coronado Venture Forum the evening of Monday, February 19th at Bow and Arrow Brewing. Sign up Here.
