Backstage Capital at the 2019 All Raise Summit
There’s strength in numbers!
Brittany and Christie here from the Backstage Capital team! Together with Arlan, we attended the 2019 All Raise Summit earlier this month and wanted to share about our experience.
About All Raise:
All Raise is a nonprofit organization in venture that is focused on elevating women, founders and investors, in the venture capital ecosystem and in tech at large. Their annual Summit is a gathering of women in VC focused on connecting with other women in venture, workshops and hearing from inspirational speakers.
We left last year’s summit feeling encouraged, and this year we can say that we are excited by the growth of the event and the All Raise organization. Where women are drastically underrepresented in VC, it was amazing to see an entire conference filled with women in this field. About 600 women attended, making this a historic event — the largest number of women VCs gathered in one room!
In addition to the number of women in attendance, it was so great to experience the diversity of women that were present. We met new friends — and reconnected with old — from accelerator programs, angel investors, emerging funds, as well as veterans in the industry.
All three of us noticed the difference in diversity year over year and it made a difference in the quality of our experience. Kudos to the All Raise team for making this effort and continuing to expand its reach!
This year, we were proud to be one of the many venture firms sponsoring the Summit. We believe in the work that All Raise is doing and the positive impact that they are having on the ecosystem.
What We Loved About this Year’s Summit
Community -
It was obvious that All Raise had been very thoughtful about helping women connect in an authentic and meaningful way. The evening before the event, All Raise hosted attendees at small dinners throughout Oakland. In an industry driven by relationships and who you know, it was great to have the opportunity to get to know other women in VC. Brittany had the opportunity to join a dinner table with Aileen Lee, one of the founding members of All Raise and Managing Partner of Cowboy Ventures. She shared how the founding of All Raise started with an email to other women in venture just a couple of years ago, and reflected on how far the organization has come in that time.
The level of thoughtful connection continued throughout the next day. With purposeful intention setting to kick off the event, and additional moderated conversations at our lunch tables, it was clear that the event prioritized strong connections and relationship building. This led to an environment where attendees were friendly and open and were ready to connect.
A special moment at the All Raise happened for Christie, who is expecting her first child. She met so many other women who were also expecting at the Summit, and many more who were generous with advice and good wishes for the new moms. It’s rare that personal events and professional environments mesh so well, but it was wonderful to compare notes and experiences with other expecting women who are also actively investing.
Diversity -
Venture is a truly homogenous industry. More than 90% of partners in venture firms are men, and of the ~9% of women who are in senior roles, there is also a lack of diversity. Of the women that are in venture, White and Asian women are overrepresented, and others are underrepresented. By expanding the attendee numbers, and opening the Summit to investors who may not be at traditional firms (like investors who run accelerators, angels, etc), the group as a whole was much more diverse. This led to stronger conversations and the ability to connect with investors who came to Summit from underrepresented cities like Omaha, Kansas City, and more.
Also, many of the women were in the midst of raising their first fund. This is a good and strong signal about the future of VC and where it is headed. The more women that successfully raise funds, the more capital that is distributed to more diverse founders, who go on to build more diverse teams, which results in wealth creation for diverse people. We have seen this in our networks, but it was wonderful to see so many women in person who are successfully fundraising and changing the status quo.
Inspiration -
The Summit kicked off with speakers like Ibitihaj Muhammad, Bianca Valenti, Alicia Garza and Cecile Richards. All of these women are working to change the dynamics in their industries. For example, Bianca is a world record holder in big wave surfing and was successful in lobbying for equal pay for women and men surfers. Through her work, the World Surf League announced in 2018 that they would guarantee women’s heats and equal prizes at every WSL event moving forward. Similarly, Alicia and Cecile have launched SuperMajority, a political community for women to unite around policy for women’s activism.
It was helpful to hear from women who are not in the venture community but are incredibly high achievers and working tirelessly to break down barriers for themselves and the women that come after them. It’s clear that change is here — not just in tech and venture capital — but in all industries and systems, and we’re working to make that change happen together. It’s empowering and uplifting to know that women in every domain are working hard to ensure that they’re lifting each other up and changing the dynamics for good.
On another note, it was powerful to be in the physical presence of so many accomplished women. After the event, Christie came across research reported in Harvard Business Review, which found that women who attended women-only conferences doubled their chances of being promoted, tripled their likelihood of a 10%+ pay increase, and felt “more optimistic about their future.” We felt this same energy at All Raise and are sure that the women who were assembled will go on to have incredible wins after the conference.
What We Learned:
Together, Brittany and Christie attended multiple breakout sessions, and wanted to share their takeaways here:
Succeeding as an Aspiring GP — Brittany attended
Speakers: Stephanie Palmeri, Partner, Uncork Capital (moderator), Ulili Onovakpuri, Partner, Kapor Capital, Kristina Shen, Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners
Takeaway: There is no one way to become a Partner at a venture fund. Focus on having conviction, making good deal judgement and adding value to your portfolio companies.
Raising a New Fund & LP Relationships — Brittany attended
Speakers: Wayee Chu, General Partner, Reach Capital (moderator), Alexia Bonatsos, Founder, General Partner, Dream Machine, Miriam Rivera, Managing Director, Ulu Ventures, Alison Rosenthal, Managing Partner, Leadout Capital
Takeaway: Often raising a fund is not about performance, unfortunately. For first funds, focus on how much you can raise through your network/people you know.
Building Effective Boards & Being A Great Board Member — Christie attended
Speakers: Elisa Schreiber, Marketing Partner, Greylock (moderator), Marla Blow, Founder, Board Member, Advisor, Angel Investor, Sarah Nahm, CEO and Founder, Lever, Christa Quarles, CEO and Fortune 150 Board Member
Takeaway: From the founder’s perspective: the board is there to work for you, and you should work with your board to help you be more effective as a CEO. From the board member’s perspective: the importance of an independent board member cannot be overstated. On both sides: relationship management and board dynamics are a key part of a successful and productive experience.
We look forward to continuing to be active members of the All Raise community. In addition to the Summit, All Raise has initiatives throughout the year to support and increase the number of women investors and founders who get funding. If you’re an investor, or a female founder, check out All Raise to get involved.
Christie Pitts is General Partner at Backstage Capital and CEO of Backstage Studio
Brittany Davis is a Principal and Director of Deal Flow at Backstage Capital
