Brown, Black, and White VCs Walk into a Conference
Last week, the inaugural AllRaise.org Summit took place at the St. Regis in San Francisco. 400 women in venture capital traveled near and far to be part of this invite-only event. We all came to the summit united by the All Raise vision to drive diversity in tech VC and amongst startup founders.
Did you know that: 9% of decision-makers at US-based VC firms are women; 74% of US-based VC funds have 0 women investors; and only 15% of US VC dollars went to female-founded and led startups in 2017?
The All Raise Summit program was segmented into a series of talks, an engaging lunch, breakout workshops, and drinks. Attendees rubbed shoulders with trailblazing women who work in VC and who are leaders in the art of grit, boardrooms, LPs, emerging fund managers, negotiation, and civil service.
Representing Backstage Capital — a fund that aligns with All Raise’s vision of investing and supporting a more diverse startup world — Brittany (Principal), Christie (General Partner), and I (Principal) were there. And while we were excited to be there wearing our Backstage badges, we were also ecstatic to partake in the All Raise Summit as diverse — black, white, and brown — members of the ecosystem.
The event did not disappoint. All three of us left energized by the caliber of the attendees, speakers, and programming, buzzing with ideas on how to best support underrepresented and underestimated VCs and founders.
The day after the event, we jumped on the phone and shared our highlights, thoughts, and action items from our individual perspectives. We agreed that it was important to share our thoughts with the community, continue the conversation, and inspire action.
Lolita Taub, Principal and Director of Strategic Initiatives at Backstage Capital
Diversity
Although attendees and speakers were predominantly White or Asian, I was excited to see other members of the Latinx and Black community represented in the All Raise program! Shauntel Garvey (Reach Capital) moderated a panel where Zahra Kassam (Monti Kids) was a panelist, Terri Burns (GV) MC’d the summit, and Selene Cruz (Re:store) spoke about Female Founder Hours.
Notable takeaway: There are amazing underestimated folks breaking through and trailblazing for the rest of the community. We need more of us and we need more of us being represented!
Access
I had the opportunity to sit and chat with MJ Elmore (IVP), a ~20 year VC veteran. Later in the day, I got to meet with some of my role models and Midas Listees: Aileen Lee (Cowboy Ventures), Sarah Tavel (Benchmark), Eva Ho (Fika Ventures), Stacey Bishop (Scale Venture Partners), and Kirsten Green (Forerunner Ventures).
Notable takeaways: Powerful women are humans like you and me, and they offer honest, helpful, and easy-to-follow feedback. For example, when I asked Kristen about how she arrived at her thesis, she told me it was pretty simple: she focused on her strengths and on what she knew, and suggested I do the same.
Connection
Lunchtime was awesome for connecting. We sat around a round table and had some real talk about what it means to be a woman in VC, and how to address some of the challenges. I learned a ton from Lisa Wu (Norwest Venture Partners), Alda Dennis (Initialized Capital), Zhenni Liu (Peterson Ventures), Ulili Onovakpuri (Kapor Capital), and Tilli Bannett (Silicon Valley Bank).
Notable takeaways: All other things being equal, in the game of venture capital, returns trump everything else. Calling out poor behavior is important. The execution of male and female parental leave policies is crucial. The partner you choose makes a difference in your ability to succeed.
Education
During the break-out session, I attended the, “Find the Right Partner”, workshop on how LPs evaluate up and coming investors, and I found it to be enlightening to listen to real LPs talk about what they’re looking for.
Notable takeaways: Unless they have a specific mandate to support diverse and emerging fund managers, the number 1 priority of LPs is ensuring the probability that a fund manager will produce outsized returns. Also, LPs are to VCs what VCs are to startups. LPs have the same expectations of VCs than VCs have for startups: run a business that will produce results based on team, vision, differentiators, market, etc.
Brittany Davis, Principal and Director of Deal Flow at Backstage Capital
Intersectionality
Intersectionality refers to the overlapping discrimination or challenges that one might face as being a part of multiple underrepresented groups.
I was grateful to be in the room with so many leaders in VC and hear their perspectives. I was so proud to see Terri Burns (GV) and Shauntel Garvey (Reach Capital) serving as a powerful representation of the Black women VCs who are out here. Shauntel led a panel on, “Building a Truly Diverse Industry”, where she spoke to a panel of founders to explain and acknowledge intersectionality.
Notable takeaway: There is power in our own unique strengths. Each of the founders on the panel attributed starting their companies as a direct result of their identities and experiences.
Heroines
A personal highlight for me was seeing Heidi Roizen (DFJ), the protagonist of one the most impactful HBScase studies. I walked away from that study acknowledging that there is implicit gender bias, and that we are judged differently on our actions and achievements based on our gender.
Notable takeaway: We’ve come far, but we still have a long way to go.
Christie Pitts, General Partner at Backstage Capital
Power in Numbers
It was incredibly energizing to be together with so many women in venture. During the entire day, the event was abuzz with connection. At Backstage, we are fortunate to work on a diverse investment team, and I was reminded of that as I met women at the Summit who are either the only woman at their firm, or the only woman on the investment team at their firm. I believe the diversity of our investment team leads to making sound investment decisions. It also contributes to the inclusive environment at Backstage. One-on-one conversations with women that don’t feel included at work made a lasting impression on me.
Noteable takeaway: I’m grateful for the opportunity All Raise provided for women to connect with each other, know that they are not alone, and begin (or continue to!) support each other in our careers.
Integrity
A highlight of the day was hearing from Sally Yates in conversation with Kara Swisher. WOW! I loved hearing her perspectives on her experience at the Department of Justice. Ultimately, she made decisions that were inline with her integrity, but caused her to lose her job. She reflected on what she had learned through that experience and reiterated that she would make the same decisions again.
Notable takeaway: Like Sally, I strive to make the best decisions I can according to my values and ethics. Having the opportunity to meet and learn from Sally was inspirational.
Final Thoughts and Calls-to-action
The All Raise Summit set out to inspire, connect, and accelerate. It did all those things for us. We’re excited for what’s to come and how we can participate in All Raise initiatives to increase the number of women in VC. We believe there is real opportunity here that shouldn’t be missed.
Women represent a competitive advantage in VC. And we know that companies with women on their boards perform better. We also know that more and more founders are demanding that their investors are diverse, thanks to initiatives like #FoundersForChange.
Founders: Thank you for your hard work! And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join the #FoundersForChange movement and demand that investors represent more diversity. As an investors customer, your asks will be heard. The proof is in the wave of funds adding PoC and women to their teams. The proof is in this FFC list of diverse investors.
All Raise: Thank you for enabling female founder office hours, founders for change, women in venture, women & LPs, and partner resources! As we continue to work together toward a shared outcome, we encourage doing everything possible to increase diversity in the All Raise leadership and management, community, and participants of all programs. Consider offering scholarships for future summits and programs so that underrepresented and emerging fund investors can more easily represent.
Everyone: We ask that you be an ally and actively support diverse VCs and founders. Start by mentoring, sponsoring, and standing up for us. If you don’t know where to start, check out and share the All Raise initiatives.
As for us, our action item is to put our time and money where our mouth is and continue to do everything in our power to support the success of underestimated and underrepresented VCs and founders (including that of our Crew) in and out of the All Raise and Backstage Capital communities.
If you have any questions, please tweet us at @lolitataub, @ibrittdavis, @imchristiepitts.
Liked what you read and want to read more VC posts? Clap 👏👏👏, share with a friend and look at Backstage’s other awesome Greenroom posts.
