If Entrepreneurs Can Come From Anywhere, Then Why Do All VCs Look the Same?

Venture capital relies on outliers. Backing humans with a unique vision of the future who will truly change the world. I believe outliers can come from anywhere. Any background, geography, ethnicity upbringing or belief system. This is at odds with the typical profile of a VC: white, male and privileged.

Over the weekend, we kicked off Included VC in an attempt to change the face of the venture capital industry. 30 individuals, 16 nationalities, 9 countries, 60% female and 56% black, Asian or mixed. Immigrants, refugees, PhDs, human rights activists, global thinkers and game-changers. These are the Included VC Fellows and I believe they have the potential to change the status quo.

VCs invest in the future. They are at the forefront of technology, or at least they should be. Despite this, venture capital is one of the most old-school industries in the world. Although we increasingly try and use data and technology to discover new startups, warm introductions from our network continue to be the ultimate source of deals. The problem with this approach is that the people in our network tend to be just like us: from a similar background, social class, gender and ethnicity. If we believe that potential is universal and that, given the right opportunity and support, great ideas and great businesses can come from anyone and anywhere, then this approach is entirely limiting.

The same network-based approach is used for recruitment within the VC industry. Based on this, it’s no wonder that 83% of UK VCs have no women in their investment committees, that 76% of UK VCs are white and that one in five of them studied at either Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard or Stanford. This effect reinforces the trend and, as a result, most entrepreneurs that manage to raise capital tend to be a mirror image of their VC counterparts.

So why are we (the Included Venture Partners) so obsessed with changing the status quo? It’s not just about giving back or about empowering diverse and underrepresented people and making sure they get a seat at the table. It’s not just about being altruistic. The reality is that it makes business sense. Studies show that (at least in the US) immigrants are 50% more likely to start a business than non-immigrants. In fact, over 60% of America’s most highly valued tech firms were founded by 1st and 2nd generation immigrants. Similarly, ethnically diverse companies outperform industry norms by 35% and companies with female founders outrank all-male founding teams.

This is why I believe initiatives like Included are so important. Included is an attempt to level the playing field. It’s about giving people that would otherwise not have gotten the chance an insight into the industry and a foot in the door. It’s about tapping into excluded entrepreneurial communities that have been historically overlooked. In doing so, we hope to shift venture capital away from predominantly closed networks and communities to an open and accessible industry.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to spend time with the first cohort of Included Fellows. Having heard their stories, their struggles and entrepreneurial endeavours, there is no doubt in my mind that these individuals will have a big impact on the industry. I feel incredibly honoured, humbled and excited to work with them over the next year and can’t wait to see what they will bring to the table. If you’re interested in finding out more about the Included initiative, check it out here.

Big up to Notion Capital for kicking this all off and Nikita Tharhar for making it happen! And to all the investors involved in the initiative Point Nine Capital, Creandum Team, Daphni, Seedcamp, Enern, K Fund and Mangrove Capital Partners.