Ask A VC — Lisa Lambert, The Women Behind $125M Diversity Fund
(Announcement: Lisa will be a featured keynote at SoGal Power Women Luncheon on Dec 1, 2015 in Los Angeles. Register here!)
Lisa Lambert is the Managing Director and Vice President of Intel Capital, who is leading the $125 million Diversity Fund. She is also the founder and CEO of UPWARD, a global networking platform for female executives. Through strengthening connections, visibilities, and mutual support, members proactively empower each other in advancing their career in representing female leaders in executive level.
Lisa Lambert started her career in technology with programming, working amongst fellow engineers. What set her apart was, she knew that the value she has to offer to the tech field stretches far beyond coding. After earning a Harvard MBA, she decided to marry her business acumen with technology acumen to craft a career in the executive level of the chipmaker giant, Intel. Through hard earned merits and substantial rapport from coworkers, she was one of the exceptional employees to secure the executive level position in the first year of her application.
Last month, as the VP of Intel Capital, she announced the launch of a $125M diversity fund to invest in startups led by women and underrepresented minorities. In retrospect, the surge of female entrepreneurship and empowerment movement in the recent years has inspired a number of millennial and GenX women to break out of their shells. However, empowerment is one thing, and actually executing the empowerment is another. The talk about women entrepreneurship in the Valley has been largely supported with everything but financial assistance. As an African American female at the executive level in a multinational conglomerate, Lisa strives to push for diversity in Silicon Valley. Her efforts are much needed for the tech world to leap into a promising future for women. The day I got a reply from Lisa accepting my request to interview on behalf of SoGal, I was exuberant. I had 30 minutes to meet with her. By the end of the interview, I could feel my heartbeat rising with a fire of excitement for new possibilities. And here, I hope to share the incredible moment of empowerment with you.
After listening to her explaining her life philosophy and success experience, I defined 5 key takeaways from her inspirational story.
- Break confinements. Reinvent yourself.
When I asked Lisa if there were any setbacks on her path to executive level, she said there were none. The only real setback is you.
Our own belief of what constitutes a setback is the real effect of a setback. Lisa described how women often circumvent themselves into this hole, abiding to that gender stereotype. Don’t let everyone else have that much say in your life! A rat that has been told that it looks like a rat will never be anything else if it believes the initial comment.
Breaking that confinement defined by others is the first step to converting a setback to a comeback. Even if nobody else believe in you, you must. That becomes your foundation. That is your source of energy.
2. Never Settle for Comfort.
She told me this is what she lives by.
“It is much easier to take the safe route, and not be in Sillicon Valley, not be in the executive level, not be in a technology giant. But taking the safer route never gives me the satisfaction.”
Discomfort often becomes the source of motivation to achieve more. Once you hit your comfort, the motivation dries out. “For example, would you rather work 9 to 5 with a guaranteed paycheck somewhere where you were slightly miserable, or would you rather set your own hours doing something you love but have no guarantee of ever seeing a payday?” -Noah Fleming
Most choose comfort.
But the problem with choosing comfort is that it stalls personal growth, while the world is growing around you. So the next time you skip the gym or shy away from public speaking, think again.
3. Know your value, and ask for what you are worth.
Recognizing what you are worth sets you up for opportunities that fit your capabilities. It is sort of like dating. Only when you understand who you are and what you need will you be matched with a compatible partner. Women tend to be less than audacious about asking for raise, promotion or opportunities to advance, whether it be in their career or in life. Lisa saw the alternative.
Craft or reinvent a career for yourself, if there wasn’t already one.
“I knew when I was coding and programming, I was undervalued,” Lisa referred to her years of working in the technical side of the business. After earning an MBA degree, combining her skills in both business and technology, she sought for opportunity that validated her credentials and her value. She earned the VP position for herself (read her Lean In story).
4. Build relationships. Be an asset. Advance your value. Advance your career.
While discussing how or why women don’t always climb up the ladder easily, Lisa emphasized, “Women don’t go out of their ways to foster relationships and connections. These relationships are so important to advance your value and your career.” American women lag substantially behind men when it comes to their representation in leadership positions. They make up only 14.6 percent of executive officers.
Why?
“Women usually aren’t very active in networking, because the majority they can connect with are men, especially in the executive level. As minorities, we must step out of our comfort zone and connect with the majority. I think what set me apart is I was never afraid of extending my reach to communities and people that were different from me.”
5. Love what you do!
As much as this is a cliche, the philosophy holds true everytime. Lisa absolutely would not trade anything for her job. Simply because she loves it.
In an interview she did with Stanford, she told the audience that she loved the dynamicity of her work. She interacts with the most creative minds, listens to the most innovative ideas, and has a ton of pocket change to shop for them everyday!
Interview conduced on June 25, 2015 by Lucy Lin. Lucy is the VP of Marketing at SoGal, and a UX Research intern at Intel this summer. This post was originally published on iamsogal.com.
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Ask A VC — Rick Smith, Co-founder and Managing Director at CrossCut Ventures
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