Thank You, Lolita!

There are some people that leave a place better than they found them. Lolita is that kind of person.

We bonded a year ago on Twitter, sharing a passion for supporting underrepresented and underestimated founders. Flybridge had seen success with our “network fund” model, founding XFactor to back female founders under the leadership of my partners Anna and Chip. We were keen to expand on the model and back more underrepresented founders. Combining Lolita’s irrepressible energy and network, The Community Fund was born.

Fast forward a year later: we built a community of 13 brilliant operator-investors, made 28 investments (9 of whom have already seen valuation increases), and made a new set of friends. The Community Fund has elevated the voices of a new generation of leaders who are reshaping the narrative of who VCs are, where we invest, and what kind of companies become unicorns. Lolita’s work to develop a whole host of resources for our founders and her time spent on creating a truly community-led organization, where every single partner had input on how we’d operate as we grew, made us a better team and a better fund.

Together, we built a wonderful community and along the way, we collectively learned a ton about how to build a fund that leans into the opportunity to invest in and support underestimated founders. These experiences helped us grow as a community and as individuals. With growth, comes change and expanded opportunities. And so although we are sad to see Lolita step away from The Community Fund to continue on her path in the venture world, we are equally excited for her to soar. Jeff, Chip, Anna, and all of us at The Community Fund family will continue to cheer her on as Lolita trailblazes ahead!

Finally, I’m excited to share that The Community Fund 2 is about to kick off. It’s been an exciting 2020–2021 and we have a few things to share with all of you in the coming months. Keep an eye out here and sign up for our newsletter for updates and our open application for the growing team at TCF. Our goal is to invest in community-driven companies through a diverse investment partner team behind the belief that companies with community at the center of all that they do will become unicorns and produce outsized returns. One year into this journey, and we are more confident than ever of this thesis!