Widening the Aperture in Venture Capital: A Conversation about Expanding Diversity & Inclusion in Silicon Valley and Beyond

Navigating Our World

The data tell the story: Less than 1% of venture capital in the United States is invested in companies led by Black entrepreneurs. Add "female" as a data filter and it drops to 0.2%. Amid reckoning with legacies of racial injustice, we wanted to examine how a lack of representation in the startup ecosystem hinders access to capital for diverse founders. Brown Advisory’s Keith Stone sits down with three thought leaders in the venture industry—Charles Hudson, Richard Kerby and Monique Woodard—to explore paths to a growth economy where an expanded set of innovators and ideas can thrive.

Guests:

• Charles Hudson, Founder & Managing Partner, Precursor Ventures
• Monique Woodard, Founder, Cake Ventures
• Richard Kerby, Co-founder & General Partner, Equal Ventures

Host:
Keith Stone, CAIA
Private Equity Analyst, Brown Advisory

Background Reading:

• A VC’s Guide to Investing in Black Founders, Harvard Business Review, June 19, 2020
• Precursor Ventures’ Charles Hudson on ‘the conversation no one has during an upmarket’, TechCrunch (subscription), April 24, 2020
• The Black Founder List, February 28, 2020
• Cities Using Capital to Build More Inclusive Ecosystems, November 6, 2019
• Where Black Female Founders Can Find Funding, Resources, and More, September 22, 2019
• Where Did You Go to School?, July 30, 2018

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The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Brown Advisory. These views are not intended to be and should not be relied upon as investment advice and are not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results. The information provided in this podcast is not intended to be and should not be considered a recommendation or suggestion to engage in or refrain from a particular course of action or to make or hold a particular investment or pursue a particular investment strategy, including whether or not to buy, sell, or hold any of the securities mentioned. It should not be assumed that investments in such securities have been or will be profitable. There is a risk that some or all of the capital invested in any such securities may be lost. This piece is intended solely for our clients and prospective clients, is for informational purposes only, and is not individually tailored for or directed to any particular client or prospective client.