Investing in Women and People of Color, with Venture Capitalist J-P Piverger

The Sydcast

Episode Summary:

Imagine an investing strategy that takes advantage of biases and imperfections in the marketplace. Sounds good? Now imagine that these investments are in startups founded by women and people of color, groups that have not had access to the same funding opportunities as others have. Sounds even better, doesn’t it? And that’s what my guest on this episode of The Sydcast, Jacques-Philippe Piverger, is all about, as he tells his story of entrepreneurship, investment, and impact.

Sydney Finkelstein

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life.

Jacques-Philippe Piverger

Jacques-Philippe Piverger serves as OzoneX’s Managing Partner, overseeing the firm’s operations with responsibilities across all aspects of the business. Jacques-Philippe is an entrepreneur who harnesses private and public sector experiences to affect change where it is needed most on the globe. He has co-created and scaled a wide range of enterprises including MPOWERD Inc., REALICITY, and The Council of Urban Professionals.

Jacques-Philippe developed his business acumen in the finance world, most notably as Director at AIG Investments and PineBridge Investments, where he participated in over $10 billion of real estate and venture capital transactions. He has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and by the Council on Foreign Relations as a Term Member. He also serves as a board member of the New York Economic Development Corporation's Build NYC and the Industrial Development Agency.

Jacques-Philippe holds a bachelors degree from Georgetown and a Master of Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He is an avid martial artist and practitioner of transcendental meditation. He is the father of Soleil and Jacques-Maxime.

Insight from this Episode

• Challenges Jacques-Philippe faced towards people not believing the potential of marginalized groups in the market.
• The differentiator factor that makes Ozone X successful in the entrepreneurship environment.
• Insight into the companies that Ozone X’s has invested in.
• The story behind Ozone X’s name
• Ozone X’s client selection process
• Secrets of entrepreneurial failure

Quotes from the Show:

• “Many of the greatest challenges also present the biggest opportunities”- Jacques-Philippe Piverger [11:05 ]
• “We think [Ozone X’s] there are big ideas housed in communities that have historically been marginalized from the traditional flows of capital”- Jacques-Philippe Piverger [15:20]
• “[Some people] believe that women and various marginalized groups just don’t have the skill, expertise and talent to do as well as the [traditional] groups that have been gaining the capital” - Jacques-Philippe Piverger [21:21]
• “[When building a business] It’s almost impossible to raise money, it’s really hard to develop the product, you have to manage your SIMS, so unless you’re doing something you really believe in and you’re passionate about, you’re not gonna be willing to do what it takes” - Jacques-Philippe Piverger [45:18]
• “There are certain things that are harder to foresee so you create a solution based on the challenges that you see, but then the market shifts in a way you didn’t anticipate and your solution is no longer relevant” - Jacques-Philippe Piverger [49:50]
• “If you do that thing that you love, the money and everything else that you want is gonna come anyway” - Jacques-Philippe Piverger [54:21]

Stay Connected:

Sydney Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Jacques-Philippe Piverger

LinkedIn: Jacques-Philippe Piverger

Twitter: @jacquespiverger

Facebook: jacques philippe.piverger

Instagram: @jacquespiverger

Ozone X´s

Website: https://www.ozonex.vc/

Instagram: @ozoneventures

Facebook:OzoneVenturesInd

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This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.