Venture Capital's Enlightenment: Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes
Bonsal Capital tilts to underrepresented founders in evolved era
This post originally published here .
In venture capital these days, it is in vogue to?talk?about backing diverse or underserved founders. It is wholly another matter, however, to authentically do something about it, to indelibly shift investment strategy in more culturally representative and ultimately successful ways. Today, less than 10% of venture funding goes to women entrepreneurs, less than 1% to Black entrepreneurs, 0.4% to Latina founders and 0.2% to female Black founders. What is abundantly clear is that nothing changes if nothing changes.
In 2019 and 2020 YTD,?Bonsal Capital ?has made nine new investments — six?company?investments (direct) and three?fund?commitments (indirect) — with a SUPER MAJORITY of underserved founders or leaders at the helm. In other words, over 80% of these investments directly support women and founders of color, the so-deemed?underrepresented?in the funding arena. This ‘enlightenment’ essentially flips the Bonsal Capital investment ratio demonstrated over the last two decades. Nothing changes if nothing changes, right?
The faces in the header image impart stalwart leaders who are changing the future of learning and work, with an end user (or impact) focus from the earliest years through adulthood. From left to right, top to bottom, they are:
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From an historical perspective, most entrepreneurs represented here have had a difficult time attracting ‘outside capital’. Bonsal Capital both recognizes these founders’ and leaders’ differences and lauds their merits and metrics-driven similarities. We don’t like to openly squawk too much (highlight via PR or mainstream media), but an authentic post seemed worthy. We want these entrepreneurs and leaders to be successful, and we are happy to largely remain behind the curtain. You might call it recalibrated old school,?as, after all, our founder is a cofounder of?New Enterprise Associates, ?a global venture firm founded in the late 1970s that today is part of the venture capital asset class index, if you will.
Read the rest of the post here .
I write from the soul of Bonsal Capital as Managing Partner and have been at it for a couple of decades. My career alignment as teacher-coach, venture capitalist, and ecosystem leader have merely sharpened the senses and hardened the scar tissue and the resolve.
CFO, Belleville Spring Manager at American Belleville
4 年Awesome Frank!