The typical Forbes or Fast Company profile of a successful, venture-backed startup founder that has ridden the hockey stick up to the top of the graph goes something like this:
And the rest is history.
But let’s say that you, or your friends and family, don’t have access to the roughly $30,000 it takes to start a business—or a network of people who are connected to experienced investors. Should the ability to build a great idea into a successful business be limited to people who have this kind of “social capital”?
Many entrepreneurs who don’t have access to these networks and “friends and family” money come from underrepresented backgrounds. At Village Capital, we often say that “talent is everywhere, but power is not,” and if we’re going to change the ratio of venture investment going into companies founded by women, African Americans and Latinx, we believe that changing the social capital dynamic at the earliest stages is an important place to start.
We created VC Pathways to do just that: use Village Capital’s milestone-based investment framework and partnerships with local organizations to help founders from diverse backgrounds build social capital and establish and progress toward key milestones.
We were fortunate to partner with UBS, which has a long history of advancing inclusive entrepreneurship. Their local teams brought their knowledge and networks to the table to the benefit of the entrepreneurs.
Six months, three cities, 30 companies, over 200 mentors, and more than 70 completed milestones later, we’re excited to share the stories and lessons learned from our three-city pilot. We hope it will inspire more critical thinking about how to build social capital for entrepreneurs who are currently overlooked by the early-stage financing system.
Our newsletters share the latest about our programs, trends, ecosystem leaders, and innovative entrepreneurs in the impact world. Get the latest insights, right in your inbox by subscribing:
Village Capital needs the contact information you provide to us to contact you about our products and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For information on how to unsubscribe, as well as our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy.
Jake Tamarkin co-founded an insurtech startup that’s "not your dad's life insurance" - with the goal of helping everyday people get coverage for their families that saves money by automatically adjusting based on predictable life events. But fundraising for startup founders is hard. Really hard. “I’d been pitching to a whole lot of different people, but getting feedback along the lines of, 'You guys are great, but you don’t have enough traction for us yet.’”
Read more
(Washington, DC) - July 23, 2018 - Village Capital co-founder Ross Baird will present in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee tomorrow about entrepreneurship in rural America.
Read more
Last year, the venture capital community hit a milestone when women-led companies received a record level of venture capital funding: 2.2% of all VC dollars, up slightly from the year before. That low bar counted for progress in an industry that tends to favor founders who are white, male and well-networked.
Read more
