Nicole McCarthy’s Post

I'm pleased to share my new piece out today in ImpactAlpha on "Mitigating the systemic risk of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in investing." The article provides a snapshot into The White House convening last month, which gathered for the first time a group of venture capital investors, industry associations, and entrepreneurs for a dedicated discussion on the state of capital allocation to #LGBTQ+ led and focused funds and startups. From the article: "As we go through a generational shift with more and more individuals identifying with the #LGBTQ+ community, more needs to be done to create an inclusive economy for all. Many investors think of LGBTQ+ issues as political or social, but they are in fact economic, and investors play a role in contributing to the exclusion by willfully disregarding their role in the problem." "Based on the extensive work of TIIP - The Investment Integration Project... we know investors can successfully navigate systemic risks to strengthen systems and improve portfolio performance. The challenge of LGBTQ+ exclusion is no different." To read more about the why, what, and how of system-level investing, see TIIP's report on "(Re)Calibrating Feedback Loops: Guidance for Asset Owners and Institutional Investors Assessing the Influence of System-level Investing," which I co-authored with Melissa Eng, Monique Aiken, and Jessica Ziegler: https://lnkd.in/gexrhj3F Read Colorful Capital's new report on "Outsized Impact: How Investment Can Address the Systemic Risk of LGBTQIA+ Inequity," which I co-authored with Lloyd He: https://lnkd.in/eVfcGyH4 A big thank you to Patrick Driscoll for his inspiring comments at the event (and for organizing it) and Michael Konczal, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Suzanna Fritzberg, Kate Balcerzak, an assistant to the president, and the Commerce Department’s Jonathan Lovitz for being so game to explore the breakthroughs needed. Additional gratitude to the other leaders who were in the mix and are helping to drive this discussion: Brian Richardson, Amy Siskind, Lorine Pendleton, & Vivienne Ming as well as all the other first movers in the mix, including: Ben Stokes, Ryan Husk, Adam Kiki-Charles, B. Pagels-Minor, Mark Bernstein, Abbie Strabala, Shalanda Armstrong, Jason A. Vita, Kelly O’Connell, Lorenzo Thione, Jackson Block, Densil Porteous, Wolf Starr, Kelsey Aina, Brad Baumoel, Maddie Stenger, MBA, MEng, Leigh Pomerantz, Jesse Beck, Andrea Brown, Serena Poon, MPP, Dahna Goldstein

We're pleased to share a new piece out today in ImpactAlpha on "Mitigating the systemic risk of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in investing." The article, authored by Colorful Capital Co-GP William Burckart, provides a snapshot into The White House convening last month, which gathered for the first time a group of venture capital investors, industry associations, and entrepreneurs for a dedicated discussion on the state of capital allocation to #LGBTQ+ led and focused funds and startups. Organized by Patrick Driscoll, a leading investor and advocate for LGBTQ+ equity, the goal was to educate public sector leaders on the barriers that LGBTQ+ fund managers and startup founders face and provide actionable recommendations to improve the flow of capital. From the article: "All of these policies and practices have tremendous effects on our economy and financial system. We see income disparities, workplace discrimination, lack of corporate leadership, criminal justice and persecution, disparities in healthcare, education, and treatment of LGBTQ+ youth, and lack of housing and retirement support. These issues drain resources, while also preventing LGBTQ+ individuals from fully participating in the economy." [In reference to the deluge of anti-LGBTQ+ bills being introduced at the state level throughout the US.] "The exclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals from our economy, and specifically, the investing space, is what is known as a “systemic risk.” Most investors believe markets are objective and efficient in pursuit of returns. Yet the market fails to account for the true level of systemic risk arising from continued inequitable treatment of and barriers for the LGBTQ+ community." The event inspired a range of challenges, opportunities, and breakthroughs needed going forward, but one clear call to action that emerged from the meeting is the opportunity for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to replicate or adapt SEC’s Asset Management Advisory Committee's subcommittee focused on gender and racial diversity. Creating a similar subcommittee within the SEC to focus on LGBTQ+ issues, or expanding the scope of the existing subcommittee to explicitly encompass LGBTQ+ individuals could help to mitigate the risk of LGBTQ+ exclusion within the market and futureproof progress. Read the ImpactAlpha article here: https://lnkd.in/emVcdAuV For more, check out Colorful Capital's recent report co-authored by William and Lloyd He, with an introduction by M.V. Lee Badgett on "Outsized Impact: How Investment Can Address the Systemic Risk of LGBTQIA+ Inequity": https://lnkd.in/ggxWUP5f Copying in the Colorful Capital brain trust: Co-GPs Megan Kashner and Soltan B., and Advisory Group members Sloane Ortel, Zach Stafford, Steven Godeke, Otho Kerr, Priya Parrish, Katrina Ngo, Christopher Barrett Politan, Lara Metcalf, Carlos Vargas #impactinvesting #VC #venturecapital

This is a powerful and impactful read. Not just for LGBT founders and investors but for anyone interested in spurring growth in our economy and supporting diversity. Colorful Capital's new report on "Outsized Impact: How Investment Can Address the Systemic Risk of LGBTQIA+ Inequity," https://lnkd.in/eVfcGyH4

The data is clear: LGBTQ+ founders face an uphill battle when it comes to securing venture capital. On average, they raise 16% less than their peers and only 1% of $2 trillion in venture capital has gone to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and founders. We must do more to make sure everyone, no matter their identity or background, has access to the resources they need to reach their goals. Big thank you to ITPro for mentioning the StartOut Index in their article. Read more here >> https://ow.ly/r1Qw50Q4ABE

It was both a thrill and a great honour to be a #panellist at the sold-out inaugural LGBTQ+ #Startup #Founder Community conference in #Vancouver earlier this week.   Perfectly arranged by Vine Ventures Corporation and Chasing Rainbows, the #conference brought together 100+ stakeholders from multiple sectors and organisations, all sharing the conviction that the potential business value of the #LGBTQ+ community is, as yet, insufficiently tapped.   My fellow panellist, Patrick Driscoll of Chasing Rainbows, highlighted the resilience and resourcefulness of the LGBTQ+ community in business, citing the findings of a US-based survey by StartOut last year that, while LGBTQ+ founders received on average 1/6 less funding than their peers, they nevertheless created 36% more jobs, 44% more exits and 114% more patents.   On the panel, expertly moderated by Douglas Lui, CPA, CA, I reminded everyone that this plays out in big, established businesses too. I cited the Open For Business survey last year of the 290 largest listed American, British, German and Australian companies, which revealed that the 25 most transparently LGBTQ+ inclusive companies are 2.3x more profitable than the 25 least transparently LGBTQ+ inclusive ones.   So, put simply: embracing LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace is not only the (morally) RIGHT thing to do; it is also the (commercially) BEST thing to do.   Patrick and my other fellow panellists, David Tsui, Jemi S. and Leah Nguyen, also shared how the LGBTQ+ community can overcome challenges and access capital on multiple private and public platforms. I contributed insights on the critical importance, not only to founders but to all the other stakeholders involved in funding or backing ventures, of #futureproofing, by encouraging #innovation and #robustness. To do so, I observed that venture leaders need to: 🏳️🌈 resist any possible tunnel vision-based inflexibility that might spring from the venture being a #passionproject of theirs 🏳️🌈 avoid falling into the #affinitybias trap, which can sometimes happen when ventures are led by a group of like-minded friends, colleagues or associates 🏳️🌈 authentically role model #vulnerability as a positive attribute – resisting any temptation to portray themselves as infallible superheroes, so that #PsychologicalSafety can unlock the value of true #teamwork (“to make the dream work!”) by having everyone embrace and profit from the potential learning opportunities which reside in (inevitable) mistakes. Huge thanks and congratulations to everyone involved in making this groundbreaking event happen, especially Douglas Lui, CPA, CA of Vine Ventures, Calan Breckon of The Business Gay Podcast, Ben Stokes (who delivered an excellent #keynote address), Patrick Driscoll and Sam Naylor of Chasing Rainbows, and Enoch Chang and Michael Stephens of Fasken, the conference hosts.

Making Progress Visible - The Proud Summit & New Backers Proud Ventures are excited to announce that we will be hosting the largest-ever (first?) summit dedicated to LGBTQ+ founders and investors in the UK on November 7-8. This milestone two-day event will bring together leading LGBTQ+ operators, investors and high-potential founders to share insights, expertise and advice. Day 1 will see a range of tactical panels and workshops delivered by all-LGBTQ+ speakers, including multi-exited founders who’ve raised £100ms and veteran VCs who over 15 years have had multiple IPOs and £Bn exits in their portfolios. We'll share more about these speakers over the coming 10 days. Day 2 will see twelve early-stage startups have the opportunity to pitch to a hand-picked audience of leading UK VCs, with Seedcamp, Breega, Frontline Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital, Inovia Capital and Playfair among the number who’ve already confirmed attendance. The Proud Summit is a direct followup to our LGBTQ+ Founder Report which highlighted 75% of LGBTQ+ founders aren’t always comfortable sharing who they are to investors. This is one step we’re taking to help change this. Space is limited with applications closing 24th October so head to the link in comments ASAP. New Backers We are also excited to share that Investec Wealth & Investment UK & Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati have backed us with sponsorships. This will enable us to invest more into delivering a greater impact quicker. Over the coming year, you can expect more events, impactful initiatives and lots of online activity from us. We will always remain lean, entrepreneurial and hyper-focused on our goal, but look forward to be able to do more to serve our community. #lgbtq #proud #founder #entrepreneur #summit

#investors: What are you doing to address intersectionality and the needs of the #LGBTQ+ founder community? 🌈🌈 🌈 I’m just back from the Intersectional Incredibles Forum from i³ investing hosted at Google UK HQ, joining the incredible co-founders (and lesbian fiancées!) of amigas, Imogen Roy and Cyntia Miyashita 🏳️🌈. Here’s what I learned and noticed: 🕺A conference that starts with dancing to Vogue and singing along to Born This Way is WAY more fun. ❓Intersectionality is “a concept for understanding how aspects of a person’s identities combine to create different and multiple discrimination and privilege”. 🙋♀️ Acknowledging the challenges of intersectionality means no one is left behind in our collective movement towards a more equal, equitable and just society. Equality must be for everyone. 🤦♀️ There were very few women at the conference and it was mostly white faces. Seems that lack of diversity is present in the LGTBQ+ founder community too? 💪Underrepresented founders are more likely to be resilient due to the challenges they’re faced and overcome in life. Resilience is one of the most valuable qualities of successful entrepreneurs. So.. their startups tend to perform better. 🦄 There are 37 LGTBQ+ Unicorns 🌎 49% of the fastest growing UK startups have at least one migrant founder 3️⃣ Only 3 funds operate in this space: Chasing Rainbows, Colourful Capital, Indentity Ventures. They’re capitalising on this huge gap in the investment landscape. Where are the rest of you?! 📋LGTBQ+ investors and founders lists are published on Crunchbase or Pitchdeck https://lnkd.in/eT4YVhx9 and https://lnkd.in/eK8HjdeJ 🍑 Anal douching is an untapped market opportunity (not just gay men, but straight couples too)!!! Checkout https://lnkd.in/eJiBqbPh 🤯 Investors say things like “we have already invested in an LGTBQ+ founder this year” as a reason not to invest. So lazy. 💰We need more representation from the queer community in the investment ecosystem. Thanks for all the powerful insights from Ben Stokes at Chasing Rainbows Ramzi Rafih at No Label Ventures Nina Mohanty at Bloom Money And to Christian Tooley for bringing it all together! Thanks also to Glen Waters at HSBC Innovation Banking for inviting me along 👍🏻 #iiF #intersectionincredibles #LGBTQ #investment

🏳️🌈 June marks Pride Month, and at Mind the Gap Services, we are proud to spotlight the impactful work and accomplishments of Chasing Rainbows, a Venture Capitalist firm led by Ben Stokes and Patrick Driscoll. Their firm specializes in early-stage investments for companies founded by LGBTQIA entrepreneurs. 📯Ben and Patrick identified the significant funding gaps faced by LGBTQIA founders, despite these entrepreneurs' impressive track records in job creation, patent filings, and successful exits. Their portfolio focuses on Climate, FinTech, MedTech, and EdTech, with a growing interest in AI Solutions. 💁♂️💁♀️Chasing Rainbows goes beyond financial investment by creating an inclusive environment that offers comprehensive support. This includes mentorship, coaching, and establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) to assist their portfolio companies. Their holistic approach fosters a marketplace where LGBTQIA community members can thrive, connect with industry leaders, and access unprecedented opportunities. 🌎By promoting diversity and equality, Chasing Rainbows is driving growth not only in Washington, D.C., but across the entire venture ecosystem. By overcoming these challenges, Patrick and Ben are empowering a new generation of leaders without fear of being discriminated against based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. #Pridemonth #LGBTQIA #LGBQTFounders #VC #equality #unite #empowerment #MTGS

Hey LinkedIn, I’ve got some news: I’m doubling down on European diversity investing by joining identity.vc I Backing LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs, the first venture capital fund in Europe focused on early-stage startups with LGBTQ+ leadership. At Identity.vc, we believe that innovation thrives when we challenge traditional norms. The LGBTQ+ community has a history of driving transformation in creative sectors, and now we aim to bring this spirit of innovation to all business areas. Is LGBTQ+ dealflow a niche? Even I asked myself. It turns out one of the most exciting aspects of Identity.vc is the surprisingly interesting dealflow we’re seeing from LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. From a Finnish perspective, it's great to see startups still raising significant funding rounds, securing millions in commitments even in the early stages. Let’s just say I’m seeing quite interesting datarooms currently. Our team of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs understands the unique challenges our community faces. We’re here to provide more than just funding; we’re here to support and empower. I come from a small town that held its first Pride event only two years ago. Being a minority woman in tech was already challenging in such a small community, and accepting my LGBTQ+ identity added another layer of complexity. Within the LGBTQ+ community, I’ve often found it difficult to meet like-minded people who share my passion for business and tech. It sometimes felt like being a minority within a minority. Being part of building a community that combines these two as a VC is such a privilege. As a self-taught ex-operator without a university background or previous connections to the finance ecosystem, Icebreaker.vc was my access to venture capital - what initially felt like an inaccessible field for someone like myself. I'm incredibly grateful for the experience and the amazing people I’ve worked with there. I will continue to stay connected with my portfolio companies and the fantastic team at Icebreaker.vc. Stay tuned for exciting updates about our first closing!