VCs Off the Record with Gayle Jennings-O'Byrne

On today's episode, Diana sits down with Vicki Vasilopoulos , co-founder of   TheElysians.com, a platform for the U.S. market featuring exclusive, hand-crafted, fashion pieces, jewelry, and accessories made in Greece. These inspiring creators preserve their renowned Hellenic culture by reviving traditional techniques – like weaving and embroidery -- in a contemporary and sophisticated style t...

As with almost every industry this year, barbers and beauticians have been struggling to find creative ways to do business as the pandemic forces shops to close down. Many in the industry have had to pivot but are running out of options. Luckily, our next guest, Shawn Rohder, has developed  the perfect solution for everyone! His company, Nohmad, developed the rohver™ aka the mobile equivalent...

Our next episode is part of our bi-monthly podcast between the WOCstar Fund and the NYC Department of Small Business Services ’ WE NYC Initiative featuring the stories of women entrepreneurs in the NYC community! As WE NYC celebrates their 5th anniversary this month, we will wrap our series with a very special guest and one of our personal heroes, NYC SBS Commissioner Jonnel Doris . As Commissione...

Our next episode is part of our bi-monthly podcast between the  WOCstar Fund  and the NYC Department of Small Business Services’  WE NYC  Initiative featuring the stories of women entrepreneurs in the NYC community! In part two of this series, we sat down with Deepti Sharma, CEO and Founder of Food to Eat ,  an online marketplace where local businesses...

Over 70 million Americans are credit invisible which leads to financial exclusion and exorbitant interest rates. African Americans and other minorities are predominantly impacted and this issue has only grown with the pandemic.  Where you come from, the color of your skin, and your financial identity should not determine where you end up in life. This is beginning to change due to platforms l...

Our next episode is part of our bi-monthly podcast between the  WOCstar Fund  and the NYC Department of Small Business Services’  WE NYC  Initiative featuring the stories of women entrepreneurs in the NYC community! As WE NYC celebrates their 5th anniversary this month, we will highlight a few of the instrumental figures of this incredible initiative beginni...

It is a known fact that families need wealth to be economically secure and create opportunities for the next generation. A close examination of wealth in the U.S. finds evidence of staggering racial disparities between black and white households. Recently, the Institute for Policy Studies and Prosperity Now reported that if all things remain the same, the median African-American household wealth w...

In this episode, we join Matt Rickard, COO and Co-Founder of Task.io , a tech company focused on creating positive impact. With over 20 years working with early stage, fast growing companies, Matt has become a bit of a serial entrepreneur but always maintained a focus on positive social impact. He attributes this to a 2008 trip to a tsunami orphanage which inspired Matt to get involved in the soci...

In her role as Senior Manager of Global Impact at Salesforce. Org , Samira is focused on impact measurement and the SDGs and has worked on global social impact and innovation across corporations, governments, and the social sector for over twelve years. Samira's work spans the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia. She is a former strategy /management consultant at Accenture; and while with A.T. Kea...

“Entrepreneurship plays an essential role in solving major social and environmental issues, but the way we support it limits us.”- Dustin Shay Over 90% of VC goes to male-founded teams; less than 75% of US VC is deployed outside of CA, NY, and MA; and less than 3% goes to Black or Latinx founders. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers, but the path to success is only open to a select few people - and...

In our second episode of the series, we sit down with Beatrice Dixon, founder of the popular plant-based, black-owned feminine care brand The Honey Pot Company . Dixon is 1 of the first 40 women of color to raise $1 million in venture capital. It all started with a dream and a $21,000 loan! Today, The Honey Pot is a multi-million dollar company that sells plant-based feminine care products such as...

Latinos currently represent 17% of the population in the United States, yet they are vastly underrepresented in the tech industry, where they only make up roughly 8% of the workforce? Although LatinX entrepreneurs are creating new innovations every day, the face of tech remains the same. To kick off Season 2, we’ve teamed up with WE.NYC to showcase tech entrepreneurs from all backgrounds who are d...

In this episode, we join Alberto Gomez-Obregon, former Global Director of Portfolio at Acumen and recently announced CEO and Managing Partner of CO_Capital. We chat with Alberto about how he is helping to develop organizations that are creating change in a sustainable, scalable, and hopefully one day, profitable manner. He is very passionate about shaping the impact sector through conversations ar...

In this episode, we sit down with Angela Barbash, CEO of Revalue, an independent registered investment advisory firm founded in 2013, and is located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ms. Barbash is active in various economic development and entrepreneurship initiatives, including providing mentorship and guidance to entrepreneurs and apprenticing new financial advisors. Join us as we discuss Angela’s unique...

In this episode, we sat down with Noramay Cadena, co-founder of MiLA Capital , a LA-based seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in tech you can touch. With MiLA’s extensive experience in manufacturing and supply chain, they are helping startup founders tackle production challenges and get to market in a capital-efficient manner. In 2020, she was named one of 50 renowned women globally in ro...

If you are like us, you are a huge fan of Showtime’s drama series “Billions” and secretly wish you were Bobby Axelrod or maybe you are a Chuck fan. We promise not to tell! Either way, you may be afraid of the SEC and a  little  confused about what they actually do. In this episode, we had the honor of chatting with Martha Miller, Director of the Office of the Advocate for Small...

Have you ever wondered what makes a successful Venture Capitalist? Or how the relationship really works between a VC and an entrepreneur? Being a VC isn't just having billions and power suits. It’s all about the people! In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Stefanie Thomas from the Impact America Fund (IAF), about the importance of building relationships and the value of the VC/fou...

On this week’s podcast, we are joined by one of our very own WOCstar founders and companies that we’ve invested in, Jessica O. Matthews. Check out an honest discussion about her journey and training to be an inventor, venture-backed entrepreneur, and a fabulous unapologetic black woman. Learn how her team is using focus, resilience and grit to make energy accessible to all. Ms. Matthews’ many acco...

Join us as we sit down with Katherine Klein, Vice Dean of Wharton Social Impact (WSII) for an interview you won’t want to miss! In her unique position as Vice Dean at one of the nation’s leading business schools, Dr. Klein leads WSII’s research on the goals, structure, management and financial performance of impact investing, private equity and venture capital. She is literally shaping WSII’s visi...

We are back with Katherine Klein, Vice Dean of Wharton Social Impact for another fascinating episode! Join us as we dig deeper into the psychology behind “selection bias” and how that has impacted not only hiring practices in business but the world of venture capital. We chatted with Katherine about her work at Wharton and how we all need to “get a little uncomfortable” with ourselves if we are go...

As the President of National Urban League, former Mayor of New Orleans and a Louisiana State Senator, Marc Morial has become one of the leading voices in the battle for jobs, education, housing and voting rights equity. We invited Mr. Morial to discuss how we can use the current pandemic and state of race relations to transform the way we operate as Americans. To quote Mr. Morial, “this is not gon...

In this episode, we sit down with Kimberly Marshall of Goldman Sachs and Black Angels Miami to discuss how we can all impact the world by funding, building and advising companies, products and teams that we can believe in. Through her work with Goldman Sachs and Black Angels Miami, Kimberly invests in and advises high growth companies, with particular interest and experience in transportation &amp...

Join us as we chat with Shila Nieves Burney, Founder & Managing Partner at ZANE Venture Fund about how to smartly build your company and invest wisely in the evolving markets. The founder of  Zane Venture Fund ’s first introduction to venture capital was not ideal. Weeks before trying to invest in a fintech startups,  her daughter was hit by a bullet when mother and daughter were inn...

Join us as we sit down with one of our trusted WOCStar advisors and esteemed mentors, Nathalie Molina Niño to discuss builder capitalism and investing in this ever-changing world. Molina Niño is an entrepreneur, builder capitalist (at O³) and tech globalization veteran focused on high-growth businesses that benefit women and the planet. She is the author of LEAPFROG, The New Revolution for Women E...

Join this episode of “VCs off The Record” as we sit down with Harry Alford, Co-Founder of the venture development firm, humble ventures. Harry founded humble ventures to support diverse entrepreneurs and drive innovation opportunities for industry leaders. Whether in venture capital, education, or sports, Harry's career has always centered around inclusion. We chatted with Harry about his investme...