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There are many myths about Silicon Valley, but AfroTech’s Black Tech Green Money is here to get to the bottom of it. As the founding managing partner of Plexo Capital, an institutional investment firm that was incubated and spun out of Google Ventures (GV), Lo Toney knows what it means to be on both ends of the table, whether it’s being a venture capitalist (VC) or operating a startup. “There are a lot of similarities,” he said during the episode of Black Tech Green Money (BTGM) podcast. “We think about it all the time, both in terms of how we operate and communicate the message of Plexo Capital, but also what we look for in other early-stage firms in general partnerships that we want to invest into.” When it comes to what they’re looking for in a startup, he further explained that the market size, along with the problem that is solved, the solution and how it will fit into the overall competitive landscape are some of the key elements that encourage a VC to invest. “Most...
Don’t just talk about it, be about it! Managing Director of venture capital (VC) firm Insight Partners knows exactly how to use his privilege to level the playing field when it comes to funding for Black founders. Richard Wells is the son of an Ecuadorian immigrant mother but carries the name and appearance of his white father which he notes has helped his career tremendously. “When I sit on a panel of folks that do what we do, I have joked that I have the same haircut and look very similar to everyone else, all the white guys,” said Wells in an interview with Forbes. “And I recognize that’s an advantage for me. No one knows that I had a grandmother that didn’t speak a word of English.” As veterans in the industry, Wells and his partners have continuously been informed about the hardships that fund managers, specifically, women and people of color, face when it comes to raising money. It was this that motivated both him and his partners to put $15 million of their own capital into a...