WEBVTT - Study Hall: Inside Venture Capital 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:03.960 Behind those warm and cozy knights at home. Thousands of 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:07.760 employees at BP go to work every day. People producing 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:11.680 more US natural gas, people building grid scale solar capacity, 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:16.880 people turning landfill waste gas into pipeline quality renewable natural gas, 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:20.320 and people delivering all of that power where it's needed. 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:23.919 They're part of almost three hundred thousand jobs VP supports 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:27.600 across the country. Learn more at VP dot com Slash 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:29.000 Investing in America. 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:34.040 Megan Host of Alexander is Well. She's at one of 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:38.160 the most successful VC firms of all time, Treacan Harwitz, 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:43.640 and she leads the firm's Cultural Leadership Fund CLF, which 0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:46.880 is actually a very big deal. A lot of high 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:52.559 profile people are in there. Yeah, and you know, she's just, 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:55.160 you know, it's very interesting because there's not a lot 0:00:55.200 --> 0:00:57.560 of black people in VC, and there's not a lot 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:00.640 of women in VC, so she's obviously a black woman. 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:04.640 So it's it's already, you know, a legendary situation just 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:08.080 to even be in her position, but just you know, 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:12.760 somebody that has killed in the game and is a 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:16.240 rising star in the world of VC. So I feel 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:18.760 like we haven't had a venture capital conversation in a 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:22.160 while since John Henry was on. Shout to John, who 0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:26.400 always you know, gives so much great insight. These conversations 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:30.040 are very needed because you know, it's high level conversation 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:33.200 with my god nineteen keys will say yep, and it 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.440 kind of you know, gets people a information, but also 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:39.320 thinking outside the box where we're not just talking about 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:41.280 the same thing every single week, where it's like now 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:43.120 you can start to thinking on a much higher level 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:45.800 with talking about you know, billions of dollars and things 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:50.600 of that nature. So welcome, thank you for joining us, appreciate. 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:52.960 It, thank you for having me. I'm this is a 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:54.920 big deal. I got to call my mom and let 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:55.800 her know where I am. 0:01:57.280 --> 0:02:01.640 That sixty mon on YouTube. She's watching it, no word, 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:03.280 hit the like one and if you're on YouTube, hit 0:02:03.320 --> 0:02:05.440 the like one. Sixty three hundred people. This is all 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:10.919 the biggest show ever created when it comes to investing, fantastic. 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:13.440 I'm listen. I need to I need you to say 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:14.920 that number again so I can try to get on 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:18.000 the plane. I need to put in a. 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:22.440 I mean, we will be honest if you could be 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:23.040 an investors. 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.720 So oh yeah, you gotta be an investment. 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:30.240 I'm gonna try really really hard to make it. It's 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:33.560 a crazy weekend for flying stuff I gotta do, but 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:35.880 I'm gonna try to squeeze in one day. I promise, 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:36.839 I'm gonna trying real hard. 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:38.560 It would be I got a ticket. 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:40.560 I bought a ticket, not even knowing if I could come. 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:43.079 But I already have a ticket, and if I can't 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:45.320 make it, I'm going to give it to somebody can 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:45.960 come for sure. 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:52.520 Appreciate thank you, appreciate that. Okay, let's get into this conversation. 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:53.520 Let's do it. 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:57.000 I'm gonna jump right into it because I think you heard. 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.480 We was talking to Don Peebles, and one of the 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:02.320 things that he's said was, I don't want to quote 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:05.960 the wrong number, but it's something like sixty billion dollars 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:08.600 something like that. Venture capital money out there flowing on 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:16.440 a crazy amount of sixty six billion, less than point 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:19.680 like seven percent of one percent, like less than seventy 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:25.840 basis points. Yeah, one goes to black and women, minority 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:29.680 and women businesses combined. It's not even the number is 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:31.480 not even big enough to just say black businesses. So 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:33.160 they got to put women in there combined. 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.560 So it's a fraction of a percent, you are career. 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:40.120 A fraction of a percent. When from my understanding, also, 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:46.280 black women percentage wise started the most businesses last year 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.480 in America. 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:51.440 So what we do black women? We just do it 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:53.480 all everybody. 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:56.880 That's a fact. So that's a disturbing number. That's an 0:03:56.880 --> 0:03:59.560 extremely disturbing number that nobody's talking about, because, like he 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:01.800 told us, he was like, imagine if it was even 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:04.320 proportional to the population where it's like, I think we're 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:07.000 like twenty percent of the population. So imagine if twenty 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:11.240 percent of that sixty six billion went to black businesses, Like, 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:14.480 imagine how that would change the landscape of things overnight. 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:17.400 Like the money's there, it's in circulation, it's just not 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:21.280 getting to us. But nobody's talking about that. But everybody's saying, like, well, 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:23.640 black businesses fell and different things in that nature. But 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:28.800 I mean there's underlying issues on why this is happening. So, okay, 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:31.120 how do we solve this problem with venture capital? 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:36.600 So first, it's way more than sixty six billion and 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:41.360 venture money out there working. I couldn't even tell you, 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:44.719 but you know, in Drees and Horwitz alone, we've got 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.680 about thirty billion under management. We're just one firm that's 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:52.520 only been in operation for the last ten to twelve years. 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:56.560 And so we're just one firm. There's hundreds of firms 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.960 out there, multiple that are big kind of multi stage 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:02.920 investment firms like ours. So so sixty six, I would say, 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:04.119 is a low a low number. 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:07.360 Maybe they think that every year, maybe sixty annually. 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:11.760 But at work, there's a lot of dollars at work 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:16.440 over time. But you're asking a big question and I 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:18.800 think is really hard to solve. But one of the 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:21.599 things that I've seen over the last few years is 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:23.880 people just got to put the put the money out there, 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:27.360 because you know, historically people have a way that they 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:29.840 look at companies. It's like you have to have, you know, 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:31.880 we want the founders to have a certain degree. We 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:34.080 want the founders who have a certain amount of experience 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:37.200 have worked at a certain set of companies. Right if 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:41.000 we've worked at you know, X, Twitter, it's Facebook, it's 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:45.279 you know, Yelp engineer, whatever the case may be. And 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:47.800 the fact is that you don't need all those things 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:49.640 to be a good founder. And so I think when 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:51.680 we can open up the scope to who can be 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:55.200 a good founder, we will likely get more dollars in 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:59.280 the hands of black folks and black women specifically. At 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:00.960 the same time, I think the other thing is really 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:06.960 important is putting black investors in place so they can 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:10.640 distribute the capital. Right because people a lot of times, 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:14.640 like for our for kind of the industries that people 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:19.000 like you usually can only like understand problems that like 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:21.120 you know or that you've seen. And so when we 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:25.080 ask white investors to understand black companies or black businesses, 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:28.000 if they're in a particular space, they don't get it right. 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:31.159 So then they get into the investment committee meeting and 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:32.360 they got to do a vote, and they're like, well, 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:35.280 I don't understand. I don't get it. And so if 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:38.040 we have black investors that have dollars they can put 0:06:38.080 --> 0:06:41.640 into companies, that also, I think will increase the amount 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:45.840 of dollars that go into black founders. At the same time, 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:49.280 it's not like black founders only found black companies. We 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:53.240 find you know, social media companies or consumer you know 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:57.040 e commerce companies too. But we do need to have 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:00.200 more folks in the room understand our community to make 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:03.320 the decision. So I would say probably those two things. 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:06.440 So VC is something that you know, it's not spoken 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:08.720 about in a lot of our communities, and so I'm 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:11.240 interested And what led you to the path of VC, 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:15.080 it's for sure. 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:19.600 So I just learned about VC in twenty sixteen, so 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:22.240 about six years and I was on a completely different 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:24.920 path in life. I went to Fark Atlanta undergrad shout. 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:26.480 Out to the path. 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:30.800 Shout out to the Panthers, and I was getting a 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:33.560 sociology degree. I was like, ooh, I love learning about 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:35.600 people and groups. And I had this idea that I 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:37.960 wanted to be an academic. I wanted to do research 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:40.680 full time and teach full time, dean of a school 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:45.320 and the president of a college. And I went through 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:47.720 this path, got my first masters, went to a PhD. 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:51.680 Hated dropped out. I was like, I got to get 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:53.680 out of here. This is this is not for me. 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:56.960 Moved to California, and you know they say to be 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:58.760 successful in Silicon Valley you got to have a good 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:02.680 dropout store. So I got my drag out store, moved 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:05.640 to Silicon Valley and it wasn't until I went to 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:07.560 business school. So I went to business school at Stanford, 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:12.680 and I didn't live on campus because by the time 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:14.560 I went to business school, I was much older than 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:16.560 you know, most of the people there, and I was like, 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:18.080 I'm gonna save my house. I'm not gonna move on 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:21.080 campus and all that stuff. So I was trying to 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:24.480 be tracked. Okay, when I was picking my classes, I 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:26.600 didn't want to be driving at nine o'clock in the morning. 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:29.800 I'm the one I want. It is very hectic. And 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:33.960 so there was a venture class that was like early afternoon. 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:37.120 I said, perfect, sign me up and didn't know what 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:39.199 it was. And so I get in there and it's 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:42.200 actually with Eric Schmidt. So Eric Schmidt is former CEO 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:47.000 of Google, former CEO chairman. Everybody calls to him, you know, 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:51.480 the first adult in the room at Google, and I 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:55.920 knew it. Got completely distracted by finance, that's the bottom line. 0:08:56.000 --> 0:09:00.320 Went into that class, read everything, just started doing extra stuff, 0:09:00.360 --> 0:09:05.600 extra reading. And one day we went for a walk 0:09:05.640 --> 0:09:07.760 with Eric after class and he may or may not 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:09.480 remember this, but we did a little short walk around 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:12.480 the GSP and he's like, you know, maybe you're one 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:14.280 of my best students. I think you should try venture 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:16.680 for real. And I said, play people don't do that. 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:18.680 I said, now, why would you try to set me 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:21.280 up for failure? Knowing that there are not people who 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:23.319 look like me in this industry, and so I kind 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.320 of just brush it off. But after a while, I said, 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:29.080 you know what, mayan if Eric Schmiz says you should 0:09:29.120 --> 0:09:31.839 try something, maybe you should try it. So then the 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:33.600 rest is kind of history. I spent my time running 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:36.320 up and down sand Hill Road the rest of my 0:09:36.400 --> 0:09:40.520 time at business school, started doing internships. You're supposed to 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:43.520 do like one internship between year one and year two 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:45.959 in business school, and I think I did a total 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:48.720 of like four all throughout the year I was working 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:52.080 during school turned into a full time role, and I've 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:53.079 been doing it ever since. 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:56.440 Cool question for you for those who are interested in 0:09:56.520 --> 0:09:59.160 getting into the VC space, what are some of the 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:02.200 most innovative ways you've seen people that look like us 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:03.840 breath into the industry. 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:09.000 Yep, So I would say that there's two ways, and honestly, 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:13.240 the most innovative that I think most successful thing I've 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.959 seen people do is start their own In the last 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:18.920 two or three years, we've seen more black founded venture 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:22.400 funds and firms than I've ever seen. It's been an 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.880 explosion and I love it. If you're looking for the 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:28.040 more traditional path, there's a couple of ways you can 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:31.160 do it. So working at a startup, people love seeing 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:34.120 that you've spent time on a product team, that you've 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:37.120 spent time in engineering or spent time in marketing, because 0:10:37.160 --> 0:10:40.000 you have insight into what to look for in a founder, 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:42.800 right you understand like, oh, they need to set up 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:45.880 this piece of the company or this vertical. You have 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:49.880 insight into kind of what the needs are in the space. Also, 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:51.960 going to business school and kind of just getting an 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:54.320 extra business edge and how to think about you know, 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:57.679 technology and think about business and to think about startups 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:00.440 is important. But I say one of the easy ways 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:02.680 is going to a startup and actually spending some time 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:06.080 in it because you get kind of an extra edge. 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:09.880 And then actually probably the most important thing is having 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:15.160 a perspective about the future. So VC is a long game. 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:17.440 It is very different from the public market. It is 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.120 not like oh, I'll buy some stocks and the next 0:11:20.200 --> 0:11:22.320 year I'm gonna cash out, or in two years I'm 0:11:22.320 --> 0:11:24.160 gonna cash out, or in five years I'm gonna catch 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:26.200 cause I tell my I tell my investors in CLF. 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:29.760 You know, venture is an eight to ten year game. 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:32.600 Like it is a long view game. I say, if 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:34.120 you're gonna come to me in two years and ask 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:36.640 me where your money is, I don't have I don't 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:40.240 have it. And so investors you have a perspective on 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:42.600 what they think is going to happen in the future, like, oh, 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:44.199 I think you know, people are going to want to 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:48.000 start communicating through I don't know, bird calls it by 0:11:48.120 --> 0:11:51.040 you know, by twenty thirty, right, And so you start 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:54.679 looking for companies in that space. You they just really 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:57.880 want people who are kind of thinking beyond the way. 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:00.480 So if you can kind of formulate, you know, an 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:03.560 idea around that, I think you're likely setting yourself up 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:04.359 for success. 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:10.400 Let me let me ask you this, ask me this. Okay, 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:13.920 how do you get the money? So if how do 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:19.440 companies position themselves to attract venture capital money? 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:26.000 Mm hmm. So different vcs like different things. All vcs 0:12:26.000 --> 0:12:28.040 are not the same. And the first thing is that 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:31.959 people would You're gonna put yourself in a good position 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:34.600 if you find the vcs that are looking for what 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:38.840 you have. So, if you're building a consumer product, a 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:43.000 social app, necessarily going to talk to enterprise investors or 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:46.079 fintech investors or the biotech investors that's not going to 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:48.880 serve you. You're gonna waste everybody's time, your time and 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:51.760 their time, and neither you know, neither party is gonna 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:55.360 like that. So identify who the investors are that are 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:58.320 in your space and not just like your vertical, but 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:04.240 you're your size range, right, So are you raising a 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:04.920 pre c round? 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:05.080 Right? 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:07.880 Are you raising five hundred thousand dollars? You're raising five 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:09.840 hundred thousand dollars. You don't want to go to a 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:13.439 growth fund, right. They're looking for companies that are much later, 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:15.520 have a ton of revenue. You have a ton of 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.720 you know, staff already. So make sure you're not only 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:20.760 in the right vertical, but also in the right size 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:25.040 range of you know, what you're trying to raise. You know, 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:28.600 early stage vcs tend to be looking for folks who 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:32.160 great ideas. What it's you know, it's usually pre traction, 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:36.640 sometimes pre products before you have anything. So if you're 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:39.680 your early stage, it's really about the team that's building it, right, 0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:42.160 what is your background? Why are you the best person 0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:46.000 to build this particular company? And then as you grow 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:48.520 it kind of changes, Right, how much traction do you 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:50.880 have if you have an app? What's the engagement looking 0:13:51.000 --> 0:13:52.960 like you know, how often are people on your app 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:56.520 and for how long? So whatever the kind of key 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.480 performance indicators are for your business, that's really what you 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:00.440 should lean named you. 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:05.440 I think this conversation is extremely important. We all have children. 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:08.040 I have a daughter, and Megan, obviously you are somebody 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:11.800 that is extremely It's inspirational, right, And so I wonder 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:14.199 what the experience is like coming into the space obviously 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:15.959 that we're not familiar with in our community a lot 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:18.839 of times as a black woman coming into the space, 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:21.360 what has that experience been like for you over the 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:23.440 past six or seven years? 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:27.880 Totally? So first, I have two kids. You're you, You're 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:31.680 getting mom life right now. Because here's a crib. You 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:33.640 see the paw Patrol. 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:39.240 Been there, Chase is on the case. 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:43.720 Okay, in the chat, I need you to say something 0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:46.840 if paw Patrol has a choke hold on your child 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:51.960 like it for two years for two right, it's a thing. 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:56.160 But for me as a mom, I'll say And I 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:58.360 think venture in general has a long way to go 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:03.120 when it comes to women in our role in this industry. 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:05.960 And I think there's a lot of learning to do 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:07.360 and a lot of role to do. But what I 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:09.880 can say is that you know, at Andres and Horwitz, 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:14.480 I've had a really fantastic experience as my own. I'm 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:18.400 actually on maternity right now. I have a two months 0:15:18.400 --> 0:15:22.400 those I have a two month hole, and I am 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:26.920 a technically not you know, technically not working. But I 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:31.960 really do love, you know, my role, and I love 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:36.240 my firm so much that I'm happy to share about 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:38.560 them any any chance I get. But I think the 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:40.640 key is people making sure that they have really great 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:44.200 maternity policies, people making sure that women feel supported in 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:46.120 the workplace. And it's not like, oh, if you have 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:49.280 kids and you can't work until two am and you 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:53.320 can't drop everything and get on a flight in Whateur 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:56.520 that that doesn't mean you're any less committed to your role. 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:58.760 And I think one of the things, and I hope 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:00.880 this is okay for me to share, one of my 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:04.920 favorite things about our firm is our leadership has been 0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:09.920 really phenomenal from a maternity le perspective and just supporting 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:14.320 women at work. And when the pandemic first started, you know, 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:17.360 everybody was like, oh, we're going remote, but we think 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:19.560 we're going to come back. We might do hybrid like no, 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:21.960 like companies were really trying to figure her out what 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:24.720 they were going to do. And I'll never forget Our 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:30.360 founder Ben Horwitz got on our all hands and told us, 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:32.880 you know, it just happens every Friday. And he says, 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:35.520 you know, I was talking to lots of staff about 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:37.200 what they want to do, and you know, trying to 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.720 get opinions on like what should happened first. That's the 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:41.520 first sign of a good leader, is like asking people 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:44.920 what they actually want to do. And he said, I 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:48.960 was speaking to a woman and she said, this pandemic 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:50.840 has been the first time that I felt like I 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:54.240 could be a good mom and a good employee. And 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.680 he said, I'm not taking that away from people. I 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:58.720 can't take it away. So he said, we're not going back, 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:00.640 you know, no matter what we do, we're not going 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:03.280 back to you know, fully in office culture because I 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:05.080 can't do that to the moms. And I'm just like, 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:09.639 sign me up, you know. So I really really appreciated that. 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:12.800 But I think overall the industry does have a really 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:14.600 really long way because it's not a lot of women. 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:17.879 Yeah, to tell in to what you were talking about, Like, 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:20.280 as a parent, I have won seven year old. He's 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:23.800 in there playing Fortnite. Now, how do you balance everything? 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:27.040 So being a woman, African American woman and the super 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:31.359 competitive space, how do you manage that family life while 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:33.199 trying to be the best at your craft in this 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:34.359 VC space. 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:35.000 I don't. 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:38.040 I don't balance it here. I'm gonna be agree with you. 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:39.800 I don't balance it here with I do my best, 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:42.560 but I try to put like a couple of little 0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:45.200 rules in play. So for me with my first son 0:17:45.320 --> 0:17:46.920 was I have a three year old and two months old. 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:51.760 I was like, he's he's coming everywhere with me. I 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:53.640 don't care if it's work, I don't care if it's 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:57.439 for play. Up until he's two, I'm gonna takehim with 0:17:57.440 --> 0:17:59.920 me because if I'm traveling for work, even if I'm 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:01.760 on for two nights, I'm all stressed out, like I 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.400 miss him and I gotta FaceTime. But if he's if 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:07.200 he's with me, I can stay somewhere for two weeks 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:09.040 and not be worried about it because whenever I get 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:12.080 off for I'm going to be back with him. So 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:14.600 that's kind of the first thing that I do. And 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:21.479 I think that having women kind of food have been 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:26.040 my superiors over time when they have children, they really 0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:29.120 lean into two women who are in the same position. 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:31.840 So I try to provide that for people who are 0:18:31.840 --> 0:18:33.840 on my team as well as much as I can, Like, 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:36.359 you need flexibility, your child is sick, un feel bad 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:39.080 about your childhood and sick? Why should Why should be 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:40.920 scared to tell your boss? Right? And so I try 0:18:40.920 --> 0:18:44.600 to create that type of environment for everybody around, and 0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:46.600 I hope that people try to do it for me too. 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:51.800 And we just gotta stop explaining ourselves like, oh, I 0:18:51.800 --> 0:18:53.879 gotta leave early because I gotta take my kids to 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:57.240 the you know, the they gotta basketball game, and just 0:18:57.280 --> 0:19:00.159 say I gotta go leave early, don't you know. We 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:02.720 don't have to do all of explaining and hoping that 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:05.720 people will like say, okay, it's all right saying what 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:07.600 you never do. 0:19:06.880 --> 0:19:09.000 You think that's an African American thing or a woman thing? 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:09.920 Yeah? 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:11.240 Both? 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:14.359 Both? Both? 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:19.919 Yeah? Yeah, all right, So let's let's talk about this. 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:22.719 How do you pitch yourself to companies with VC, Like 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:25.720 if you if, what what should what should? Like, what's 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:29.240 the uh one on one kit that somebody should have 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:32.840 if they're interested in getting VC money? And at what 0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:36.920 point should somebody even entertain trying to get VC money. 0:19:37.720 --> 0:19:42.520 Yeah, so REASONA. People can disagree, but I think that 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:45.760 it really just depends on how ready you want to be. 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:51.760 But venture tech startups is very much a fail fast 0:19:52.359 --> 0:19:55.480 type of mentality. You rather try early figure out what 0:19:55.480 --> 0:19:58.120 you're doing wrong, and then come back again after you've 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:00.000 fixed all your mistakes. If you're trying to get every 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:02.199 being perfect, like, oh, my company has to be perfect 0:20:02.280 --> 0:20:05.399 and we have to have all these details right, et cetera, 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:08.280 you're probably gonna spend too much time trying to get 0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:10.240 that right and actually not know what you need to 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:13.280 fix because you haven't shown anybody right. You're building in 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:15.639 secret and you're like, oh, this has to be perfect, 0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:17.520 and then at the end of the day you go 0:20:17.680 --> 0:20:19.560 do your pitch and they're like, oh, all these things 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:21.400 are wrong and you could have fixed them far earlier. 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:23.479 So again, if you want to raise at the pre 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:27.560 seed level, a lot of people don't have a product. 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:30.119 It's just an idea and a pitch dick and you're 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:32.239 walking somebody through what you think it can be. A 0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:34.840 lot of investors on the VC side are just we 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:37.600 care about magnitude, right. It's like how big can this 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:40.359 idea get? Have you identified a really really big market? 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:42.119 Is it a really really great team, and do I 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:45.760 think that they can execute and you can get money 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:46.520 with nothing? 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:49.200 Well, so let's let's let's let's break this down a 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:51.960 little bit. Yeah, So, because I want to talk to 0:20:52.000 --> 0:20:54.680 people that that's not really familiar with the space. So 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:57.359 the team is the team is very important, right, So 0:20:57.560 --> 0:21:02.080 putting together a team like senior leadership, all the people 0:21:02.080 --> 0:21:04.600 that have already had success in the space, that's going 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:09.280 to be helpful, right, And then like putting together like 0:21:09.400 --> 0:21:12.879 the pitch deck of the idea of kind of like 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:15.919 you said, just even if it's not fully there yet, 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:20.600 like yeap what it can potentially do, and convincing somebody 0:21:20.680 --> 0:21:24.760 that you have the capability of actually making this happen. 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:28.240 Right for sure? For sure? And I would say even 0:21:28.280 --> 0:21:31.359 beyond getting to senior leadership, when you're at the really 0:21:31.400 --> 0:21:35.600 really early stage, it's about the founding team, right, who 0:21:35.680 --> 0:21:37.400 are the people who are founding this company. 0:21:37.440 --> 0:21:41.920 If it's like, oh, say it's an education tech company 0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:47.280 and it's about teaching kids how to xyz whatever, and 0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:51.440 you're a former teacher, right, that's really interesting to investors 0:21:51.480 --> 0:21:54.159 because you know the space, you understand what the need is, 0:21:54.240 --> 0:21:56.520 or you're a former principal or a school board member, 0:21:56.880 --> 0:21:58.000 and then you partner. 0:21:57.760 --> 0:22:01.600 Up with say an engineer who was at whatever other 0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:04.479 ed tech company. Right, we're looking at are these puzzle 0:22:04.480 --> 0:22:07.560 pieces in place for this idea and this team to 0:22:07.720 --> 0:22:08.520 actually work. 0:22:13.119 --> 0:22:17.040 So you're leading the Cultural Leadership Fund. Can you talk 0:22:17.040 --> 0:22:20.560 about what it is it's important and how unique it 0:22:20.600 --> 0:22:22.800 is to the tech space. 0:22:23.920 --> 0:22:27.159 I can, I can so Cultural Leadership Fund, So it 0:22:27.200 --> 0:22:29.840 probably starts. Let me started what Inreas and Horwitz is 0:22:29.880 --> 0:22:32.400 because that will make Cultural Leadership Fund make even more sense. 0:22:32.480 --> 0:22:33.120 So do it. 0:22:33.720 --> 0:22:37.600 In Treason Horowitz, we are a venture capital firm. We've 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:40.040 got again about thirty billion dollars under management, and we 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:43.160 do early stage and growth stage investing, so the full 0:22:43.280 --> 0:22:46.679 kind of scale of a venture capital h and we 0:22:46.760 --> 0:22:49.160 do so through a number of funds. So we've got 0:22:49.920 --> 0:22:53.360 a venture funds, We've got crypto fund, we've got growth 0:22:53.640 --> 0:22:58.480 we have a biotech fund. So all of those funds 0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:01.040 exist at our firm. And then Culturallyadership Fund is this 0:23:01.119 --> 0:23:05.800 other fund that is a strategic co investment vehicle inside 0:23:05.800 --> 0:23:08.880 of Injuries and World with so we invest alongside those 0:23:08.920 --> 0:23:12.160 other ones that I just mentioned. But the thing that 0:23:12.480 --> 0:23:14.800 is really interesting and really cool about what we do 0:23:14.840 --> 0:23:17.760 at CLEFT is that we do those co investments with 0:23:17.920 --> 0:23:21.359 two main missions in mind. So the first is connecting 0:23:21.400 --> 0:23:24.800 the world's greatest cultural leaders to the best new technology companies, 0:23:25.400 --> 0:23:28.480 and the second is getting more young African Americans into technology. 0:23:28.600 --> 0:23:31.520 So that first mission, you guys actually kind of talked 0:23:31.520 --> 0:23:37.040 about it earlier. When we say getting cultural leaders into 0:23:37.200 --> 0:23:41.320 technology companies, we mean the world's greatest athletes, entertainers, musicians, 0:23:41.640 --> 0:23:45.840 cea level executives, all of whom are excited about technology. 0:23:45.920 --> 0:23:48.640 They're interested in innovation, they want to play a role 0:23:48.680 --> 0:23:51.240 in the things that are being built across this industry. 0:23:51.440 --> 0:23:53.159 And c LEFT gets to be an on ramp for that. 0:23:53.600 --> 0:23:55.440 And I think for so many you know, we call 0:23:55.440 --> 0:23:59.520 them cultural leaders. You know, in the past it's been 0:23:59.520 --> 0:24:02.960 about like getting a sponsorship deal with a company after 0:24:03.000 --> 0:24:05.760 they've gotten big, or figuring out how to monetize on 0:24:06.359 --> 0:24:10.359 X platform. But for us, it's about getting ownership on 0:24:10.440 --> 0:24:13.239 the cap table of these companies. And again, these are 0:24:13.280 --> 0:24:16.959 companies kind of pre public, so before the average retail 0:24:17.000 --> 0:24:19.880 investor can get into a company, we're taking it back 0:24:19.880 --> 0:24:22.040 to the private space and making sure that we get 0:24:22.080 --> 0:24:26.200 black dollars onto the tables of these companies. 0:24:27.320 --> 0:24:29.439 Cool question for you, So what are like three or 0:24:29.480 --> 0:24:33.920 four key traits that an entrepreneur can have that will 0:24:33.960 --> 0:24:37.360 make your fund or one similar to it go crazy 0:24:37.440 --> 0:24:39.960 like once you see their pitch deck or presentation. 0:24:41.080 --> 0:24:41.280 Yep. 0:24:41.359 --> 0:24:43.600 So the important thing to know there's CLF is a 0:24:43.640 --> 0:24:46.879 co investment vehicle, so we don't do direct investments. We 0:24:46.920 --> 0:24:51.080 invest alongside the other fund. But I think that's an 0:24:51.119 --> 0:24:55.000 important piece to bring up though, because in this concept, 0:24:55.000 --> 0:24:57.880 I think about black generational wealth and I think there's 0:24:57.920 --> 0:25:00.679 a few really key ways to do it. When we 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:04.639 think about technology and technology companies. The first is obviously 0:25:04.920 --> 0:25:08.640 investing in black founders, right, It's making sure you put 0:25:08.680 --> 0:25:10.520 dollars in their hands so they can put into their 0:25:10.520 --> 0:25:13.639 companies and grow. The second is getting black dollars on 0:25:13.760 --> 0:25:17.680 cap tables, so getting black investors into whatever tech companies 0:25:17.720 --> 0:25:19.760 that are out there. And then the third is getting 0:25:19.760 --> 0:25:24.040 black talent into tech companies, so being an employee at 0:25:24.080 --> 0:25:26.800 the seed or the Series A or the Series B stage, 0:25:26.880 --> 0:25:30.000 because that early employee equity can potentially be very very 0:25:30.080 --> 0:25:32.520 valuable down the road. Right, We've all heard the stories 0:25:32.560 --> 0:25:36.960 of Facebook or Twitter making people millionaires overnight, and so 0:25:37.000 --> 0:25:39.040 I think those are the three ways to really build 0:25:40.000 --> 0:25:42.800 generational wealth for the black community. I think technology has 0:25:42.800 --> 0:25:44.880 proven that time and time again. And see A Left 0:25:44.880 --> 0:25:47.680 focuses on those last two. We focus on black investor 0:25:47.720 --> 0:25:50.120 dollars on the cap table, and we focus on black 0:25:50.200 --> 0:25:52.440 talent into technology companies. 0:25:55.800 --> 0:25:58.520 Dame Dash on the FaceTime call during Mark on Monday, 0:26:00.680 --> 0:26:08.040 A man, A man, what's up? Bro? Look say what's up? 0:26:09.160 --> 0:26:09.520 Everybody? 0:26:09.880 --> 0:26:12.360 One of the most powerful people in in venture capital, 0:26:12.440 --> 0:26:19.199 this is Dame Dash. Say that we're only doing a 0:26:19.200 --> 0:26:20.000 live show right now. 0:26:20.000 --> 0:26:22.359 Bro, you're on the live show. 0:26:24.119 --> 0:26:26.359 What did you say? Is that the cara skills you're 0:26:26.359 --> 0:26:30.480 showing me as a curtain? Yo, We're on a live show. 0:26:30.480 --> 0:26:33.920 I'mnna call you. I'm gonna call you right back. Yeah, Man, 0:26:34.200 --> 0:26:35.080 Actually make an announcement. 0:26:35.119 --> 0:26:38.560 Actually, what do you think about? Bring him? 0:26:38.960 --> 0:26:42.960 Let's dang, dang. I wasn't you gotta break the good? 0:26:43.160 --> 0:26:46.000 I wasn't good. I wasn't planning on this. But everything 0:26:46.040 --> 0:26:48.960 happens for a reason. So Dame Dash is one of 0:26:49.000 --> 0:26:52.680 our favorite people on Earth. A cultural icon. He reminds 0:26:52.760 --> 0:26:55.000 us every single time he speaks to us how much 0:26:55.040 --> 0:26:57.480 he's helped our program, how important he is to us. 0:26:59.760 --> 0:27:01.399 Without I remind you. 0:27:01.480 --> 0:27:06.280 How much I have to help my program. That's too 0:27:06.600 --> 0:27:10.359 so so, Dame I called you the other day. I said, look, 0:27:10.680 --> 0:27:14.040 we got this big thing invest Fest. We need you there. 0:27:14.640 --> 0:27:18.959 And after about five minutes, Dame Dash will be out 0:27:19.000 --> 0:27:20.679 in Vestfest. Confirmed. 0:27:21.280 --> 0:27:23.040 You better not let me get around Dames. You think 0:27:23.080 --> 0:27:23.679 I am crazy? 0:27:23.720 --> 0:27:28.399 Now, boy, Dave Dash, Ladies and Jail will be in 0:27:28.480 --> 0:27:33.840 Atlanta August seven. 0:27:33.880 --> 0:27:36.240 I'm gonna make sure you that I must. I'm gonna 0:27:36.280 --> 0:27:38.040 call you every single day to make sure you that 0:27:38.040 --> 0:27:39.960 that's a fact that. 0:27:42.840 --> 0:27:45.080 This episode is brought to you by P and C Bank. 0:27:45.480 --> 0:27:48.240 A lot of people think podcasts about work are boring, 0:27:48.440 --> 0:27:52.280 and sure, they definitely can be, but understanding of professionals 0:27:52.359 --> 0:27:55.639 routine shows us how they achieve their success little by little, 0:27:56.000 --> 0:27:59.640 day after day. 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I was 0:29:35.400 --> 0:29:36.680 able to finance it through them. 0:29:36.760 --> 0:29:38.640 I just, oh, wait, you mean finance. 0:29:38.800 --> 0:29:41.800 Yeah, finance, got pre qualified for a Carvana auto loan, 0:29:41.920 --> 0:29:44.440 entered my terms and shot from thousands of great car options, 0:29:44.440 --> 0:29:45.320 always in my budget. 0:29:45.320 --> 0:29:47.840 That's cool that financing through Carvana. 0:29:47.560 --> 0:29:50.080 Was so easy, financed, done, and I get to pick 0:29:50.120 --> 0:29:53.200 up my car from their Carvana venue machine tomorrow by nanced. 0:29:53.360 --> 0:29:54.120 Right, That's what I said. 0:29:54.280 --> 0:29:56.760 You can spend time trying to pronounce financing or you 0:29:56.800 --> 0:30:00.560 can actually finance and buy your car today on the 0:30:00.600 --> 0:30:01.840 financing subject of credit approval. 0:30:01.840 --> 0:30:03.280 Additional terms and conditions were apply. 0:30:03.320 --> 0:30:06.600 Fact yes, breaking bread, Dame, I'm gonna call you. I'm 0:30:06.600 --> 0:30:09.640 gonna call you after this is over. Brother, You got 0:30:09.640 --> 0:30:10.360 your bedline. 0:30:19.960 --> 0:30:27.960 Oh it's uh always always, always got jokes, jokes. 0:30:27.720 --> 0:30:34.400 Truth and true, challeng killing alright, Uh, Dame Dash will 0:30:34.440 --> 0:30:38.000 be at investments ladies and gentlemen. Yes, market Monday's exclusive. 0:30:38.040 --> 0:30:40.520 I was gonna wait till till next week to drop that, but. 0:30:41.480 --> 0:30:44.440 Yeah, I'm glad I'm on this episode because all the 0:30:44.440 --> 0:30:47.840 big announcements are coming in these episodes, is the fact, 0:30:48.880 --> 0:30:53.160 right At first, it's funny. I I think we were 0:30:53.160 --> 0:30:55.000 supposed to do a different day, but I ended up 0:30:55.240 --> 0:30:56.360 on the biggest announcement. 0:30:56.920 --> 0:31:00.560 That is true. That's true, Tyler Perry, ask it just 0:31:00.600 --> 0:31:02.720 it just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and we're not done. 0:31:02.960 --> 0:31:03.160 Yeah. 0:31:03.960 --> 0:31:06.440 I'm sorry. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't resist 0:31:06.440 --> 0:31:09.520 myself Dan. Anytime Dan calls that's what you know, that's 0:31:09.680 --> 0:31:12.959 a legendary moment we grew up on, like music like Rockefeller, 0:31:13.040 --> 0:31:15.920 like you know. So it's still kind of weird to 0:31:15.960 --> 0:31:19.480 me that Dan Dash calls me FaceTime like it's blessings. 0:31:19.520 --> 0:31:23.440 It's surreal. It's weird. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. 0:31:23.360 --> 0:31:26.640 Like the numbers that come through. I'm like, yeah, okay, yeah, 0:31:26.640 --> 0:31:27.440 this is our life now. 0:31:27.640 --> 0:31:30.200 Yeah, and ask any question real quick? 0:31:30.560 --> 0:31:31.240 Yes please. 0:31:32.680 --> 0:31:35.680 So Ben is one of my favorite entrepreneurs of all time. 0:31:36.280 --> 0:31:38.000 Can you share maybe like three or four big. 0:31:37.920 --> 0:31:39.880 Lessons you've learned from him since being there? 0:31:40.960 --> 0:31:46.880 Oh, take the time. Yes, that's a good question. You 0:31:46.880 --> 0:31:48.840 put me on the spot. I have learned actually a 0:31:48.880 --> 0:31:53.040 lot of lessons from being my favorite. I'll give you 0:31:53.080 --> 0:31:59.080 my favorite. So our firm is really active venture firm, 0:31:59.480 --> 0:32:02.560 doing a life of stuff all the time, and I 0:32:02.560 --> 0:32:04.720 think there are a lot of opportunities that come our 0:32:04.760 --> 0:32:09.680 way that could be quick and easy. But then as 0:32:09.680 --> 0:32:11.360 this phrase and we have this value at the firm 0:32:11.400 --> 0:32:14.600 that says we take the long view on relationships. And 0:32:15.960 --> 0:32:19.520 what that means is is we're we're in a relationship business. 0:32:19.920 --> 0:32:23.400 But what that means is that we don't sacrifice relationships 0:32:23.440 --> 0:32:25.960 for a quick book. You don't have to when people 0:32:26.040 --> 0:32:27.880 come into our firm. You don't have to worry about 0:32:27.920 --> 0:32:29.920 us going and running and tell somebody else about your 0:32:29.960 --> 0:32:33.080 business or all your secrets, or you know that we'll 0:32:33.160 --> 0:32:35.760 steal something or switch up something up like, we are 0:32:36.040 --> 0:32:40.040 very loyal to the relationships that we build, and that 0:32:40.200 --> 0:32:43.800 is just dangerously critical to me because I think that 0:32:43.880 --> 0:32:47.560 loyalty is really important, and I think trust is really important. 0:32:49.320 --> 0:32:52.800 But we take the long beyond relationships. Nobody had forever 0:32:52.840 --> 0:32:55.480 has to worry about us, you know, flipping and dipping 0:32:55.560 --> 0:32:57.640 for a million here or five million there or ten 0:32:57.680 --> 0:33:00.960 million here. We are we really try to be about it. 0:33:03.440 --> 0:33:05.360 Let me ask you that you spoke about the series 0:33:05.400 --> 0:33:07.720 a series BB here like seed round. We just spoke 0:33:07.760 --> 0:33:10.920 to Pinky from Floody Big and she just got twenty 0:33:10.920 --> 0:33:12.440 five million dollars in her seat. 0:33:12.920 --> 0:33:15.400 Pinky my heart. That is my bag. 0:33:16.520 --> 0:33:18.520 Oh yeah, yeah, thinky. 0:33:18.440 --> 0:33:22.800 That's my bag. We went to college together. She is 0:33:23.000 --> 0:33:26.920 my Sto Roars. She brought me into Delta. She was 0:33:27.000 --> 0:33:29.960 Miss the Au the year before me, and then I 0:33:30.040 --> 0:33:32.040 was Miss c Au but she was Miss Junior and 0:33:32.080 --> 0:33:34.120 I was missing. We've been living up on each other 0:33:34.160 --> 0:33:36.880 for a long time for a long time. She's everything 0:33:36.960 --> 0:33:39.240 and I'm always following in her footsteps. So this is. 0:33:40.760 --> 0:33:40.960 Old. 0:33:41.280 --> 0:33:42.800 She has a one week old. 0:33:43.320 --> 0:33:48.960 Yeah that is my sister for sure. 0:33:49.480 --> 0:33:51.120 Shout out to Pinky. But yeah, can you kind of 0:33:51.120 --> 0:33:54.479 talk about that like seed rounds, round a round, Like 0:33:54.640 --> 0:33:55.560 what does that mean? 0:33:56.600 --> 0:33:56.800 Yep. 0:33:56.880 --> 0:33:59.280 So that's just about the stage that you are in 0:33:59.720 --> 0:34:03.080 the company. And I tell people to think about fundraising 0:34:03.160 --> 0:34:06.240 rounds as like a step function. It's not like a 0:34:06.280 --> 0:34:08.799 lot a linear you know, relationship like this, it just 0:34:08.840 --> 0:34:11.400 goes to It's not like that where it's like you 0:34:10.960 --> 0:34:13.680 do your valuation grows and it doesn't work like that. 0:34:13.800 --> 0:34:16.759 It's like this right, And what that means is like 0:34:16.800 --> 0:34:20.160 if you're at a seed round, there's all the stuff 0:34:20.160 --> 0:34:22.480 that you need to do before you can raise a 0:34:22.520 --> 0:34:25.400 series series A, and then when you raise a series A, 0:34:26.239 --> 0:34:28.279 you just stay flat. There's all the stuff you need 0:34:28.320 --> 0:34:30.560 to do and accomplish and achieve from attraction and a 0:34:30.600 --> 0:34:33.360 profit and a revenue perspective before you can raise a 0:34:33.400 --> 0:34:35.839 series B, and then you jump up to the next round. 0:34:35.880 --> 0:34:39.560 It's not kind of this like constant ticking, but essentially 0:34:39.640 --> 0:34:43.040 usually like a seed round is maybe you've got a 0:34:43.120 --> 0:34:47.640 rough version of your product. You are, you know, working 0:34:47.680 --> 0:34:49.480 on a beta. Maybe you've got a couple of people 0:34:49.520 --> 0:34:53.360 testing it out. By series A, you you found a 0:34:53.360 --> 0:34:55.640 little bit of product market fit you're starting to think 0:34:55.680 --> 0:34:59.600 about you know, you've got a repeatable process for acquiring 0:34:59.640 --> 0:35:04.000 customer or users. Right, there's all these kind of uh 0:35:04.520 --> 0:35:08.520 T traction and benchmarks that that firms are looking for. 0:35:08.560 --> 0:35:11.440 And every firm is different. Right, Some firms might say, well, no, 0:35:11.560 --> 0:35:13.760 let seed that you said is more of a serious 0:35:13.800 --> 0:35:15.399 age to me, and for other people like, oh, that's 0:35:15.560 --> 0:35:18.360 totally a serious be So every firm is different. But 0:35:18.400 --> 0:35:21.279 the idea is that there's kind of these benchmarks that 0:35:21.320 --> 0:35:23.200 you have to meet to get to each ground. 0:35:25.040 --> 0:35:28.359 So obviously the fund, you've had a lot of people 0:35:28.440 --> 0:35:32.960 invest You've had obviously celebrities, you've had cultural leaders You've 0:35:33.040 --> 0:35:37.359 had athletes. I'm wondering from your side, how encouraging it 0:35:37.400 --> 0:35:40.440 is to see this type of diversity coming into the space, 0:35:40.800 --> 0:35:43.719 or if it's not at the pace that you you 0:35:43.760 --> 0:35:45.920 know that is fulfilling to you, What can we do 0:35:46.080 --> 0:35:48.799 to encourage people to look at this as a way 0:35:49.239 --> 0:35:51.960 to actually put into your portfolio as a way to 0:35:52.239 --> 0:35:55.480 generate generational wealth, Like, yeah, what are your thoughts on that? 0:35:56.360 --> 0:36:01.560 Yep, for sure, so I we The insight that kind 0:36:01.560 --> 0:36:05.480 of started Cultural Leadership Fund was this idea that when 0:36:05.480 --> 0:36:08.319 it came to the things that were cool, what people wore, 0:36:08.400 --> 0:36:11.040 what people liked to do, what they talked about, it 0:36:11.120 --> 0:36:14.040 was black Twitter and Instagram and in black TikTok. It 0:36:14.120 --> 0:36:17.320 was black people and what we were doing that everybody 0:36:17.360 --> 0:36:21.360 wanted to do. So but again, so often we weren't 0:36:21.360 --> 0:36:24.760 capturing any of the value of these companies right Again, 0:36:24.880 --> 0:36:27.319 we'd be real popping on there and then maybe get 0:36:27.360 --> 0:36:30.160 a sponsorship later or whatever the case is. It came 0:36:30.200 --> 0:36:33.359 to owning the company as they grew and your kind 0:36:33.400 --> 0:36:37.160 of relationship growing proportionately, you know, and your wealth growing 0:36:37.160 --> 0:36:40.360 proportionately to the company, it just didn't exist. So Cleft 0:36:40.480 --> 0:36:42.879 was created in order to kind of alleviate that, where 0:36:42.920 --> 0:36:46.040 it's like, Okay, these black culture creators, people shaping, shifting, 0:36:46.120 --> 0:36:48.319 creating culture. If we can get them on the cap 0:36:48.360 --> 0:36:51.360 tables early, then they can really truly capture the value 0:36:51.360 --> 0:36:53.239 of what it is that they're bringing to the platform. 0:36:54.120 --> 0:36:58.000 And so I love it because our investors have become 0:36:58.280 --> 0:37:03.960 some of the most savvy, thoughtful, you know, investment partners 0:37:04.000 --> 0:37:07.319 in these companies that that I've ever seen. So this 0:37:07.400 --> 0:37:10.040 whole concept of like a dumb athlete, this whole concept 0:37:10.080 --> 0:37:13.600 of like a spacey you know, actress or whoever business leader, 0:37:14.320 --> 0:37:17.000 it's those days are over. These are some of the 0:37:17.000 --> 0:37:19.839 most thoughtful and kind of intricate people that that I've 0:37:19.880 --> 0:37:22.200 ever met in portfolio company like working with them. They 0:37:22.239 --> 0:37:23.600 don't want to work with people who are just going 0:37:23.680 --> 0:37:26.480 to drop a couple of dollars and disappear. That's that's 0:37:26.520 --> 0:37:29.920 completely useless because money is abundant when it comes to 0:37:29.960 --> 0:37:31.640 the venture capital space. It's like they don't have to 0:37:31.640 --> 0:37:34.560 save your money. They don't have to take your money. 0:37:34.560 --> 0:37:37.359 They're getting money from you know, entries and Horrwitzer's choir 0:37:37.440 --> 0:37:39.239 or whoever else. If you're you know, when you're a 0:37:39.239 --> 0:37:41.520 coach or leader, it's not about your money. It's about 0:37:41.800 --> 0:37:43.440 the value that you can help bring to help the 0:37:43.480 --> 0:37:47.120 company succeed. And so I've seen people really come into that, 0:37:47.680 --> 0:37:51.200 you know, into their own as investors through through the cleft, 0:37:51.719 --> 0:37:53.319 and I think that's only going to grow. I think 0:37:53.320 --> 0:37:55.160 it's an insight that other people are starting to catch 0:37:55.200 --> 0:37:59.080 on to and try to create kind of similar similar vehicles. 0:37:59.760 --> 0:38:02.160 But we're really proud that we get to be the 0:38:02.200 --> 0:38:04.160 first you you. 0:38:04.120 --> 0:38:05.120 Talk about the impact is. 0:38:07.640 --> 0:38:07.799 It? 0:38:08.840 --> 0:38:11.200 Can you talk to us about the impact that attending 0:38:11.320 --> 0:38:13.560 c AU had in your life, because sometimes I think 0:38:14.160 --> 0:38:17.319 is after the Americans, we think HBCU isn't as good. 0:38:17.360 --> 0:38:20.080 But the guy who actually uh introduced me to investor 0:38:20.760 --> 0:38:21.360 went to Clark. 0:38:21.840 --> 0:38:23.960 You mentioned why would you not? 0:38:24.320 --> 0:38:25.439 Why would he go anywhere else? 0:38:25.640 --> 0:38:27.200 Shout at him? Doctor pleasant? Right? 0:38:27.880 --> 0:38:31.120 Can you talk about how important and what an impact 0:38:31.280 --> 0:38:34.000 Attendant Clark had on you in your career? 0:38:35.920 --> 0:38:42.600 Was everything? Again, I was from I'm from Alabama, Montgomery. 0:38:42.960 --> 0:38:44.200 Wow, I got a family in Midway. 0:38:44.719 --> 0:38:51.040 You've been over there, come on family in Bidway. Yeah, Okay, 0:38:51.080 --> 0:38:51.440 that's the. 0:38:51.400 --> 0:38:54.880 Country, country country, but it's okay. 0:38:54.960 --> 0:38:59.040 My people are from Pigeon Creek and Greenville and yeah, 0:38:59.320 --> 0:39:01.480 and people try to let me. I'm gonna come back 0:39:01.480 --> 0:39:03.560 to your question. But people try to play me because 0:39:04.200 --> 0:39:07.520 all the people from California and New York be like, 0:39:07.880 --> 0:39:10.279 I'm from New York, I'm from California, and like where 0:39:10.280 --> 0:39:12.600 do your grandma from? Where's your grandmother from? And they'd 0:39:12.600 --> 0:39:19.840 be like, Mississippi, Ala, all these othern states. You're welcome, 0:39:20.480 --> 0:39:24.040 You're welcome, drinking out of a mason jar, like it's 0:39:24.040 --> 0:39:29.240 my life, it's my life. But remind me really quickly, 0:39:29.280 --> 0:39:31.640 what was the question of Clark Atlanta. Yes, but I 0:39:31.680 --> 0:39:34.560 think when it came to experiencing people from lots of 0:39:34.640 --> 0:39:39.719 different places, it's I think places like Clark Atlanta that 0:39:39.960 --> 0:39:44.240 bring together students, particularly because it's it's a private aheb 0:39:44.320 --> 0:39:47.239 see you, it's really small, and so people come from 0:39:47.400 --> 0:39:51.640 different states, which I really enjoyed. Our whole model find 0:39:51.640 --> 0:39:54.319 a way or make one. It is on my whiteboard 0:39:54.360 --> 0:39:56.759 I live by every day. I learned that I have 0:39:56.840 --> 0:40:00.200 a choice in the way that I respond to things 0:40:00.239 --> 0:40:01.719 and when I want to give up and when I 0:40:01.719 --> 0:40:05.320 want to keep going, really really good at just figuring 0:40:05.680 --> 0:40:11.200 stuff out, figuring it out. And I think this concept that, 0:40:11.320 --> 0:40:13.719 like people say it all the time, so I don't 0:40:13.719 --> 0:40:16.120 mean to sound cliche, but like, it's a lot of 0:40:16.160 --> 0:40:19.040 types of black people out here. We are not all 0:40:19.080 --> 0:40:22.120 the same, we are not all We don't talk the same, 0:40:22.200 --> 0:40:24.400 we don't dress the same, we don't think the same. 0:40:26.160 --> 0:40:30.160 And I think I learned to appreciate the full diaspora 0:40:30.360 --> 0:40:33.480 of of black folks and who we are, you know, 0:40:33.520 --> 0:40:36.040 regardless of where we're from. But Park Atlanta is not 0:40:36.320 --> 0:40:41.160 We are hustlers also music, everybody's working on something. Listen, 0:40:41.200 --> 0:40:45.360 you can't go to Caalculanta. There's musician, somebody's producing, doing 0:40:45.480 --> 0:40:51.680 hair wrapping, it's popping, and everybody wants to come hang 0:40:51.719 --> 0:40:56.279 out on cak Atlanta's promenade and we we It just 0:40:56.320 --> 0:40:59.240 really is a beautiful space of community. And I'm so blessed. 0:40:59.239 --> 0:41:01.840 And I'm because I come from a family of just 0:41:02.120 --> 0:41:05.600 HBCU people and I'm I'm praying, I'm hopeful that my 0:41:05.680 --> 0:41:07.359 kids will go to an HBC they go wherever they 0:41:07.360 --> 0:41:11.960 want but it is a beautiful, beautiful experience. 0:41:12.920 --> 0:41:16.320 Shout all the HBCUs. We might have something social HBCUs 0:41:16.680 --> 0:41:18.279 to the city Atlanta. Let me ask you this as 0:41:18.280 --> 0:41:22.000 far as the VC world is concerned, Yeah, what is 0:41:22.200 --> 0:41:25.520 what's the rate of returns that you guys look for, 0:41:25.719 --> 0:41:29.320 like when you're investing, like in your portfolio, like what 0:41:29.520 --> 0:41:32.840 the you know ten years like down the line you say, okay, this, 0:41:32.840 --> 0:41:35.200 this was good. It's a two part question, but that's 0:41:35.200 --> 0:41:35.759 the first part. 0:41:36.800 --> 0:41:40.239 So first you're trying to get it go to jail. 0:41:40.239 --> 0:41:43.080 Then SEC is gonna be after me. I got about 0:41:43.160 --> 0:41:46.319 what I say. I don't want them knocking on my door. 0:41:46.480 --> 0:41:50.160 But I'll actually point to something that Steve Harvey said 0:41:50.160 --> 0:41:52.120 when he was on with you guys. He talked to 0:41:52.120 --> 0:41:57.600 you guys about banning average, and I remember y'all being like, ooh, 0:41:57.640 --> 0:41:59.759 that's the first time we heard that this, friends, Dang it. 0:42:00.040 --> 0:42:03.480 So I can't brand that is Like the VC metric 0:42:03.560 --> 0:42:06.680 that we love talking about is VC is about batting averages. 0:42:07.680 --> 0:42:10.960 But the piece that I would add to what Steve 0:42:11.000 --> 0:42:14.560 said was batting average is important, but also even more 0:42:14.600 --> 0:42:18.360 important is your slugging percentage. Right, So what is the 0:42:18.400 --> 0:42:22.800 magnitude of the hits that you're making, because your batting 0:42:22.840 --> 0:42:26.399 average could be X. Right, you hit three out of ten, 0:42:28.239 --> 0:42:31.080 But I think everybody would rather, you know, hit a 0:42:31.120 --> 0:42:34.320 home run with you know, bases loaded and knock it 0:42:34.360 --> 0:42:36.520 out of the park. And so we think a lot 0:42:36.560 --> 0:42:40.400 about what is the magnitude of the investments that we're making. 0:42:40.520 --> 0:42:43.600 We love, you know, we can hit a single or 0:42:43.600 --> 0:42:46.360 a double, but we really, really really love home runs, 0:42:46.440 --> 0:42:48.880 you know, whether we get ten X or fifty X 0:42:48.960 --> 0:42:51.359 or one hundred X or a thousand X. We really 0:42:51.400 --> 0:42:54.399 do try to make investments into companies that we think 0:42:54.520 --> 0:42:57.440 are we're going to return the fund. 0:42:58.360 --> 0:42:59.920 So let me let me ask you this if I can. 0:43:00.040 --> 0:43:02.480 The second part of that question is the harsh reality. 0:43:02.520 --> 0:43:04.160 Chris Lyon, somebody who you're familiar with. 0:43:04.640 --> 0:43:08.120 Y if I know that guy, shout out to our guy. 0:43:08.520 --> 0:43:18.960 So I was talking to him in l A. Mike went, low, 0:43:20.000 --> 0:43:25.160 you hear me? Now? Yes here you are back in business, 0:43:25.200 --> 0:43:27.520 all right? So he was talking. I was talking to 0:43:27.560 --> 0:43:29.600 him in l A a few a few a while ago, 0:43:29.880 --> 0:43:36.960 and he was saying that the greatest wealth opportunity in 0:43:37.120 --> 0:43:40.880 history is happening right now and will be happening for 0:43:40.920 --> 0:43:45.360 like the next decade in tech startups, and he was like, 0:43:45.800 --> 0:43:48.000 the vast majority of black people is not going to 0:43:48.040 --> 0:43:49.640 be able to benefit from it and then not going 0:43:49.640 --> 0:43:51.839 to be able to make any money from it. And 0:43:52.000 --> 0:43:55.120 we talked about this show is about stock market investing 0:43:55.200 --> 0:44:00.560 right public trumpets, but we understand that massive amounts of 0:44:00.600 --> 0:44:05.320 wealth is made on the private side VC before companies 0:44:05.520 --> 0:44:09.120 go public yep. So like that's where you get a 0:44:09.280 --> 0:44:12.680 ten thousand x return and that's when you can turn 0:44:12.800 --> 0:44:17.280 fifty thousand to five million. Of course those that doesn't 0:44:17.280 --> 0:44:22.360 happen every day, but it's possible, yeh's. But you need access, 0:44:22.360 --> 0:44:26.600 you need relationships, you need money. So that's something that 0:44:26.680 --> 0:44:30.640 nobody's talking about because billions of dollars are being generated 0:44:30.640 --> 0:44:33.400 with these tech startup companies and it's going to continue 0:44:33.440 --> 0:44:37.480 to be generated. But not only do black people hardly 0:44:37.480 --> 0:44:41.239 get any money from venture capital, they don't really they 0:44:41.280 --> 0:44:44.120 don't have the opportunity or the resources actually invest in 0:44:44.200 --> 0:44:46.600 venture capital. So that's a whole another set of problems. 0:44:46.960 --> 0:44:49.600 So how do we get more people into actually the 0:44:49.719 --> 0:44:53.840 opportunity to invest in the private market as opposed to 0:44:53.880 --> 0:44:56.239 only investing in public markets. 0:44:56.360 --> 0:45:01.360 Yep, so who there's a lot there. So, first, private 0:45:01.400 --> 0:45:07.319 market investing and specifically venture capital is dangerously risky. It 0:45:07.440 --> 0:45:11.000 is the riskiest asset class that you can get involved in. 0:45:11.080 --> 0:45:14.080 And I say that knowing that in the public market, 0:45:14.160 --> 0:45:16.040 by the time a company goes public, let me just 0:45:16.080 --> 0:45:19.640 tell you what going public means. Going public means that 0:45:19.719 --> 0:45:22.200 you've already got a board in place. It means you've 0:45:22.200 --> 0:45:24.959 got a certain amount of revenue, you've got compliance things, 0:45:25.080 --> 0:45:28.120 but you've got all these systems in place in order 0:45:28.160 --> 0:45:31.520 to go public and sell your stock to a retail investor. 0:45:31.880 --> 0:45:35.279 That it's already been adjusted for risk. It's already been 0:45:35.440 --> 0:45:39.680 checked for risk. When you are betting on two guys 0:45:39.680 --> 0:45:43.440 in a garage and I'm gonna say Montgomery, Obama. Just 0:45:44.160 --> 0:45:47.560 from two guys in garage and Montgomery, you know they 0:45:47.600 --> 0:45:50.880 could be complete total clowns, right, there's a huge amount 0:45:50.920 --> 0:45:55.600 of risk that you're taking that is just simply not 0:45:55.680 --> 0:45:59.520 there in the public market. And so, and the reason 0:45:59.600 --> 0:46:02.000 why it's so risky again, it's because venture is a 0:46:02.000 --> 0:46:03.880 long game and it's eight to ten years before a 0:46:03.960 --> 0:46:07.719 company will go public or be bought. So that's ten 0:46:07.800 --> 0:46:11.239 years of risk you're taking up front, and we all 0:46:11.280 --> 0:46:14.000 know and investing, the people who take the biggest risks 0:46:14.239 --> 0:46:16.160 are the ones that are going to get the biggest reward. 0:46:16.160 --> 0:46:19.160 And so that's why venture returns are so huge or 0:46:19.280 --> 0:46:22.920 can be really huge, because we're paying pennies on the 0:46:22.960 --> 0:46:25.560 dollar for you know, a stock that's you know, thirty 0:46:25.600 --> 0:46:28.880 dollars when it goes public. Most VC firms you know, 0:46:29.440 --> 0:46:32.839 six years later, seven years later before, sorry, sixty seven 0:46:32.880 --> 0:46:36.799 years before paid a dollar and fifty cents for sure, right, 0:46:36.880 --> 0:46:40.840 So but we had to wait you know, ten years 0:46:40.840 --> 0:46:43.120 for it to go public and to actually get liquidity, 0:46:43.320 --> 0:46:45.120 so your money is locked up for a really, really 0:46:45.120 --> 0:46:49.640 long time. So with that being said, it's very, very risky, 0:46:50.000 --> 0:46:52.080 and the government doesn't want people taking that kind of 0:46:52.160 --> 0:46:56.480 risk as individuals, right because you know, that's why we 0:46:56.520 --> 0:47:02.120 got those classifications of accredited and and unaccredited investor, And 0:47:02.160 --> 0:47:04.000 that's because they don't want people to spend in their 0:47:04.160 --> 0:47:08.120 you know, retirement on some random idea that they heard 0:47:08.160 --> 0:47:11.440 from a person to be an investor. So it started 0:47:11.440 --> 0:47:14.000 as a means of protection, but I do think it 0:47:14.040 --> 0:47:15.719 needs to be loose in because I think there's a 0:47:15.719 --> 0:47:20.719 lot of you know, well qualified, very able people who 0:47:20.719 --> 0:47:23.719 can make investment decisions, but it's really tough and people 0:47:23.760 --> 0:47:25.400 need to be protected from that. So there has to 0:47:25.440 --> 0:47:29.520 be some balance around private and public investing. And the 0:47:29.560 --> 0:47:33.240 last thing I'll say is, yes, black people haven't historically 0:47:33.239 --> 0:47:35.600 been involved, but like the firms that are coming up 0:47:35.600 --> 0:47:38.240 the last couple of years with these black general partners. 0:47:38.280 --> 0:47:41.480 I know you mentioned John Henry earlier and the guys 0:47:41.480 --> 0:47:43.680 that he works with there are I mean, I've known 0:47:43.719 --> 0:47:47.880 of at least twenty to thirty, you know, black lead 0:47:48.480 --> 0:47:51.560 or black GP funds in the last two years. So 0:47:51.640 --> 0:47:54.479 I'm really really optimistic about it. And like I said, 0:47:54.480 --> 0:47:56.160 the other way that I think people are going so 0:47:56.239 --> 0:47:59.520 black black people investing is one way to get money. 0:47:59.520 --> 0:48:01.319 And I'll actually talk about like how we make money 0:48:01.320 --> 0:48:04.960 because I think that's probably important to describe to people 0:48:05.239 --> 0:48:07.760 black people investing the dollars is when you invest the dollars, 0:48:07.760 --> 0:48:11.360 you get the money back. Black people on the cat 0:48:11.360 --> 0:48:14.960 tables at either as the GP or as an investor 0:48:14.960 --> 0:48:17.880 in a GP, and then black people working at the 0:48:17.920 --> 0:48:21.200 tech companies. Right, Entrepreneurship is not for everybody. I say 0:48:21.280 --> 0:48:23.040 that all the time, and I have one thing that 0:48:23.080 --> 0:48:25.759 I'm trying to get people to stop saying, is that, 0:48:25.840 --> 0:48:29.200 like people who work at companies aren't betting on themselves. 0:48:29.239 --> 0:48:32.960 What that's crazy, Like that's ridiculous, Like just to leave 0:48:33.000 --> 0:48:35.000 the company and bet on yourself. I don't want to 0:48:35.080 --> 0:48:39.239 be an entrepreneur, Like I have no desire to build 0:48:39.280 --> 0:48:42.280 a company, right, So for the people who are interested 0:48:42.320 --> 0:48:44.480 in a particular you know, problem that they want to 0:48:44.520 --> 0:48:46.120 work on or company they want to be a part of, 0:48:46.400 --> 0:48:48.560 getting in at the early stage is really important. How 0:48:48.600 --> 0:48:50.920 you can cash in on that that will. 0:48:52.200 --> 0:48:54.680 Yeah, so one of the I'll just add to well 0:48:54.880 --> 0:48:57.440 what what Shad said from it, that's from an investment standpoint, 0:48:57.760 --> 0:49:01.480 but sometimes you know, having the educational process is even 0:49:01.480 --> 0:49:04.120 more beneficial when your hands on you're actually in the space. 0:49:04.600 --> 0:49:07.480 And so what are some of the opportunities and roles 0:49:07.520 --> 0:49:10.960 that come within being in a VC firm, Like how 0:49:10.960 --> 0:49:13.480 do people even apply or what are the qualifications that 0:49:13.480 --> 0:49:15.480 they need to even be in a firm right, and 0:49:15.480 --> 0:49:17.640 what are the roles because like obviously you're you're leading 0:49:17.640 --> 0:49:20.480 a role, but there's other opportunities for people to be 0:49:20.520 --> 0:49:22.520 employed inside of it, right where they can get hands 0:49:22.520 --> 0:49:23.200 on knowledge. 0:49:24.040 --> 0:49:27.720 So there's space for employing and inventure and employee intake. 0:49:27.840 --> 0:49:31.239 So inventure, if you're you know, firms like Indres and Horowitz, 0:49:32.440 --> 0:49:35.520 you know, we we need all kinds of people, right, 0:49:35.640 --> 0:49:39.000 We need investors, we need marketing people and Dreas and 0:49:39.040 --> 0:49:42.520 Horowitz has been a huge kind of marketing and content 0:49:42.880 --> 0:49:44.719 you know machine for the last several years. One of 0:49:44.760 --> 0:49:47.920 the things where most is our content, right, so editors, 0:49:48.320 --> 0:49:51.120 podcast people. We have to go to market folks. So 0:49:51.200 --> 0:49:55.960 if you've done sales and customer success, we support our 0:49:56.000 --> 0:49:59.319 portfolio companies with those things. So we need folks who 0:49:59.360 --> 0:50:03.000 have those those skill sets. And so I think at 0:50:03.000 --> 0:50:06.440 the larger stage firms or the larger you know size firms, 0:50:06.719 --> 0:50:09.480 there's like a range of jobs that you could do, 0:50:10.160 --> 0:50:12.319 similar to tech. To be in tech, you don't need 0:50:12.360 --> 0:50:14.360 to be technical, you don't need to know how to code. 0:50:15.080 --> 0:50:17.920 You could be in HR, you can be in marketing, 0:50:18.320 --> 0:50:21.320 you can be in sales. So it really is just 0:50:21.320 --> 0:50:24.520 about making that transition into the technology space because like 0:50:24.520 --> 0:50:27.760 you said, I agree with Chris one thousand, technology is 0:50:27.800 --> 0:50:32.160 the biggest wealth driver that we have today. And so 0:50:32.239 --> 0:50:36.200 we were very very like hardcore about it. And I'll 0:50:36.200 --> 0:50:39.520 say it over and over again that it is one 0:50:39.520 --> 0:50:44.360 of the clearest largest ways to build wealth over a 0:50:44.400 --> 0:50:45.000 period of time. 0:50:46.640 --> 0:50:49.480 What are the three books and three conferences you think 0:50:49.520 --> 0:50:52.400 people should attend or read to learn more about angel 0:50:52.560 --> 0:50:53.800 or venture capital? 0:50:57.719 --> 0:51:01.319 So our founder Ben Horwitz has a book called The 0:51:01.320 --> 0:51:04.000 Hard Thing About Hard Things. I think it was a 0:51:04.040 --> 0:51:09.560 great book about company building and the whole space. And 0:51:09.600 --> 0:51:13.160 actually Scott Cooper, Scott Cooper does not get the shine 0:51:13.280 --> 0:51:15.319 you know he deserves. Scott Cooper is one of the 0:51:15.320 --> 0:51:19.799 four managing directors at Injuries and Horwitz, and he has 0:51:19.800 --> 0:51:22.360 a book called The Secrets of sand Hill Road. And 0:51:22.400 --> 0:51:24.560 for the folks who don't know, sand Hill Road is 0:51:24.640 --> 0:51:28.040 considered kind of VC land, right, All of the largest, 0:51:29.360 --> 0:51:34.400 kind of most active VC firms at least from years past, 0:51:34.840 --> 0:51:38.879 are on sand Hill Road. It's in Menlo Park. All 0:51:38.920 --> 0:51:40.960 of them are, you know, kind of side by side 0:51:41.320 --> 0:51:43.399 all down this road. And it's called Secrets of sand 0:51:43.480 --> 0:51:48.239 Hill Road. And you can get the insight into what 0:51:48.360 --> 0:51:51.759 it's like, how people think about investing in companies, how 0:51:51.800 --> 0:51:54.960 the firm thinks about it. It's one of my favorite books. 0:51:54.960 --> 0:51:58.120 That's a solid one. And then one of the first 0:51:58.160 --> 0:52:00.399 ones that I read it's like a little sin book. 0:52:00.719 --> 0:52:03.359 It's called breaking the VC. And I'm sure y'all can 0:52:03.400 --> 0:52:05.560 agree one of the when it comes to things you 0:52:05.560 --> 0:52:08.319 don't know about, if you get the vocabulary downpack, you're 0:52:08.360 --> 0:52:10.839 probably seventy to eighty percent there if you just learn 0:52:10.920 --> 0:52:13.000 the language that people are speaking and it breaks down 0:52:13.000 --> 0:52:20.840 the words like investment and like carried interest and you know, arr, 0:52:21.080 --> 0:52:23.879 whatever the case may be, just so you can get 0:52:23.960 --> 0:52:29.200 knowledgeable about about the space and how it works. And actually, 0:52:29.560 --> 0:52:31.560 can I go back? I mean, I sorry, go head 0:52:31.560 --> 0:52:34.959 a shot. I was gonna say, I brought up careed 0:52:35.000 --> 0:52:37.480 interest again, and I feel like I should probably tell 0:52:37.520 --> 0:52:40.439 people about what that is and how vcs make money, 0:52:40.480 --> 0:52:43.040 because I think this show is about how it all 0:52:43.160 --> 0:52:45.880 works and how to get people to make more money. 0:52:47.600 --> 0:52:50.960 So the way that venture firms make money is we 0:52:52.040 --> 0:52:54.960 take money from outside investors. They're call it limited partners, 0:52:55.320 --> 0:52:57.919 and their hope essentially is that will flip it. They 0:52:57.920 --> 0:52:59.920 hope to give us money and then we'll flip it. 0:53:00.440 --> 0:53:04.080 And you know, we have feed carried interest. And I 0:53:04.120 --> 0:53:07.560 think it actually comes from like old schools like shipping, 0:53:07.880 --> 0:53:10.200 like actual ships, where it's like, well, carry your load 0:53:10.280 --> 0:53:12.680 from one place to the next. But we're going to 0:53:12.880 --> 0:53:15.280 keep twenty percent of either whatever it is you're shipping 0:53:15.360 --> 0:53:17.719 or the money that you make off of shipping or 0:53:17.960 --> 0:53:21.960 get carried over to venture capital and investing. And essentially, 0:53:22.080 --> 0:53:24.759 so say we raised, you know, get one hundred million 0:53:24.800 --> 0:53:31.040 dollars from outside investors, and we three exits, So three 0:53:31.120 --> 0:53:33.680 hundred million dollars we've made from the investments that we 0:53:33.800 --> 0:53:37.160 made with that original hundred million. One hundred million dollars 0:53:37.239 --> 0:53:39.640 is going to go back to the investors, right, you 0:53:39.640 --> 0:53:42.200 get your money back first, and then at the two 0:53:42.280 --> 0:53:45.520 hundred million dollars it's left, we're going to divide that out. 0:53:45.640 --> 0:53:49.360 Some firms take as little as twenty percent. Some firms 0:53:49.440 --> 0:53:53.200 take thirty percent if they you know, at least three exit. 0:53:53.320 --> 0:53:56.120 Like if there's a range, let's just say thirty percent, 0:53:57.120 --> 0:53:59.719 So one hundred goes back to you, and then the 0:53:59.719 --> 0:54:03.239 two hundred million you get to keep seventy percent, and 0:54:03.239 --> 0:54:06.160 then the venture capitalist keep thirty percent. So if there's 0:54:06.160 --> 0:54:09.280 two hundred million dollars of profit, will keep sixty million. 0:54:09.400 --> 0:54:12.560 And that's how we make money. 0:54:12.640 --> 0:54:13.800 Yes, very important. 0:54:13.840 --> 0:54:16.000 So when we get when we get our black investors 0:54:16.000 --> 0:54:20.160 on the cap table, that one was it one additional 0:54:20.360 --> 0:54:20.759 goes to. 0:54:20.760 --> 0:54:26.080 Them And I think I had to ask you this before, 0:54:26.160 --> 0:54:30.120 but the ultimate goal for you guys is investing in 0:54:30.120 --> 0:54:34.360 a company, and the company either has to go public 0:54:34.440 --> 0:54:37.759 on a stock market like Uber or one of these, 0:54:39.320 --> 0:54:44.000 or it has to be purchased acquired like Ring which 0:54:44.000 --> 0:54:45.320 got acquired by Amazon. 0:54:45.600 --> 0:54:45.719 Ye. 0:54:45.880 --> 0:54:51.040 Those are like the two way two main ways that 0:54:51.160 --> 0:54:52.480 you guys would make money, right. 0:54:52.800 --> 0:54:55.520 Yeah, those are called liquidity events, So our money is 0:54:55.560 --> 0:54:59.560 locked up until the company goes through a liquidity event 0:55:00.360 --> 0:55:06.000 of going public or being purchased. And like when you 0:55:06.040 --> 0:55:09.960 when you think about like the batting average, slugging percentage, 0:55:09.960 --> 0:55:13.200 et cetera, when it comes to like how many companies 0:55:13.239 --> 0:55:15.560 really do fail? Right you said earlier like, oh, I've 0:55:15.600 --> 0:55:18.600 heard or a lot of people, a lot of other 0:55:18.600 --> 0:55:21.359 people were saying that black women companies fail or black 0:55:21.360 --> 0:55:24.719 companies sail. Most companies fail. You don't have any lack, 0:55:25.120 --> 0:55:27.400 you know, like I want to say, like eighty to 0:55:27.480 --> 0:55:31.480 ninety percent of startups fail because it's a tough it's 0:55:31.480 --> 0:55:33.759 a tough industry. It's a really tough thing to do, 0:55:35.320 --> 0:55:37.680 and founders have to be really resilient and have a 0:55:37.680 --> 0:55:39.960 great idea and build the right team and get the 0:55:40.040 --> 0:55:42.160 right coade. Like there's all these pieces that need to work, 0:55:43.000 --> 0:55:45.040 and so it venture a lot of times. If you 0:55:45.120 --> 0:55:49.239 invest in ten companies, maybe you know, probably seven of 0:55:49.280 --> 0:55:52.319 them are going to go to zero and then two 0:55:52.560 --> 0:55:55.000 might be singles or doubles, but you're praying that one 0:55:55.040 --> 0:55:57.279 of them. Right. Is that one hundred x that you 0:55:57.360 --> 0:56:00.760 talked about with shy yea or more? 0:56:02.600 --> 0:56:06.759 Yeah? I like that percentage? Yeah yeah, yeah, let's go 0:56:07.280 --> 0:56:09.120 before go ahead. Yeah yeah. 0:56:09.200 --> 0:56:11.840 My final question, what's the one piece of advice that 0:56:11.880 --> 0:56:15.319 you wish you would have known sex years prior when 0:56:15.360 --> 0:56:16.760 you entered into the venture space. 0:56:18.280 --> 0:56:21.440 The power of relationships. I didn't know if that was 0:56:21.480 --> 0:56:25.320 as important as it is, and it's probably more important 0:56:25.320 --> 0:56:29.000 than it should be. So even from applying to jobs 0:56:29.120 --> 0:56:34.360 to you know, building your house to what get it 0:56:34.840 --> 0:56:37.440 sending your kids to school, like who you know and 0:56:37.719 --> 0:56:40.600 and the relationship that you can build is just really important. 0:56:40.600 --> 0:56:42.839 And when it comes to like finding new companies and 0:56:42.880 --> 0:56:46.680 sharing deals and spending time with each other, like networks 0:56:46.680 --> 0:56:50.520 are just really really important. And I learned that the 0:56:50.560 --> 0:56:53.439 hard way because I used to you know, really think 0:56:53.440 --> 0:56:56.000 that like if I just I used to think I 0:56:56.040 --> 0:56:58.360 could do everything on my own, and you just can't. 0:56:59.040 --> 0:57:01.480 You cannot, And that is into so many different ways, 0:57:01.600 --> 0:57:04.279 in different parts of life that you just can't do 0:57:04.320 --> 0:57:06.959 it all on your own. So building networks is really 0:57:07.000 --> 0:57:07.680 really important. 0:57:08.800 --> 0:57:10.640 It's the most it's actually the most important thing in 0:57:10.680 --> 0:57:14.280 the world. Relationships is I agree to everything. 0:57:14.920 --> 0:57:18.840 You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. 0:57:19.320 --> 0:57:24.080 How can you find amazing candidates fast easy? Just use Indeed. 0:57:24.480 --> 0:57:27.200 Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other 0:57:27.320 --> 0:57:31.000 job sites. 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