WEBVTT - Creating More Diversity in VC

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Jason

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<v Speaker 1>Kelly on Bloomberg Radio. As tech Crunch reported last month,

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<v Speaker 1>or next, guest Low Tony has some ideas about how

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<v Speaker 1>to really bring venture capital into the twenty one century.

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<v Speaker 1>That story caught our attention. He is was, excuse me,

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<v Speaker 1>a partner at Comcast Ventures and g V which is

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<v Speaker 1>of course formally Google Ventures, and he now is founding

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<v Speaker 1>managing partner of his own firm, Plexo Capital, and he

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<v Speaker 1>joins us on the phone in Los Angeles. Low, it

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<v Speaker 1>is nice to have you here with Jason and myself.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Bloomberg Business Week. Well, thank you so much

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<v Speaker 1>for having me. It's an honor to be featured. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we have been talking a lot about the

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<v Speaker 1>investment world, obviously the impact of the virus, but we've

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<v Speaker 1>also been talking a lot about the need for you know,

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<v Speaker 1>diversity and inclusion within the investment community, and we've done

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of stories about what's been going on in

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<v Speaker 1>Silicon Valley. First up, what's been your experience working within

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<v Speaker 1>Silicon Valley Because it tends to be still a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of white men making decisions, that's true. I think it's

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<v Speaker 1>a commonplace for someone like myself black Mail. I grew

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<v Speaker 1>up in Oakland, California, went to a historically black college

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<v Speaker 1>in Hampton, came back to go to cow and I

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<v Speaker 1>got used to being the only black person in the room.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just common. So I think that's a common experience

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<v Speaker 1>that many of us have. But I've been increasingly hopeful

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<v Speaker 1>about the changing complexity that I've seen in some of

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<v Speaker 1>the generations that are coming up behind me, and I

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<v Speaker 1>believe that we're at a point where we've reached an

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<v Speaker 1>inflection point where we've been able to shine a light

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<v Speaker 1>and visibility, and I'm I'm pragmatically optimistic about the prospect

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<v Speaker 1>moving forward. And so there are a number of aspects,

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<v Speaker 1>as you know better than we do, low in terms

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<v Speaker 1>of the investing landscape to venture capital landscape, sort of

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<v Speaker 1>where the money comes from, who invested, and then where

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<v Speaker 1>it goes. I know you've been working on all aspects

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<v Speaker 1>that I do. Wonder if you could tell us a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit more about what you're doing around the general

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<v Speaker 1>partner level, because I think you are rightly very focused

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<v Speaker 1>on that piece of making the investors, not exactly that,

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<v Speaker 1>not just what Carol described, which is you know, a

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of rich white dudes making decisions about where the

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<v Speaker 1>money goes. Yeah, it's interesting. When I was a partner

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<v Speaker 1>at Google Ventures g V, one of the things we

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to do was to get access to more deal flow.

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<v Speaker 1>So we had this really interesting thesis that when we

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<v Speaker 1>started to look at some of the smaller earlier firms

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<v Speaker 1>that were investing at that initial check level, we saw

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<v Speaker 1>much more diversity than at the larger firms. And so

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<v Speaker 1>we came up with this thesis that, wow, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the the indirect path that many black venture capitalists have,

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<v Speaker 1>like myself, produces really interesting networks and provides a different

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<v Speaker 1>lens to be able to evaluate opportunities and entrepreneurs that

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<v Speaker 1>might not have the same understanding traditionally on sand Hill Road.

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<v Speaker 1>And so we decided to make investments into these venture

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<v Speaker 1>funds to get access to their deal flow. And I

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<v Speaker 1>took that one step further and created Plexo Capital and

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<v Speaker 1>expanded to not only black gps, but other gps of

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<v Speaker 1>color and female gps. And really it was an alpha

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<v Speaker 1>strategy right to identify inefficiency, use and information and identify

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<v Speaker 1>opportunities that others were missing. And what I also noticed

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<v Speaker 1>was that well, you know, actually, this has a much

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<v Speaker 1>broader implication to the to the vertical ecosystems for black

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<v Speaker 1>for black entrepreneurs, for people of color that are entrepreneurs,

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<v Speaker 1>and female entrepreneurs, which is, if we can get capital

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<v Speaker 1>into the hands of a diverse set of investors, the

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<v Speaker 1>data tells us that their portfolios end up being diverse.

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<v Speaker 1>So if they've got diverse portfolios, those diverse founders are

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<v Speaker 1>going to hire diverse teams. And if there's a successful

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<v Speaker 1>exit that creates wealth generation for those employees, well, lo

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<v Speaker 1>and behold, you have a diverse set of execs that

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<v Speaker 1>are going to write angel checks. Likely to diverse entrepreneurs.

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<v Speaker 1>They'll have the financial stability and comfort maybe to take

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<v Speaker 1>that risk and start their own company, or maybe some

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<v Speaker 1>of them will even become venture capitalists themselves. But more importantly,

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<v Speaker 1>it starts a wealth creation pattern. And then wealth is

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<v Speaker 1>also transferred back successfully to those initial investors, and if

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<v Speaker 1>they were diverse, they go down the wealth creation and

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<v Speaker 1>then capital is returned to the original limited partners for

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<v Speaker 1>the investors into those venture funds, and once those limited

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<v Speaker 1>partners see that positive signal of dollars coming back, they say, wow,

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<v Speaker 1>this is working, Let's deploy more capital and so that

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<v Speaker 1>creates the flywheel within that vertical ecosystem. I mean, it's

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<v Speaker 1>not dissimilar to how we see geographic ecosystems develop outside

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<v Speaker 1>of Silicon Valley in places like Seattle, New York, and Austin.

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<v Speaker 1>But in this case, it's vertical around black entrepreneurs, female entrepreneurs,

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<v Speaker 1>or other people of color. So I feel like our

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<v Speaker 1>our model, even though at the outset the purpose was

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<v Speaker 1>to deliver alpha and returns, it has this additional benefit

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<v Speaker 1>of being able to help to accelerate these ecosystems on

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<v Speaker 1>a vertical basis. We're going to talk more about that.

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<v Speaker 1>And I love this idea of wealth creation because you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we talk about this being ultimately a financial and you

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<v Speaker 1>know poverty, you know issue in terms of bringing more

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<v Speaker 1>blacks and minorities kind of into the existing structure. We're

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<v Speaker 1>going to continue talking with Low Tony h He is

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<v Speaker 1>the founding managing partner of Plexo Capital. Below Tony is

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<v Speaker 1>with us. He is founding managing partner at Plexo Capital.

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<v Speaker 1>He joins us on the phone in l A. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a good sign. Low, by the way, when we're fighting

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<v Speaker 1>over a guest. So that's how you know we're excited

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<v Speaker 1>and not just like sitting back me like you go,

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<v Speaker 1>you go, I don't get. So what's interesting is you

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<v Speaker 1>just described kind of this strategy for identifying opportunities, creating wealth,

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<v Speaker 1>wealth creation, and you talk about creating this fly wheel.

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<v Speaker 1>So what are the signs that it has really worked

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<v Speaker 1>in kind of what you envisioned. Yeah, the key signs are,

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<v Speaker 1>without question, the increasing the dollars that go into the

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<v Speaker 1>black entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of colors, female entrepreneurs. You know, the

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<v Speaker 1>numbers are so low that you know it's really not

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<v Speaker 1>hard to to increase them. But we are seeing promising signs.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, we're seeing more firms led by black GPS,

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<v Speaker 1>people of color and women at these venture capital funds,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're seeing more dollars go into the companies that

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<v Speaker 1>are diverse led. Ultimately, the barometer of the yardstick, the

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<v Speaker 1>best way to measure is when we start to see

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<v Speaker 1>companies that are getting acquired or that are going public.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean the staff, like the stepping stones are you know,

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<v Speaker 1>get the initial investment, get some follow on investment. Companies

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<v Speaker 1>start to grow in scale, hire more employees, increase their

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<v Speaker 1>red the news. But you know, ultimately what we need

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<v Speaker 1>to see our companies achieving liquidity via the public markets

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<v Speaker 1>are by a large scale em and a transaction. Well

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<v Speaker 1>and Low, it's interesting I was thinking about as you

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<v Speaker 1>were describing that flywheel in the early part of our conversation. Mean,

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<v Speaker 1>that's the PayPal mafia model, right, I mean, that's exactly

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<v Speaker 1>sort of what gave rise to this whole network of

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<v Speaker 1>companies and angel investors that has been at the center

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<v Speaker 1>of basically the last ten to fifteen years of Silicon Valley. Right, yeah, absolutely,

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<v Speaker 1>And you know again, I like using the relationship for

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<v Speaker 1>the analogy to a geographical ecosystem, and that's absolutely right.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, we believe that there are network effects inherent

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<v Speaker 1>in deploying these types of strategies, and I think the

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<v Speaker 1>PayPal mafia is, without question one of the classic case

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<v Speaker 1>studies of you know, what happens when a group of

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<v Speaker 1>super intelligent and driven people came together and then the

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<v Speaker 1>relationships that spawned over time. I mean you just see

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of companies that came from that DNA. Right.

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<v Speaker 1>So just to follow in that briefly, Low, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the things that we know about Silicon Valley

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<v Speaker 1>and I was just reading a long I believe it

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<v Speaker 1>was on medium post about this is. You know, serendipity

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<v Speaker 1>has been at the heart of this. You know, these

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<v Speaker 1>sort of like inadvertent collisions that happen either a company

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<v Speaker 1>or a neighborhood or whatever it is in in what's

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<v Speaker 1>a relatively small geographical area there in Silicon Valley, in

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<v Speaker 1>this remote world, how do you ensure that all the

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<v Speaker 1>right people are getting together? Great question. I think we

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<v Speaker 1>need to be more intentional, you know. The good news

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<v Speaker 1>is that there is no one geography that has a

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<v Speaker 1>monopoly on the best idea. That we're seeing ecosystems develop

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<v Speaker 1>in other regions, which is a good thing. I think

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<v Speaker 1>we have become more comfortable within Silicon Valley with distributed teams,

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<v Speaker 1>and there are many companies that have a portion or

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<v Speaker 1>all of their team distributed. So I think now everyone

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<v Speaker 1>else is really kind of catching up. And for a while,

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<v Speaker 1>my mentor, Kim Coleman, used to always tell me, if

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<v Speaker 1>you want to be an actor, go to l A.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want to be an entrepreneur in tech, you

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<v Speaker 1>go to Silicon Valley. And the good news is, as

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<v Speaker 1>we begin to see more of the building blocks in

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<v Speaker 1>place regionally, whether it be research driven institutions producing STEM graduates,

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<v Speaker 1>whether it be kind of a few existing companies that

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<v Speaker 1>have done well where there's a well trained workforce available

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<v Speaker 1>to go and work for an entrepreneur at a startup um,

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<v Speaker 1>and the availability of capital. So I think we're starting

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<v Speaker 1>to see more of those building blocks in place. And

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<v Speaker 1>the good news is when you look at some of

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<v Speaker 1>these ecosystems like Atlanta, for example, or even New York, right,

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<v Speaker 1>they are they are, you know, more diverse by the

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<v Speaker 1>numbers when you look at ethnicity than in in Silicon Valley.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm very encouraged by the fact that, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we're getting to a point where good companies with great

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<v Speaker 1>entrepreneurs and great teams can happen outside of so a

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<v Speaker 1>current valley. You talk about pipeline, you talk about building blocks,

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<v Speaker 1>but so much of this low has to start really

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<v Speaker 1>kind of at the very beginning, in terms of where

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<v Speaker 1>kids are born and getting great educations and kind of

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<v Speaker 1>starting early on on a path that enables them to

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<v Speaker 1>get into your pipeline eventually to maybe think about starting

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<v Speaker 1>a company, to be able to make a pitch for money.

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<v Speaker 1>How do we improve that. Yeah, the thing that I'm

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<v Speaker 1>also really passionate about are the historically black college, Black

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<v Speaker 1>Camping University because even though they're only three percent of

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<v Speaker 1>the educational institutions in the US, they make up about

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<v Speaker 1>ten to fifteen of all of the bachelor's degrees earned

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<v Speaker 1>by by black students. More importantly, of all the black

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<v Speaker 1>STEM holders received them from an HBCU UM. HBCU grads

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<v Speaker 1>make up one of of m b a'sumty three percent

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<v Speaker 1>of PhD holders with STEM degrees. And then you see

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<v Speaker 1>that translating into the professional ranks as well. You know

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<v Speaker 1>of lawyers of judges have an HBCU degree who are black.

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<v Speaker 1>On the VC side, UM, this is really interesting, of

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<v Speaker 1>black venture capitalists went to an HBCU. So even though

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<v Speaker 1>by numbers absolute, the number of HBCUs are small, and

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<v Speaker 1>even the number of earth percentage of Latin graduates, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>tend of that's not huge. But what ends up happening

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<v Speaker 1>is those recipients of HBCU degrees end up becoming leaders

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<v Speaker 1>at the graduate level and in the professional world. So

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a big proponent of making sure that we can

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<v Speaker 1>increase the endowments of the HBCUs so that they can

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<v Speaker 1>keep producing um great leaders. And so how do you

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<v Speaker 1>extend that mode of thinking to your colleagues across the

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<v Speaker 1>venture capital landscape. Is it just sort of showing that

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<v Speaker 1>talent pool and maybe sort of revealing it in a

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<v Speaker 1>more meaningful way. Yeah, you know, there's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>great initiatives happening. So there's been a great number of

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<v Speaker 1>my colleagues from the venture capital world and the larger

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<v Speaker 1>funds that have reached out trying to understand how they

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<v Speaker 1>can improve the diversity of their teams. And one of

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<v Speaker 1>the things that we're definitely promoting is the availability of

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<v Speaker 1>internships and even scholarships geared towards HBCU grads to be

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<v Speaker 1>able to enter the world of technology, so either working

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<v Speaker 1>for a portfolio company of a venture capital firm or

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<v Speaker 1>actually even going and working at the venture capital firm itself.

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<v Speaker 1>So the good news is, and I'm open if anyone

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<v Speaker 1>wants to send me any recommendations around, Hey, we want

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<v Speaker 1>to host a student on an internship. I mean we're

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<v Speaker 1>trying to organize as many of those as possible, working

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<v Speaker 1>with great organizations like HBU UM, HBCU VC for example,

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<v Speaker 1>and UH and others. So you know, that's that's how

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<v Speaker 1>we're thinking of about this. Now. Look, there's great black

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<v Speaker 1>talent everywhere, but you know, I went to a historically

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<v Speaker 1>black college, so that's where my focus is. And yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely more than happy for others that went to that

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<v Speaker 1>are black, that want to do the same thing, and

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<v Speaker 1>you know their schools, whether it be the Cows or

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<v Speaker 1>the Stanfords or the Harbors of the world, I encourage

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<v Speaker 1>them to do the same thing. Well. So great to

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<v Speaker 1>catch up with you, and I hope we can in

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<v Speaker 1>a few weeks or so check back again. Um. Just

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<v Speaker 1>great to get your perspective. Low Tony he's the founding

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<v Speaker 1>managing partner at Plexo Capital, joining us on the phone

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<v Speaker 1>in Los Angeles. All right, for those of you listening

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<v Speaker 1>in New York and San Francisco watching on YouTube, Bloomberg

0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:40.600
<v Speaker 1>Business Week continues. If you're listening on Bloomberg, not even

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<v Speaker 1>I want in d C Centum with Kevin Cirelli is

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<v Speaker 1>next to hear more of his interview with Stacy Abrams.

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<v Speaker 1>But what a great conversation and somebody who's actually doing

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<v Speaker 1>it right. We talked about being deliberate taking actions. Low

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<v Speaker 1>Tony is doing it,