SUPER PROUD to share The Road to Venture, a research initiative to put data and details into the process of breaking into venture capital 🎉
We received over 500 responses and crunched the numbers to assess how the process looks different based on race & gender. Check it out! 👇🏽
🚀Download the full report & see how communities like VCU make an impact📥✨
📉50% of investors say recruiting has gotten harder
💰68% find VC internship pay a career barrier
🎯Cultural fit & "doing the job before having the job" are key but often unclear
Another day, another VC who told me they wanted diverse investors and hired 2 white dudes. I'd laugh a lot more at the irony if it wasn't so damn disappointing. Can't believe this is an actual pattern I'm starting to see
VC recruiting is hard. You're playing a game but nobody has told you the rules. I've wished so many times for a holistic guide but haven't seen one.
Today, I'm excited to launch a 3-part guide to VC recruiting complete with a VC Recruiting Framework
93% of venture capital dollars are controlled by white men. We need diverse investors, and I'm honored to launch this community!
Read more here:
cc:
@michelleisvc
@TiqChapa108
A VC I applied to said on their app "diverse candidates highly encouraged". I didn't get the job (sad), and today I saw on their website they hired 2 white men.
Great job, VC, way to make a change in the landscape!
PUMPED to share I am joining the Venture team
@Intuit
! We back incredible Series A-C startups in fintech, SMB tech, commerce, and more. Can't wait for this next adventure 🥂
Shared with a friend today how amazing it was to sit in on an all female VC call earlier this week, with 50%+ women of color 🥰😭
Need to take the time to appreciate moments like this!
S/o to the team at
@CowboyVC
and
@aileenlee
@Jillwillnyc
@amanda_robs
@mathurahravi
I don't try to hide or avoid my title as a Senior Associate at my fund but sometimes see founders shift how they treat me when I mention it.
Does this happen to others?
Venture is such an access game. Wild to remember how hard I had to fight to get the smallest bit of access while recruiting vs the kind of access I get so easily now that I'm in the job
2 months into my dream VC job at
@Intuit
and I'm excited to share a bit more about the transition from aspiring VC to new VC! Thank you to
@miafarnham
,
@JakeLefker
, and Katie Quilligan for sharing your experiences with me 🤩
VC fund: "we care about gender diversity, 50% of our staff is women"
Okay, but 2/3 of your women are in admin roles NOT investor roles. Within investor roles, women are primarily Associates & don't write checks. Also no female partners. Not impressed.
@AllRaise
@desfemmesmag
@kellylions
@Maren_Bannon
Agreed! To be totally honest the comp range looked low for an associate and kind of gave me pause when deciding whether or not to apply
A female founder just asked me if she should intentionally look for a male co-founder to increase her chances of funding 😢 breaks my heart to hear questions like this, and imo NO just find the best fit person for you (male or female)
In my VC recruiting journey, I heard very little about corporate venture capital (CVC); but CVCs are a big part of the VC ecosystem! To share more on this space, I wrote my next Tanvi's Thoughts series on the CVC space. Here's what I get into 👇🏽
Tanvi: it's Friday, excited to relax this weekend
VC fund: for the next stage of the interview can you complete this assignment by 10 AM PT on Monday k thanks enjoy the weekend
Tanvi: nvm😭
Excited to announce I was selected to be one of
@nycfintechwomen
#IFF2023
honorees! Proud to do my part to empower women in fintech through angel investments in women-founded fintechs, my investor role at
@Intuit
Ventures, and
@VcUnleashed
. Here's to continuing this in 2024🎉
Open role at a VC since Oct. I spoke to a partner and they said my May grad date was too far away. They're still posting and looking for someone...bet I look pretty good now eh?? 😂☠
Nothing quite like a room full of powerful women. Last week I had the pleasure of bringing together both current and aspiring women in VC for a night of authentic conversation (& great wine). Largest event yet and amazing to see this community grow. DM to join for the next one!
So excited and proud to spotlight some incredible LatinX VCs as we wrap up Hispanic Heritage Month! First up is
@afnajjerh
@modelvc
at
@FamiliaVc
- thank you for all you do, from building community to empowering LatinX VCs to launching
@founderfamilia
!
Kicking off the week is
@FamiliaVc
! Their mission is to create an open and inclusive environment for current and future Latinx investors to thrive. Signup to watch or participate in their 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month Competition:
SO EXCITED to share out what I've been working on for the past few months with my
@VcUnleashed
leadership team and some incredible community members. See you this summer in NYC 😎
🚨We are PUMPED to announce our annual conference, Shift VC, will take place in NYC on June 23rd this year!
Join us for a 3-day experience dedicated to diversifying the face of VC with top investors & founders. Space is limited - grab your tix today!🎫
The only thing harder than getting an interview with a VC is crushing that interview and landing the job. In Pt 2 of Tanvi's Guide to VC Recruiting I dive into Applications & Interviews...
@nic_detommaso
Here's what I usually get:
-Area/trend of interest?
-A startup you like rn and why (bonus points if they're raising actively)
-What are you looking for in your next role?
What communities, job boards, and resources do y'all know about to find quality & diverse (URM, women, LGBTQ+) tech talent?
Looking to share the list out with founders who aren't sure where to find diverse talent for open roles
With
@brexHQ
@tryramp
@jeeves_inc
all raising money at big step-ups in valuations, I decided to dig into the expense management space and understand how companies can win in the space, as well as future opportunities:
I love seeing such a diverse team committed to uplifting the LatinX ecosystem, special shoutout to our
@VcUnleashed
board member
@Chuy101
who's a Venture Partner at Vamos and my friend/mentor
@ashaydin
!!
Today we're proud to spotlight
@VamosVentures
, an early-stage LatinX-owned, 100% LatinX-run VC fund investing in diverse teams in the earliest stages. Their Summer Associate program helps diverse individuals get hands-on VC experience. For more info, visit
Next up in Tanvi's Recruiting Tales...have been asked to create not one but TWO investment memos, as well as demonstrate my sourcing capacity by sharing multiple prospective companies.
RIP to my free time, send wine and hugs 🥲🍷
Hot take: VC recruiting is very similar to fundraising 🙄
-Need a warm intro to get a meeting
-No clue what you're going to be asked, and every fund asks the same thing differently. Some ask wild curveballs.
-Takes forever to hear back, or you get ghosted 👻
📢 Calling all my women in fintech (+ allies) - I'm hosting a HH in Palo Alto with
@ashlynlackey
&
@cifuentweets
on Tues Aug 1st! Come thru if you're around 🥂✨
Next up on our series highlighting Women of Color in Fintech is
@Q_i_a_n_a
, General Partner & Investor at Tamaa Capital. Here is her why she is investing in fintech!
Seeing this conference come to life after months of planning was unreal 😍 VC gatherings rarely look as diverse as the
#ShiftVC
room did - and recent events have shown us just how much we need the work & community of
@VcUnleashed
Here's to changing the face of VC 🥂
Just a few weeks ago we hosted our annual conference
#ShiftVC
for the first time in person! Across 3 days, 400+ individuals from all parts of the startup ecosystem convened in NYC to increase access & create community for underrepresented groups in VC 💪🏽🤩✨
The standards for raising money are SO MUCH HIGHER when you're a woman or a person of color. Thank you
@AlexH_Johnson
for highlighting how bad this problem is especially in
#fintech
PS: this is also why we need more diverse check writers!!
I asked a couple dozen female founders and founders of color in fintech about their experiences raising money from VCs and how that process can be improved.
Here’s what they said:
Saw a funding announcement today - all male founding team & all male investors who led the round at their fund 🤨
Founders - really encourage you to think about diversifying your investors, co-founders, and early employees. The women are there - you just need to look!
Tried my hand at some *hot fintech takes* as well as general thoughts on the year 😎 Founders - if you're building in any of these spaces I'd love to chat!
tl:dr 👇🏽🧵
#venturecapital
#fintech
#startups
@emilyhxrrera
There is some nuance: D2C solutions where consumers pay fees are problematic but B2B solutions where companies pay OR where you receive $$ as a debit card (EWA financed through interchange) are pretty nifty.
Wrote about it last year if you are interested:
🔥 conversation with
@sydneypaige10
and
@RachelWineNerd
about building marketplaces for SMBs. Focusing on merchant experience + giving them the tools to create a compelling end-user experience = 🤯 and I'm excited to watch
@VinebaseInc
grow!
We had such a great time with
@RachelWineNerd
of
@VinebaseInc
tonight! SO much knowledge shared. Thank you for your insights on SMB vertical SaaS and how you're bringing e-commerce to the wine industry!
This week for the Builders Series, we highlight
@tlaltweets
at
@Intuit
Ventures and Co-Founder of
@VcUnleashed
. Tanvi is a fintech investor and community leader who is deeply committed to increasing access for underrepresented people into the venture ecosystem.
One of my biggest observations of the modern world is how little we talk, think of, and understand colonialism. Our world order is a result of British, American, and European colonialism...and as the Queen dies I encourage everyone to reflect on what this actually means
following up on last week's post on things that don't make sense about venture, here's a new bone to pick ...
tl;dr: there are too few jobs in venture, and of the few that exist, most are bad 🤐
Must be a dream to be a white man - apparently you can raise hundreds of millions of dollars after your last company TOTALLY imploded due to your shady behavior and bad decisions
I love when men tell me they can't listen to Cardi B or Megan thee Stallion because their lyrics are too graphic.
Hmm...okay...let's look up the lyrics of your favorite rappers and while we're at it let me google sexism for you too
Spending time with my mother is such a rollercoaster - one minute we're bonding and the next minute she's like "so your hair is thinning out just thought you should know"
SO EXCITED to see this list, as well as some familiar names
@andreaiberrios
@Noah_Saav
I see y'all crushing it😎Here's to these badass LatinX founders changing the face of the startup ecosystem 🥂
#100Rising
list just published! Congratulations to the inaugural 100 Rising Latinx Founders to Watch The talent pipeline is deep & ready to be championed. 45% Latina, 19 different States, 16 Latinx Heritage Countries, 20 Sectors
#opensource
#vc
#startup
So so proud of my girl
@michelleisvc
for landing with an amazing fund and changing the web3 landscape for the better. Can't wait to see what you do 🥳🍾❤
Hispanic Heritage Month is 1 WEEK AWAY! 🚀 Get ready for kickoff dinners in TEN cities, a $50k Latinx pitch competition, & a keynote featuring one of the biggest Latinx venture titans! Learn more at & RSVP
Bonus: lived my best life with ice cream and sparkling white wine 🍦
Tbh what women stereotypically like is delicious and something I'm learning to embrace instead of distancing myself from ❤
PUMPED to collab with
@BLCKVC
,
@SomosVC_
,
@StartOut
,
@FamiliaVc
, and Queer VC to host a joint holiday party! Can't wait to celebrate the amazing work each of these orgs do, bring the community together, and toast to 2024 ✨
Regsiter here:
Had some funds reach out for initial convos that will not respond even as I follow up / share updated availability.
Learning new ways you can get ghosted every day 👻😂😭
@YehongZhu
@launchhouse
@YehongZhu
I agree these stories need sensitivity from reporters but wish you would have phrased this thread differently - you're cutting the founders too much slack. They created + enabled an environment of sexual harassment. There's no excuse for that.
Our VC Unleashed Leadership Team just got done meeting to discuss our upcoming Unlocking Capital Conference, the first BIPOC MBA Investor conference in the world! Y'all ain't ready!
Loved writing about
@Bea_latina
's founder & fundraising journey! Our team
@Intuit
Ventures believes diversity powers better results and always want to hear from diverse founders.
🔑 Advice from Beatriz:
-Pay attn to your equity
-Diversify your cap table
-Stay strong w/rejections
Beatriz Acevedo knows the venture capital industry doesn’t offer equal opportunities to all. Yet, she's raised over $50 million for her own companies, and wants to empower more diverse startup founders to do the same.
✍️Tanvi Lal: Senior Associate at Intuit Ventures
There is a huge gap in support for LGBTQ+ investors, founders, operators, and others across the startup ecosystem. I'm thrilled to see this support get started - let's go
@nic_detommaso
and
@claire_rafson
! 👏🏽
Invitation for NYC friends:
@claire_rafson
& I are looking to start a dinner series / community for LGBTQ+ investors in NYC.
If you’re interested in an invite or know someone who might be, let us know here or in DMs! 🏳️🌈❤️🔥
I remember shooter drills when I was in 4th grade. I was so confused and scared even though it wasn't an actual threat.
If the confusion and fear the kids at Robb Elementary faced in the last moments of their lives isn't enough to prompt gun regulation idk what will be
@Bosefina
I love this
@Bosefina
!! Personal finance has to be taught and when nobody around you does that, you're at a disadvantage. Hope the workshop goes well 👏🏽
Awesome conversation with
@Dan_Schulman
, the CEO of
@PayPal
, today at
@BerkeleyHaas
on everything from socially conscious leadership to fintech to employee wellbeing. As an added treat got to join a small student group discussion after and meet Dan!