Diverse Lead Firms
645 Ventures
645 Ventures makes deeply-researched investments in institutional Seed to Series A rounds for exceptional companies who demonstrate stellar early results in the areas of market validation, product differentiation, team strength, and brand narrative.
We focus primarily on software and Internet companies in areas such as SaaS, application software, financial software, consumer internet, and online marketplaces. We make a majority of our investments in those sectors and prioritize proven business models. We make a minority of our investments in new technology areas where deep technical innovation is occurring and where we believe there is will be a large future market opportunity. These sectors generally leverage the Internet or software in a fundamental way. For these companies, we look for deep technology differentiation plus early market validation or clear opportunity for such. We invest in companies that sell to both enterprise/SMB customers as well as direct to consumers.
Arena Growth Partners
We help great leaders build great businesses. Our unique approach to investing, coupled with a pioneering spirit, provides the vision to guide early stage growth companies beyond today and toward future success.
Aspect Ventures
We bridge the gap between your seed and later stage venture so together, we can turn great ideas into great companies.
Aligned VC
We believe that the interests of investors and entrepreneurs can and should be aligned. Aligned Partners offers our portfolio companies world-class venture capital expertise while enabling founders to start lean and stay lean all the way through their growth.
AutoChrome
Autochrome is an inception and seed stage venture capital fund. We invest at the earliest stages in transformative companies that are leveraging technology to move our species forward.
Breaux Capital
Breaux and Company is a creative agency and social justice startup incubator. Utilizing cultural, financial, and intellectual capital, Breaux & Company helps influential brands rethink Diversity and Inclusion challenges and assists while launching new companies that solve problems for communities of color.
Broadway Angels
Broadway Angels is an angel investment group made up of world-class investors and business executives who all happen to be women. We all have decades of experience investing in and managing the best technology companies in the world. All of us are or have been General Partners in venture capital firms or Senior Executives in top technology companies. For most of us, we have been the only woman partner or senior executive in our firm. All of us have built great careers and portfolios along with amazing relationships with entrepreneurs and executives.
Backstage Capital
Backstage Capital invests in the best underrepresented founders in the U.S. We believe that some of the most successful companies in the future will be founded by people who don’t look like the ones we currently see in the press and on the portfolio pages of other VC firms.
Bryant Stibel
Bryant Stibel is Kobe Bryant and Jeff Stibel’s venture capital vehicle, focusing on the convergence of technology, media and data.
Cowboy Ventures
Cowboy Ventures helps seed-stage technology companies grow. We seek to back exceptional founders who are building products that “re-imagine” work and personal life in large and growing markets — we call it “Life 2.0″.
We are a community of founders, team members and advisors that supports each other to share lessons learned and build products that millions of customers love to use.
CrossCulture Ventures
Cross Culture Ventures invests in entrepreneurs creating next generation technology and consumer products. Through our strategic partnership with Atom Factory, we work together to discover, invest in and develop companies that fuel shifts in cultural trends and behaviors within an increasingly diverse global marketplace.
Diversity Fund
Our Purpose is to enable a new, diverse generation of business owners to generate wealth and increase the common good. That drives every decision we make.
Echo Ventures
Equity Vista Partners (Private Equity)
Vista Equity Partners is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in software and technology-enabled businesses.
Felicis Ventures
At Felicis Ventures we back the world’s iconic companies of today and tomorrow. We have a passion for product and out-of-the-box thinking. We solve problems and dominate critical markets.
A boutique venture fund, we customize our relationship with each portfolio company in a way that is meaningful and critical for them. In these partnerships with founders we strive to deliver high value help where needed.
We focus on 5 key areas — mobile, e-commerce, enterprise, education and health — and on what we believe to be new groundbreaking technologies, such as AI, 3D imaging, bio informatics, and connected devices.
Forerunner Ventures
An early stage venture capital firm dedicated to investing in ambitious entrepreneurs to define and dominate a new generation of commerce. We seek to partner with ambitious entrepreneurs that are disrupting the commerce landscape from every angle.
Harriet Fund
Investors/champions of Black & Latina Female pre-unicorns. Fueled by Gayle Jobyrne and Kathryn Finney. We can! We mentor, coach and invest in Black and Latina Women start-ups.
Golden Seeds
When Golden Seeds was founded in 2005, women entrepreneurs represented less than 3% of all companies receiving start-up capital. The goal was to raise substantial capital for women entrepreneurs and to encourage both women and men to become active venture investors, by providing a venue where they could learn and work together. At Golden Seeds, investors review hundreds of investment opportunities each year. The companies are actively vetted, coached and advised by our network. We offer an environment in which today’s most exciting women-led businesses receive capital and connections to grow and successfully exit. We aim to achieve market returns for our investors while at the same time creating lasting impact.
Impact America Fund
We invest in entrepreneurs developing software and technology-enabled solutions to create opportunities that enhance the quality of life for all Americans.
Kapor Capital
At Kapor Capital we believe in the power of transformative ideas and diverse teams. We are an Oakland-based fund that understands that startup companies have the ability to transform entire industries and to address urgent social needs as they do so.
New Age VC
New Age Capital is a seed stage venture capital firm and lifestyle company investing in tech startups founded by Blacks and Latinos.
TrueWealth
True Wealth Ventures is a venture capital fund investing in women-led businesses operating in consumer health and sustainable products and technologies.
This is just a start. What other diverse founded/lead firms need to be on this list? Please leave a comment below.
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