How to move the needle on investing in founders with diverse backgrounds? (quick )

#1 - start by measuring to understand where you are. Here is pipeline data from @IrishAngels and @VitalizeVC based on when CRM opportunities were created:

#2 - build pipeline that is diverse. There are lots of ways to do this. We purposefully have ensured we are talking with co-investors who have diverse backgrounds, as we believe this correlates highly with getting referrals to founders of diverse backgrounds.

#3: set a goal. We want 50%+ of our portfolio founders to have diverse backgrounds. We gave ourselves five years to hit this when we formed our diversity committee in March 2018.

(As of the last 2 years, @IrishAngels & @VitalizeVC are very close to achieving this goal!)

What else? Any other actionable ways to improve pipeline and therefore investments into founders with diverse backgrounds??

Note: the data in the two charts above is not perfect, as we did not ask founders or co-investors to self-identify. This data is used internally to help us track progress to our goals. Once we invest in a company, then we gather accurate DEI information.

Note 2: we also know there are many more ways to think about diversity (i.e., LGBTQ, disabled, veteran, socioeconomic status, etc.) This is merely where we started, and we have a lot of work yet to do! <end thread>