StepStone Group’s Post

Last week we held a highly successful Women in Private Equity event with mid-market firms. This Thursday we're holding a similar event with large-cap Private Equity firms. If this is a career path you're interested in then register now! https://lnkd.in/ehS3hHv2 Why should you attend? - Learn from inspiring leaders: Hear from successful women in large-cap PE firms who will share their personal stories, key industry insights, and strategies for success. - Networking opportunities: Connect with top industry professionals and like-minded peers, expanding your network and learning from the best. - Career empowerment: Walk away with actionable advice, knowledge, and connections to help you thrive in private equity.

An Update from our Co-Founder/CEO, Nikoa Milton Following a year marked by unprecedented economic challenges for Level and our counterparts doing racial justice work, Level is rising above adversity with renewed commitment in 2024. The relentless pushback against and abandonment of racial justice efforts in 2023—from the overturning of affirmative action to legal battles against venture capital funds for Black women entrepreneurs (Fearless Fund)—hasn't deterred Level's commitment to create new avenues for women to come together and shake up the funding ecosystem, particularly for Black women and the people who want to invest in them. With renewed vigor and a recommitment to the work of closing the racial wealth gap, we’ve diligently worked to reactivate the Level community! While investor appetite for racial equity continues to face obstacles, with less than 0.05% of venture capital funds going to Black women founders in 2022 and corporate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts (often led by Black women) coming to an end, so many of Level's members remain steadfastly committed to its impactful mission. We’re grateful for the continued support of co-founder Jenny Tolan, our community members, entrepreneurs and alum as we push forward with gratitude for the journey thus far and all the exciting things ahead.

Despite being the fastest-growing cohort of entrepreneurs, black women receive less than 0.5% of venture capital funding.  Our friends and collaborators at How Women Invest, an early-stage VC firm focusing on the intersection of female founders and female investors, are committed to reimagining this system.     Join them on February 14th for a transformative conversation on how Black women are shaping the future, featuring a lineup of guest speakers who will explore the innovations reshaping the venture landscape and how Black Women are reclaiming their power through venture. Learn more and register below!  https://lnkd.in/ghPuuDuj #blackhistorymonth #blackfounders #womeninventure #womeninvestors

Check this accelerator for female founders out from AccelerateHER 👇

Have you heard about The Fearless Fund? "Fearless Fund invests in women of color led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level or series A financing. Our mission is to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for women of color founders building scalable, growth aggressive companies. Fearless Fund is built by women of color for women of color." These are $20K grants. And along comes (expletive) Edward Blum, leader of The American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) (don't let the name fool you), who is behind dismantling Affirmative Action across all U.S. institutions, and he is now suing Fearless Fund for "racial discrimination." And he is doing it using Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which barred racial discrimination in contracts - meant to assist formerly enslaved people in obtaining economic opportunity. The point of this post is twofold: 1. To raise awareness - links in the comments 2. To solicit suggestions for ways in which we can show our support for Fearless Fund and disdain for those who deny Black women access to funding and opportunity for their ventures. BTW (expletive) Blum also filed a lawsuit against the Smithsonian for their internship program for LatinX youth to attract more diversity into museum jobs. This guy is a real peach and he's coming for all of us who believe in human potential and equality. What can we do together?

Creating your social capital is important.

Black founders in the U.S. raised 0.48% of all venture dollars allocated last year. That’s around $661 million out of $136 billion, according to the latest Crunchbase data. By fostering a culture of innovation, inclusivity, and mentorship, we aim to increase representation and drive meaningful change within the tech industry, ensuring that Black founders have the support they need to thrive and contribute to a more diverse and vibrant ecosystem.

In 2023, companies founded solely by women accounted for 2% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups and black founders received less than 0.5%. The TruStage Ventures Discovery Fund challenges industry standards, allocating 34% of its investment dollars to women founders and 66% to BIPOC founders to date.   “For the past three years, we’ve supported and invested in companies offering solutions to improve the financial health of communities underserved by the traditional financial system. It is making a real difference, and we are proud to commit to continuing these investments and improving industry standards.” - Elizabeth Coston McCluskey, Director of the Discovery Fund.   Check out the second annual report detailing the impact of the Discovery Fund since created in 2021 here: https://bit.ly/3Oz0IUc

The VC ecosystem is starkly homogenous, long associated with its lack of diversity and representation. Zooming in on the data, a recent VC Human Capital Survey from #NVCA and #Deloitte found that 3% of investment partner positions are held by Black employees, Black employees comprise 3% of investment professionals who originate deals, and 3% of those who represent the firm on the boards of portfolio companies. Black women founders are particularly impactedby a lack of funding, receiving .41% of all US VC dollars in 2021, according to #FastCompany. For years, venture capitalists have faced mounting pressure to diversify their portfolio companies and investment teams with Black people, other people of color, and women. In 2020, the conversation reemerged in the wake of several police killings of Black Americans and folks across VC vowed to work toward reducing racial disparities and inequalities in the industry. In recent years, incremental progress toward creating a more diverse VC ecosystem has been made—71 Black women raised $1 million or more between 2021 and 2023, for example. But as is often the case, progress can feel like one step forward two steps back. In 2024, our list of #BlackFounders and investors to know celebrates a small fraction of the Black leaders and innovators who are making impacts in their communities, industries, and beyond. #VentureCapital #YesWeVC #YesWeInvest https://lnkd.in/gNYNBFtC

"In the present-day context, every major financial institution—Citigroup, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley—have acquired financial institutions that existed pre-1860s. That means each has benefited from the enslavement of stolen Africans." In her latest piece with ImpactAlpha, Kataly's Chief Investment Officer Lynne Hoey delves into the history and context that created today’s financial system—a story of corporate greed, the hoarding of wealth, and predatory practices. It is also the story of how Black communities in particular have been central targets of that greed. Acknowledging the origins of our financial system is a critical step towards designing an investment strategy aligned with justice. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g2sCHX85