Moneda Moves (114): The Great Venture Capital Shake-Up with VC Founder Noramay Cadena
For many of us at Moneda Moves, this should come as no surprise: Latinos are entrepreneurial at their core.
Much so that between 2007-2017, 50% of all new small businesses created were Latinx owned, per a report from Bain & Company. During that same decade just ONE PERCENT of investment from top venture capital firms went to Latinx-owned businesses. But why is this so?
In our first podcast episode of 2022, we talk about this gap and term you’ve likely heard before: Venture Capital. It’s a kind of financing investors supply emerging companies with big growth potential. Because while these investment numbers may not be favorable to Latinx-owned businesses looking to scale, VC founders and operators like Noramay Cadena of Supply Change Capital are positioned to shake up the space.
A former Boeing engineer turned investor with three degrees from MIT, Cadena is focused on investing in the intersection of food, culture and technology. Supply Change Capital does this all the while focusing on diverse founders, which are tracking to become the majority citizen in the US. We spoke with Cadena about her pivot into VC, how she invests in companies and biggest findings from her time in the space. Listen to the full episode here.
In this newsletter, we share more about the venture capital landscape as it relates to Latinx. As it turns out, this is a very active field, and once we’re certainly keeping an eye on.
Con poder,
Lyanne
Headlines to put on your radar.
LatinxVC announces sponsorship to double Latinx professionals working in venture capital: With a sponsorship from Silicon Valley Bank, non-profit group LatinxVC will launch an initiative to grow the number of Latinx people workin in venture capital. The fund will be used to expand its fellowship and mentorship programs as well as jobs. It will also be increasing its own programming across the United States. It has also launched a report of which findings include:
Latinx investment professionals make only 2% of total venture capital investment professionals
At institutional venture capital firms, the stat worse where only 1% of non-partner level venture capital investment professionals are Latinx
Meanwhile Latinos continue to open businesses faster than any other group: On the flip side, latinos launch more businesses than any other demographic in the United States, but they also shut down faster than their peers, especially white business owners. A big issues they face is funding.
Chicago is having a change in patterns in the VC industry: From 2020-2021, Latino professionals saw the most significant spike, per a new VC Diversity Survey from Chicago:Blend. They now represent 4.3% of Chicago’s VC employees, which is still below the national average of 7%.
Black professionals and Asian professionals also increased their numbers in Chicago, with Black professionals in particular outpacing the national average (6% in Chicago versus the 4% national average). Read all findings here.
Thank you for joining us! Until next week, catch us here on Moneda Moves.