Pathways to Capital: Northeast Regional Inclusive Capital Workshop

If we want more inclusive entrepreneurship,
we need more inclusive capital.

An emerging field of alternative and more inclusive investors has quietly begun to transform early-stage entrepreneurship. New financing models and funds have been developed, and a new crop of diverse fund leaders are emerging -- and yet the majority of entrepreneurs have little awareness of these new funding options.

If you’re an entrepreneur interested in learning more about new more inclusive forms of capital and the investors leading these funds -- this event is for you.

Join for a conversation and workshop with experienced and active investors from Village Capital, RevUp Capital, Catalyst Fund, Vamos Ventures, Impact America Fund, Valor Ventures, Next Wave Impact, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeast PA, Social Venture Circle and many others who will share their experience on topics such as:

• Inclusive Capital: Learn from VCs investing in women, latinx, black founders and other communities of entrepreneurs underserved by traditional VCs.

• Alternative Capital: Learn more about revenue-based financing, peer-selected financing and other nontraditional early stage investment opportunities.

• Interactive Workshops: Go deep on targeted topics of interest such as revenue based financing, how to communicate effectively with VCs, and others.

Keynote by Kauffman Foundation Vice President of Entrepreneurship​ - Victor Hwang the nation's leading foundation supporting entrepreneurship. Victor will share insights from their Capital Access Lab and lessons from their recent report titled "Removing Barriers" to capital for entrepreneurs.

Thank you to our partners for making this event possible:

The Pathways to Capital initiative is made possible through our Inclusive Capital partner, UBS. UBS supports entrepreneurship initiatives that drive economic growth by encouraging a more inclusive landscape for underrepresented founders. Through UBS partnerships and programs with Village Capital and others, they provided entrepreneurs with access to training, capital and networks needed to build their companies, create jobs and contribute to their local communities.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeast PA is the regional leader for this event in partnership with Village Capital. For over 30 years, Ben has been the leading seed stage capital provider for the region’s technology sectors, investing over $175 million in more than 1,750 regional technology companies, many of which have gone on to become industry leaders.

ImpactPHL works to increase investment in impact companies and organizations in Greater Philadelphia by accelerating development and awareness of Greater Philadelphia’s impact economy.

Event Overview:

1:00 - Welcome and Opening Context

• Allie Burns - CEO, Village Capital
• Jamie Sears - Head of Community Affairs & Corporate Responsibility, UBS
• Victor Hwang - VP of Entrepreneurship, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

1:30 - Pathways to Capital -- Inclusive Investor Panel

Moderated by Victor Hwang | Description: A new group of diverse investors and more inclusive fund managers are changing the face and practice of venture capital to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Join us for a discussion with leading investors to discuss how they are improving access to venture capital for entrepreneurs from all backgrounds.

• Valor Ventures: Lisa Calhoun
• Impact America Fund: Kesha Cash
• Vamos Ventures: Marcos C. Gonzalez
• Harlem Capital, Henri Pierre-Jacques

2:45 - Beyond Equity -- Alternative Capital Investors

Moderated by Victoria Fram MD of VilCap Investments | Description: The vast majority of attention and funding for venture capital businesses focuses on two types of capital: debt and equity. While the types of capital that investors provide is fairly narrow, business models and capital needs are very diverse, leaving many entrepreneurs without the capital they need to get to a viable product or grow sufficiently to succeed. Join us for a discussion on how a variety of forms of early stage financing can improve inclusivity of capital.

• Founders First - Kim Folsom
• RevUp - Melissa Withers
• Ben Franklin Technology Partners - Scott Nissenbaum
• Zebras Unite - XXcelerate Fund: Astrid Scholz
• Sage Growth / Loon Creek Capital - Denise Dunlap

4:00 - 5:30pm: Concurrent Interactive Workshops:

Workshop #1: Navigating Bias Throughout the Investment Lifecycle - In this interactive session, entrepreneurs and investors will engage in a facilitated and candid discussion about strategies to overcome bias when seeking venture capital and growing their company. Participants will break into small groups to share key barriers entrepreneurs face throughout the investment lifecycle, and as a group discuss ways to overcome barriers related to capital access, due diligence and growth.

• Village Capital Facilitator: Marcia Chong
• Co-Facilitators:
• Henri Pierre-Jacques, Harlem Capital
• Mindy Posoff, Golden Seeds
• Kesha Cash, Impact America Fund

Workshop #2: Transparency in Investment: How to Communicate Effectively with Investors - Village Capital's Abaca investment readiness tool breaks down 'ready for investment' into its logical components, making what it means to be ready much more explicit and allowing investors and entrepreneurs to break through some key barriers that can mask bias. The Abaca exercise will give participants the chance to map readiness and discuss tactical strategies that both entrepreneurs and investors can use to overcome those biases.

• Co-Facilitators:
• Margaret Bradley, Ben Franklin Technology Partners
• Victoria Fram, VilCap Investments / Village Capital

Workshop 3: Breaking Down Alternative Capital - Improving transparency and understanding of the VC industry improves access for those more left out of the system. This interactive session will focus on understanding the alternative financing capital options available for entrepreneurs. Building on the work of Zebras Unite and Kauffman Foundation at the 2018 Alternative Capital Summit and Village Capital and Zebras Unite at the 2019 SEED conference, this discussion will inform the design of tools and resources to improve capital access for the 81% of entrepreneurs that never access traditional financing of Venture Capital.

• Village Capital Facilitator: Rob Tashima
• Co-Facilitator: Astrid Scholz, Zebras Unite
• Small group discussion facilitators: Melissa Withers and Kim Folsom

5:30pm - 7pm: Reception @ Venture Cafe (Same location, upstairs)

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR AND PARTNERS: We're grateful the commitment UBS has made to not only this partnership but more generally to their commitment to elevating underrepresented founders and the investors that support them. We're also incredibly grateful for our local partners at the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Impact PHL for helping to put this event together.