Author

Christine Tsai

Christine Tsai is the Founding Partner and CEO of 500 Startups.

Latest Articles

March 11, 2021
March 11, 2021

500 Startups Receives Diversity VC Certification as it Commits to Diversity and Inclusion

Christine Tsai
When 500 Startups was founded 10 years ago, being inclusive was core to our firm’s mission. We invested in founders from all over the world and our team members came from diverse backgrounds that did not fit the typical profile of a Silicon Valley...
December 17, 2020
December 17, 2020

2020 in Review – Resilience, Strength, & Empathy

Christine Tsai
In the unpredictable and often chaotic year that was 2020, we as a community collectively navigated the ups and downs and unequivocally decided to keep pushing forward. Whether it was transitioning our firm and all of our programs to fully-virtual...
December 14, 2020
December 14, 2020

Why We’re Publishing Our Diversity & Inclusion Statistics

Christine Tsai
Diversity has always been part of 500 Startups' DNA. We know great companies are born of great ideas, and great ideas come from founders of varied race, gender and geography. While institutional investors have historically overlooked diverse leade...
July 29, 2020
July 29, 2020

It’s Never Too Soon for Entrepreneurs to Make the World a Better Place (And Mean it)

Christine Tsai
The Black Lives Matter movement has reminded us of our collective failure to forcefully address systemic discrimination. The venture capital community is no exception. Women and minorities are woefully underrepresented as both entrepreneurs and fu...
July 17, 2020
July 17, 2020

Martin Basiri of Newly-Minted Unicorn ApplyBoard on the Future of Edtech

Christine Tsai
In May, Ontario-based ApplyBoard announced that it raised $75 million, making it 500 Startups’ latest unicorn with a valuation of $1.4 billion. This was a feat for a couple of reasons: the edtech company is only five years old, and it managed to r...
June 02, 2020
June 02, 2020

Black Lives Matter

Christine Tsai
We are grieving the tragic murder of George Floyd in Minnesota.  Mr. Floyd is one of many Black Americans who have been senselessly killed. Ahmaud Arbery. Eric Garner. Tamir Rice. Breonna Taylor. These are just a few of the names and preci...
April 28, 2020
Christine Tsai
April 28, 2020

Why Investing in Female Founders Matters Now More Than Ever

Christine Tsai
Long before diversity and inclusion became buzzwords, we decided to make venture capital inclusive from day one at 500 Startups. They became our guiding principles, because we know that great talent exists in all forms, no matter your gender, race...
April 03, 2020
April 03, 2020

How the 500 Startups Community Is Helping Those Affected By COVID-19

Christine Tsai
We at 500 are focused on helping the global community during these unsettling and unprecedented times. We are hosting roundtables and webinars with our partners and founders to address relevant topics, including the state of financing with our por...
September 24, 2019
September 24, 2019

Welcome Tony Wang as 500’s New Managing Partner

Christine Tsai
500 centers itself around supporting bold, innovative founders around the world. As venture dollars increasingly shift towards being deployed outside of the U.S., firms need to be thinking about their strategy to manage the trend towards globaliza...
July 29, 2019
July 29, 2019

Announcing Courtney Powell as COO of 500 Startups

Christine Tsai
500 has seen incredible growth over the past 9 years, yet our goal has always stayed constant: back the world’s most talented founders. Everything we do is centered around bringing incredible ideas and entrepreneurial ecosystems to life through in...

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