The Global VC

Why We’re Publishing Our Diversity & Inclusion Statistics

While we’ve always championed diversity as a critical part of our ethos, if 2020 taught us one thing, it’s that we need to do better.

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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 leaders, we consider teams with a range of backgrounds as a competitive advantage in our portfolio. 

But it’s 2020. After a devastating pandemic and widespread social justice movements, we can’t help but reflect on what’s been brought to light. 

While we’ve always championed diversity as a critical part of our ethos, if 2020 taught us one thing, it’s that we need to do better. Showing the diversity of our investments is a good place to start.

Here’s a snapshot:

  • 4.4%¹ of companies in our portfolio have at least one founder who identifies as African, African-American, or Black (compared to 1%² across the larger venture industry), and have a combined valuation of $1.1 billion³. 
  • 10.4%¹ of our startups have a Latinx founder (compared to 1.8%² for the venture industry), and have a combined valuation of $4.4 billion³. 
  • 25.1%¹ of our portfolio has at least one woman founder (compared to 13%² for the venture industry), with a combined valuation of of $17.5 billion³. 

We’re thrilled to see our metrics best industry standards, but given the deal flow and the interest we attract from diverse founders, we know we can improve these numbers.

We are exploring ways to increase and support diversity within 500 Startups, and have already initiated changes. For instance, 500’s flagship accelerator program boasts a higher number of diverse founders in 2020 compared to  2019, including 26% Black founders in the first group participating in our fully virtual accelerator. We want to make sure these entrepreneurs get in front of the right investors and mentors. 

We are spotlighting diverse portfolio founders across our platforms, building out programs for female founders and creating a Black founders hub to extend resources, content and ongoing admissions into our accelerator program. The 500 team is hard at work on our seventh Unity & Inclusion Summit in 2021, after holding our last one in 2019. 

Part of our approach also includes training for both 500 and its portfolio companies. We put together a D&I task force and hired third-parties to guide us through this process. We have begun a certification program called Diversity VC, which will assess recruitment and HR, internal policy and culture, deal flow sourcing and portfolio support. One example: being mindful of the language and imagery we use in our job listings. 

We also want to lead the conversation around diversity with LPs. Will they mandate their fund managers to invest in diverse teams–who tend to outperform industry benchmarks? Will they commit to recruiting diverse talent within their own ranks? We’re seeing a move in that direction. In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, Yale’s chief investment officer told asset managers to recruit more women and racial minorities or risk losing its business.

Those actions can lead to more representation in who’s getting checks, writing checks and taking board seats.

More than ever, diversity is a priority. We want to see systemic, lasting change: internal change within 500, change in our recruiting processes, change in the makeup of teams, change within deal flow, and change within the broader venture industry.

References

  1. This data is based on internal analysis of portfolio company data aggregated across all investment funds within the 500 Startups group (“PortCos”). The data is based on (i) a voluntary survey of PortCo founders/management teams which received responses from 72.5% of the founders polled and (ii) independent research conducted on the public records relating to PortCo founders/management teams by representatives of 500 Startups. The founder responses and the research data have not been verified and the accuracy or completeness thereof is not guaranteed. This data is as of September 30, 2020 and is provided for educational or informational purposes only, does not constitute any solicitation or marketing content, and should not be relied upon by any person (i) in making a decision whether to invest in, or engage in business with, 500 Startups and (ii) as legal, tax or investment advice. Further details on methodology and assumptions can be obtained from the 500 Startups Data Team
  2. Industry wide percentages as reported in [https://www.forbes.com/sites/committeeof200/2020/09/22/diversity-as-uperpower-the-well-known-data-against-homogeneous-teams-in-venture-capital/#2e0c2cba2019] OR [https://about.crunchbase.com/female-founder-report-2020/]. Note that such datasets may be as of a different date than the data presented for 500 Startups. Such external data has not been verified.
  3. This data is based on internal analysis of portfolio company data aggregated across all investment funds within the 500 Startups group (“PortCos”) and takes into account portfolio companies with the presence of at least one Black or Latinx] or Female cofounder in the company. Such determination with respect to company founder is based on (i) a voluntary survey of PortCo founders/management teams which received responses from 72.5% of the founders polled and (ii) independent research conducted on the public records relating to PortCo founders/management teams by representatives of 500 Startups. The founder responses and the research data have not been verified and the accuracy or completeness thereof is not guaranteed. Valuation figures reflect aggregated pre-money valuation data as available in 500 Startups’ internal records which data has not been verified and may require updates. Figures on funding raised are based on relevant Pitchbook data, which has not been verified. In all cases fundraise and valuation information is as of September 30, 2020 and past performance may not guarantee any continued or future returns, This data is provided for educational or informational purposes only, does not constitute any solicitation or marketing content, and should not be relied upon by any person (i) in making a decision whether to invest in, or engage in business with, 500 Startups and (ii) as legal, tax or investment advice. Further details on methodology and assumptions can be obtained from the 500 Startups Data

Disclaimer

500 Startups programs (including accelerator programs), investor education services, strategic partnership consulting services and events are operated by 500 Startups Incubator, L.L.C. (together with its affiliates, “500 Startups”) and the funds advised by 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. do not participate in any revenue generated by these activities. Such programs and services are provided for educational and informational purposes only and under no circumstances should any content provided as part of any such programs, services or events be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 startups or any of its affiliates.

The views expressed here are those of the individual 500 Startups personnel, or other individuals quoted and are not the views of 500 Startups or its affiliates. Certain information contained herein may have been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by 500 Startups. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, 500 Startups has not independently verified such information and makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy of the information in this post or its appropriateness for a given situation. In addition, this content may include third-party advertisements or links; 500 Startups has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.

This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, tax or accounting advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation, offer to sell or solicitation to purchase any investment securities, or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by 500 Startups. (An offering to invest in an 500 Startups fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by 500 Startups, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. 

Charts and graphs provided herein are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Unless otherwise expressly stated, figures are based on internal estimates and have not been independently verified. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. All logos and trademarks of third parties referenced herein are the logos and trademarks of their respective owners and any inclusion of such trademarks or logos does not imply or constitute any approval, endorsement or sponsorship of 500 Startups by such owners. 

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Christine Tsai

Christine Tsai

Founding Partner and CEO

Christine Tsai co-founded 500 Global in 2010, and led the firm’s growth over the past decade from a startup accelerator to a multi-stage venture capital firm with $2.4B in assets under management, and more than 2,700 investments in 81 countries. 500 Global regularly ranks as one of the most active venture capital firms in the world, according to PitchBook, with a top number of exits. The firm’s diversified portfolio includes 49 companies valued at more than $1B, such as Talkdesk, Canva, Grab, GitLab, and Intercom. Private Equity International has named Christine one of 10 Women of Influence in venture capital. She currently serves on the venture capital committee of the Association of Asian American Investment Managers, the Global Tech VC Council of the Global Private Capital Association, and is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. Christine is also an honoree of Gold House’s 2021 A100 List, recognizing the most impactful Asian and Pacific Islander leaders across business and technology, entertainment, advocacy and politics, lifestyle, and sports. Prior to founding 500 Global, she held product marketing and operating roles at Google, including monetization and developer products such as Google AdSense, Google Analytics, YouTube APIs and syndication, and Google Developer Platform Tools. Christine holds a B.A. in Cognitive Science from the University of California at Berkeley.