12/9/2023 0 Comments Barry eggers lightspeedBut if some scouts show a knack and end up leaders at existing firms or launching their own, that would be an exciting secondary outcome for the program, she says. Its organizers hope to have an in-person final event in November, if it’s safe to do so.Īt BLCK VC, Sykes says she’s not expecting every participant to turn venture capitalist themselves. The program itself is expected to start with a four-week intensive course of virtual sessions in mid-June starting in July, the group will then spend five months meeting occasionally in smaller groups. The BLCK VC Scout Network is taking open applications through the end of day on May 23, Sykes says, at a dedicated website. “We’re big believers in the idea that more diverse perspectives and life experiences lead you to opportunities you might not find otherwise.” “There’s a multiplier effect,” says Lightspeed’s Bent. But supporting the program financially and through their partners’ time is good business, they say. With most scout participants expected to be affiliated with other VC firms, neither says they’re in it to poach talent or deal flow from the competition. Sequoia and Lightspeed, of course, are for-profit businesses. “The beauty of the model is that when you focus on empowering folks, upskilling them and making sure they have the right expertise, that ends up benefitting the firms as well,” says Nmachi Jidenma, who joined Sequoia as senior director of scouts and partnerships earlier this year after leading channel strategy at WhatsApp, and who is representing Sequoia in the new program alongside partner Mike Vernal. ![]() Sequoia, meanwhile, helped popularize the scout role more than a decade ago, launching its program in 2009, and has invested in more than 1,100 startups through its scouts, including Stripe, Faire and Uber. Past graduates of its program include Sykes and BLCK VC co-founder Frederik Groce’s fellow Forbes Under 30 alumni Ivan Alo and LaDante McMillon of New Age Capital and Cake Ventures founding partner Monique Woodard. Bent and firm co-sponsor Barry Eggers, a founding partner at Lightspeed, brought on 42 such scouts, most of them outside the Bay Area. Following conversations between Lightspeed partner Mercedes Bent and the group, Lightspeed announced it was shifting the focus of its program to prioritize working with scouts of under-represented backgrounds last year. He holds a BA in Economics and Business from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.Both firms had proactively reached out to Sykes and BLCK VC following the death of George Floyd, Sykes says. Barry previously served as the Chair of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) Board of Directors. Together with his wife, Meredith, they support programs that provide mentoring and educational access, conservation of land and creatures, sustainability, and pragmatic, economically viable solutions to urgent but difficult problems.īarry serves on the boards of Venture Forward, the Industry Advisory Boards of Greenspring Associates, Giant Ventures, and is an Advisory Member of The Nature Conservancy’s Investment Committee. He also led the creation of a scout program where the firm provides funding and support for a cohort of investors from underrepresented groups. ![]() In the last few years, he has helped transform Lightspeed into one of the most diverse venture capital firms in Silicon Valley. Barry’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) is exemplary on a business and philanthropic level.
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