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00:00GREAT TO HAVE BOTH OF YOU HERE ON THE SHOW. YOU MANAGED TO NOT JUST ALL WOMEN ON THE CAP TABLE, BUT 75 DIFFERENT FEMALE INVESTORS. HOW DID YOU DO IT? > > LET ME TELL YOU A STORY. AS YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TALK ABOUT FUNDRAISING IS A VERY EASY THING. WE KNOW IT ' S NOT. IT ' S STRESSFUL AND ARDUOUS. WHEN I FINISHED LAST YEAR, I CALLED A FRIEND KAREN FOR MY VICTORY LAP. SHE SAID TO ME FOR 20 YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT CAP TABLE DIVERSITY. HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO BRING MORE WOMEN AND WOMEN OF COLOR ON THE CAP TABLE AND LET ' S TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SOME SPACE AND FIND A WAY TO DRIVE THAT IN THIS ROUND AND WE MADE IT HAPPEN. EMILY: YOU MADE IT HAPPEN QUICKLY. GIVE US HOW BECAUSE YOU HAVE A LOT OF VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS WHO SAY THEY CAN ' T FIND ENOUGH TALENTED WOMEN TO ADD HIS PARTNERS. -- TO ADD AS PARTNERS. > > WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING IS A COUPLE OF THINGS. WE ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE DOING THESE JOBS FOR 20 YEARS. WE ARE MUCH YOUNGER THAN WE LOOK OR OLDER THAN WE LOOK. WE REACHED INTO OUR NETWORKS AND OUR NETWORKS ARE SPECIFIC PEOPLE AT SPECIFIC STAGES OF THEIR CAREER. WE REACHED OUT TO A NUMBER OF SENIOR WOMEN IN TECH AND ACTRESSES AND PEOPLE WE KNEW WERE ACTIVE ANGEL INVESTORS THEN WE TOOK IT FURTHER AND SAID WE WANT TO USE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY. ONE IN FIVE AMERICANS SOLVE IS SERVING. TO SAY REACH OUT TO A WOMAN IN YOUR NETWORK WHO WE MAY NOT KNOW, IDEALLY A WOMAN OF COLOR, BUT SOMEONE WHO IS JUST AS TALENTED AS YOU WHO IS EITHER AN ANGEL INVESTING OR WANTS TO GET INTO IT AND INVITE THEM TO JOIN. IT HAD A SNOWBALL EFFECT. SORT OF LIKE THE FREEMASONS WHO WERE GROUPS OF MEN WERE PAUL REVERE WOULD YELL TO ANOTHER GROUP OF MEN, HE WASN ' T JUST YELLING INTO THE STREETS OF BOSTON AND THAT ' S HOW THE REVOLUTION SPREAD. IT ' S FINDING THESE LOOSE CONNECTORS. ONE EXAMPLE IS A WOMAN NAMED LAYLA WHO IS A LONGTIME SALESFORCE EXECUTIVE. SHE BROUGHT IT INTO THE BLACK VENTURE INSTITUTE. A GROUP OF BLACK ANGEL INVESTORS AND WE HAD A LOT OF EXAMPLES OF THAT. EMILY: REVOLUTION IS THE PERFECT METAPHOR. IF THERE IS A BLUEPRINT FOR OTHER STARTUPS, OTHER FOUNDERS WHO WANT TO DO THIS, WHAT ARE THREE SIMPLE STEPS? YOU DON ' T HAVE A NETWORK THAT GOES BACK 20 YEARS. > > NUMBER ONE, DECIDED TO DO IT EARLY. FOR ME, IT WAS THE 11TH HOUR AND IT CAUSED THE SCRAMBLE AND IT WAS INTIMIDATING. DECIDE EARLY AND ALIGN IT EARLY WITH YOUR BOARD AND YOUR INTERNAL TEAM. NUMBER TWO, CAP YOUR NETWORKS. EVERY FOUNDER HAS INVESTORS. YOU HAVE PROFESSORS, PEOPLE IN YOUR WORLD WHO ARE CONNECTED TO OTHERS. IT WAS MANAGING THAT NETWORK THAT ENABLED US TO DO IT QUICKLY. THIRD, FIND A BACKEND PARTNER. NUMBER FOUR, SET GUIDELINES. IN OUR WORLD BECAUSE WE WERE TRYING TO BRING IN NEW INVESTORS, WE REDUCED THE MINIMUM 20, BUT WE DECIDED TO DO IT OVER A CONSTRAINED TIMETABLE. ENABLED US TO MEET THE TIMETABLE QUICKLY. EMILY: WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE MARKET ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE THERE ' S PUBLIC MARKET TURMOIL, STARTUPS ARE HAVING TROUBLE RAISING NEW ROUNDS. WE ARE SEEING HIRING FREEZES AND EVEN LAYOFFS. IN TIMES OF TURMOIL, OFTEN WOMEN TAKE A STEP BACK. ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT COULD HAPPEN NOW? > > YES, I AM CONCERNED. THE MESSAGE TO PUT OUT THERE IS THAT THE GREAT THING ABOUT VENTURE IS THAT WE ARE BUILDING LONG-TERM TRENDS. THE PROBLEMS WE NEED TO SOLVE ARE BIGGER THAN EVER. IT ' S IMPORTANT THAT EACH INDIVIDUAL UNDERSTAND THE RISK PROFILE. YOU ' RE GOING TO ALLOCATE TO VENTURE CAPITAL, ALLOCATE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY. WHENEVER THE RIGHT AMOUNT IS FOR YOU, THEN DIVIDED INTO FIVE OR 10 INVESTMENTS AND BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT WHERE YOU WANT TO PLACE THOSE INVESTMENTS KNOWING THAT NO ONE OF THEM MAY GENERATE A RETURN. RICES ARE DOWN, INVESTORS WHO START RIGHT NOW ARE DEEPLY CONVICTED. THERE IS NEVER BEEN BIGGER PROBLEMS TO SOLVE. A HUGE PART OF WHAT CAME OUT OF US, WE DID SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS FROM ANGEL CITY WHICH WAS MY FIRST. THE BEST TIME TO TAKE THE RIGHT KIND OF RISK WITH PEOPLE YOU TRUST IN THE BEST WAY FOR YOUR BALANCE SHEET. EMILY: THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP ANGEL CITY. U.S. SOCCER JUST SIGNED A DEAL TO SPLIT PAY EQUALLY BETWEEN THE WOMEN ' S AND MEN ' S TEAMS. WHAT WAS THE SECRET TO GET THAT DONE AND CANNOT BE TRANSLATE IT TO OTHER SPORTS AND THE SKEPTICS ARE SAYING IN SOCCER, THE WOMEN YOU MAKE THE MONEY? ASK > > THERE IS A TERRIFIC ARTICLE THAT CAME OUT ON THIS TOPIC. A LAWSUIT, THAT CASE IS WHAT GOT ME -- I STARTED AS AN ACTIVIST WORKING WITH WOMAN WHO LED THE CHARGE AND HAVING EXTRAORDINARY LEADERSHIP TAKING THE TIME TO BUILD THE SYNDICATE, SOMEONE LIKE THE HEAD OF THE PLAYERS UNION IS CRITICAL. THE WOMEN ' S WORLD CUP IS NEGOTIATING THEIR OWN SPONSORSHIP DEAL WHICH WILL BE HALF $1 BILLION. IF ALL OF THIS STUFF BUILDS ON EACH OTHER, THE ONE THING I CAN TIE THIS BACK TO IS MY INTEREST IN SUPPORTING THE PAY EQUITY FIGHT WHICH IS HOW NATALIE PORTMAN AND I CAME TOGETHER LED TO THIS CAPITALIST MOMENT WITH ANGEL CITY WHICH LED TO SOLVE. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS NOT JUST BUILDING WEALTH FOR WOMEN, BOOK TILTING THE RELATIONSHIPS. FOR US, THIS WAS THE FIRST TRANSACTION WE DID TOGETHER AND SINCE THEN, WE HAVE DONE MANY MORE AND WE ARE PULLING EACH OTHER INTO EACH OTHER ' S DEALS. ADVOCATES ABOUT FINDING JOY IN PLAY AND ENERGY AMONGST THE FEMALE AND DIVERSE RELATIONSHIPS AND HOLDING EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE. TO MAKE IT A POSSIBLE SIDE HUSTLE AND GOOD THINGS WILL HAPPEN. > > HEATHER, SOLVE IS ANYTHING BUT A SIDE HUSTLE FOR YOU. HOW ARE THE CURRENT CONDITIONS IMPACTING YOUR SITUATION? RIGHT NOW, FOLKS ARE SAYING THE IPO WINDOW IS CLOSED. HOW ARE YOU NAVIGATING THIS TIME? > > WHAT WE DO HAS NEVER BEEN MORE RELEVANT. WHEN I THINK ABOUT OUR VALUE PROPOSITION FOR CONSUMERS, HOW CAN I BE SEEN AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST, WE ARE EXTRUDER EARLY RELEVANT. ON THE PROVIDER SIDE, HELP INNOVATIVE PROVIDERS DELIVER A CONSUMER FIRST EXPERIENCE FOR CONSUMERS WHERE THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED MORE DIGITAL FIRST HEALTH CARE THAN EVER, I AM FOCUSED ON THE FUNDAMENTALS AND DELIVERING VALUE TO CONSUMERS AND PROVIDERS IN TERMS OF OUR GROWTH. AS YOU DO THAT, GOOD THINGS WILL HAPPEN.

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How Solv Diversified Its Cap Table with All Female Round

Solv CEO Heather Fernandez and Upfront Ventures Managing Partner Kara Nortman speak with Emily Chang about building a diverse investor base with 60% of women of color and 33% first time investors. They share their top tips for founders and how to stay the course in the midst of macroeconomic headwinds. (Source: Bloomberg)

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