#33 A $50 Million Dollar Bet in the Middle of the Country

07/28/20 • 57 min

In this episode we talk to Brian and Candice Brackeen, Partners at Lightship Capital. Prior to becoming investors and co-founding their venture firm, Brian and Candice were entrepreneurs with first hand experience building, financing and raising funds for their respective companies.

Join us as we talk to them about their latest $50 million dollar fund, which is considered to be the largest-ever VC fund to invest in Midwest in underrepresented founders including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities working on artificial intelligence (AI), consumer packaged goods (CPG), sustainability, e-commerce, and healthcare.

You can learn more about the fund and pitch Brian and Candice at www.Lightship.Capital and and by following them on twitter @brianbrackeen and @candicebrackeen.
Show Notes and Links:
The Grit by Angela Duckworth, Candice book reference.
Undock, instantly schedule, host and document meetings with your network.
FreshFry, Lightship Capital first investment under new fund.
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#32 Demystifying the Cannabis Industry

Cannabis sales in the U.S. alone are estimated to reach more than $30 billion dollars by 2023. This growth is only going to accelerate as more and more governments legalize the industry’s medicinal and recreational use, prompting entrepreneurs and investors to jump into the opportunity.

In addition to recreational and medicinal use, there is a broad range of cannabis-related consumer products including edibles, topical creams, soft drinks, coffees, sleep-inducing teas, and even infused non-alcoholic beers and wines.

Yet, challenges continue. Similar to our democracy, the legalization of marijuana is an ongoing social experiment, imperfect and undone, as we’ve failed to discuss the practice of disproportionately imprisoning people for buying, selling, and cultivating the product.

In this episode we talk to Farhaj Mayan, the Founder of Kanna, a startup providing the Cannabis industry a platform to hire, train and manage their workforce. Join us as we talk about the stigma and systemic racism behind what is now a lucrative, not yet fully bankable industry, and the mental and physical toll of building a startup.

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#34 Investing in Diverse Teams, Marcos Gonzalez, Vamos Ventures

Last year, a report to Congress based on data from 2017, found that almost 60 million Latinos already account for $2.3 trillion in economic activity and are projected to make up 30% of the U.S. population by the end of this year.
Another study from Stanford University found that over the past 10 years, the number of Latino business owners grew 34%, compared to 1% for all business owners, making them the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States.

Despite these numbers, when it comes to Venture Capital, Latinos represent less than 2% of venture led companies and venture capitalists. How do we change that?

In this episode we talk to Marcos Gonzalez, Managing Partner at Vamos Ventures.

A son of Mexican immigrant parents, Marcos was the first in his family to graduate from college and is now a Brown University and Harvard Business School alumni. Marcos began his career at IBM pre-business school, and the Boston Consulting Group. He then joined the private equity industry as an Investment Officer. Somewhere in between, Marcos also co-founded a venture backed e-commerce company, grew it, and sold it before founding Vamos Ventures, a $25mm fund seeking to invest in companies led by diverse founders. Join us as we talk to Marcos and learn more about what led him to invest in early stage startups.
You can find Marcos at:
https://www.vamosventures.com/
https://twitter.com/MarcosCGonzalez
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcos-gonzalez-b567042/