Diversity in the Venture Capital Value Chain

Recent years have seen meteoric growth in interest and action around diversity, inclusion, and social justice in the venture capital ecosystem. Some of the most compelling trends have been related to capital allocation.

Increasing numbers of investors hope to become Limited Partners (LPs) in funds that are managed by diverse General Partners (GPs), and/or funds that target investments in diverse founders. This is not impact investing, per se. The hypothesis is generally that diverse GPs and diverse founders represent a historically untapped source of value creation. There is also a hope that intentionally investing in underrepresented minorities (URM), at the fund and/or startup level, will improve social, human, and financial capital-related outcomes for URM, contributing more broadly to more equitable economic outcomes.

Who Are We?

The Diversity Report 2022 is brought to you by Diversity VC and Sieo.

And our Gold Sponsors are Silicon Valley Bank and Amazon Web Services.

What are we researching?

We designed and are conducting a survey to collect data from GPs to help us investigate our hypothesis that diverse funders do indeed lead to an increase in diverse founders. Following the collection, we will analyze the data to assess whether intentionally URM-focused investment decisions among LPs (investing in diverse GPs and/or funds with diversity mandates) and/or URM GPs drive 1) increased diversity of founders in portcos, and 2) returns. We will also be analyzing the profiles of GPs to provide LPs with data to optimize for their diversity goals.

Our Track Record

As you may already know, Sieo and Diversity VC have published two prior “Diversity in US Startups” reports. This third edition is a broader and deeper assessment of the ecosystem.

Where are we on this journey?

We have already begun collecting data for this ambitious project and, to mark the launch of our data survey, we hosted a panel discussion exploring the “What's the LP Perspective on Diversity Mandates” .

Timeline of our work

Want to get involved?

I would like to fill out the survey for my fund
I’m interested in becoming a financial sponsor
I’m interested in becoming a distribution partner

How do I fill out the survey?

If you’re a GP or VC in the US, we invite you to fill out our survey regarding the diversity makeup of your fund and investors. We are here to help along the way and support with any questions you may have.

Note: You do NOT need to have any diversity mandates as a GP in order to participate in our survey.

How do I become a sponsor?

You can help us with this survey by

1. Becoming a financial sponsor or
2. Becoming a distribution partner

Please reach out to aisling@sieo.io and sarah@diversity.vc to learn more.