BLCK VC Scout Network: Partnering to Support the Next Generation of Black Investors

By Mercedes Bent and Barry Eggers of Lightspeed Venture Partners and Nmachi Jidenma and Mike Vernal on behalf of Sequoia Capital.

Today, Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners are proud to announce our partnership with BLCK VC to support the next generation of Black investors through the BLCK VC Scout Network. The initiative is dedicated to training, mentoring and connecting current and aspiring Black scouts. BLCK VC is a leader in making venture capital more inclusive, and we are excited to join forces to increase venture participation for Black investors.

By recent estimates only 3% of venture capital investors are Black. Driving change, improving access and fostering a more inclusive VC network requires taking deliberate and tangible action. Both Sequoia and Lightspeed are committed to doing so.

Scouts are an important part of the seed ecosystem, acting as early believers in the next generation of founders. Through the BLCK VC Scout Network, we hope to increase the diversity of thought and perspectives in that ecosystem while continuing to democratize angel investing. Scouts from any firm are eligible to join this program, not just those associated with Sequoia and Lightspeed.

The BLCK VC Scout Network is a six-month program, with sessions focused on education and community, hands-on training with industry experts, peer workshopping and networking activities. After completing the training program, scouts will be invited and encouraged to participate in community gatherings to connect with other scouts, share knowledge and further expand their networks. Scouts will not be allocated funds through the program to invest, but will leave with the education and community they need to be strong scout investors.

Both Sequoia and Lightspeed know firsthand the power of scouts as an avenue to onramp new investors, and believe this program is critical to driving greater diversity in venture capital. Over a decade ago, Sequoia launched the first scout program in Silicon Valley to empower exceptional individuals with the capital they need to support early stage entrepreneurs. Since 2009, Sequoia Scouts have supported over 1,100 seed-stage startups such as Stripe, Thumbtack, Faire and Uber and over 25 former Scouts have gone on to become investors at VC firms. In recent years, Sequoia has actively sought to increase representation among Sequoia Scouts.

Lightspeed’s current scout program brings together 42 leaders from Black, Latinx, Indigenous and Pacific Islander communities to receive support and capital as they join the venture industry. Current scouts represent a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, with 60% from outside the Bay Area, from Atlanta to Memphis, Baltimore and Hawaii, and hailing from educational institutions including Morehouse, Drexel, UCLA and Michigan State. After joining the Lightspeed Scout program in 2018, LaDante McMillon and Ivan Alo went on to launch their own fund, New Age Capital, and 2019 Lightspeed Scout Monique Woodard went on to launch Cake Ventures. The impact investors like LaDante, Ivan and Monique have had on cultivating and funding diverse founders has been inspiring to witness.

Sequoia and Lightspeed are excited to use our mutual experience and expertise in scouting to train the next generation of Black scouts.

Transformational change often begins with people coming together to solve a problem. We are proud to bring our mutual experience with scout programs to the BLCK VC Scout Network and to work with BLCK VC as Founding Partners on this journey.

For more information on the BLCK VC Scout Network and information on how to apply for the program, read BLCK VC’s announcement here.

This post also appears on Sequoia’s blog here.