Archive for category: VentureForward

Note from NVCA: As part of NVCA’s VentureForward initiative, we launched this blog series in November 2017 for industry leaders to share their perspectives on why diversity and inclusion (D&I) are important for the future of VC, their firm’s activities and approach to D&I, and guidance for how we—as an industry—can drive meaningful change.

Stay up to date on the latest VentureForward news, resources, and releases here. Contact ventureforward@nvca.org to learn more and get involved.

Greg Sands, Founder & Managing Partner of Costanoa Ventures, kicks off the series with the inaugural post below: Read more

Last month, we issued a call to action, requesting that anyone who wants to be part of NVCA’s efforts to address sexual harassment in venture capital join with us to develop a plan of positive actions. The response has been encouraging, and we are grateful for everyone who has taken the time to submit their thoughts and recommendations or raised their hand to work directly with us.

In addition to crowdsourcing recommendations via our web form, we are actively engaging in direct conversations with a broad swath of individuals, organizations and interested stakeholders from across the ecosystem to solicit their thoughts and ideas. Over the last several weeks, I have spoken to GPs, LPs, entrepreneurs, academics and, most importantly, many of the women who bravely came forward to share their unsettling stories. They also have shared their thoughts on what positive actions should be taken. Collectively, all these recommendations generally fall into three broad buckets: 1) Policies and Best Practices, 2) Training and Education, and 3) Reporting Capabilities. Read more

In the past several days, the brave testimonials of Niniane Wang, Susan Ho, and Leiti Hsu have drawn a sharp focus on the unacceptable sexual harassment and misconduct of Justin Caldbeck. This behavior has no room in our industry and opened a critical discussion about how we can work together to make systemic changes to ensure that anyone working in the entrepreneurial ecosystem is not subjected to this type of behavior in the future. NVCA strongly condemns sexual harassment, abuse and discrimination of any form.

Leaders in the industry have come forward with action-oriented perspectives about how to advance inclusion and end harassment in the venture ecosystem. While there may be disagreement and debate on the most productive approaches, there should be no debate about the end goal. Read more