Ray Leach, NVCA Board Member: True diversity goes beyond investment portfolios
Speaking before an audience of diverse entrepreneurs and investors at the 18th Annual Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project Economic Summit, Ray Leach, NVCA Board Member and NVCA Diversity Task Force Member, made clear the future of innovation depends on expanding opportunities for women and minorities in the venture capital and innovation ecosystems. In The Huffington Post yesterday, Ray wrote about the realities of the lack of diversity in the venture capital industry and NVCA’s focus on creating new pathways for women and minorities to succeed in venture capital and as entrepreneurs.
As the CEO of Jumpstart, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the success of diverse entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio, Ray and the Jumpstart team are laser-focused on investing in and supporting diverse entrepreneurs.
More than 30 percent of the early-stage companies they advise and/or invest in at JumpStart are minority or women owned-or-led. Jumpstart operates on the principal that diversity is a core building block that is absolutely essential to the health of Ohio’s regional community and the entire country.
As Ray writes, “True diversity goes beyond investment portfolios. That’s why everyone at JumpStart is responsible for creating their own personal inclusion goals, which are tied directly to our overall performance as an organization.”
The universe of challenges and potential solutions is vast, but NVCA is committed to identifying the critical areas where we can drive real change and impact. Read more from Ray Leach in his piece on The Huffington Post.