Despite economic headwinds and job cuts, companies backed by venture capital—including many in the Bay Area—drive the U.S. economy, accounting for hundreds of billions of dollars in sales and profits. However, most of this wealth winds up enriching entrenched investors and favored private interests, further widening economic inequality. Two well-known technology investors and entrepreneurs, Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein, have committed their lives to doing things differently and finding ways to close these equity gaps.
As they explain in their new book, Closing the Equity Gap: Creating Wealth and Fostering Justice in Startup Investing, Kapor and Kapor Klein build on their work at the Oakland-based Kapor Center and Kapor Capital, two institutions that invest in seed-stage tech startups focused on closing gaps of access, opportunity and outcome for low-income communities and communities of color.
They share their core beliefs that all companies must make a positive impact. They share stories behind some of the most remarkable companies ever launched, and they argue that the standard investment model doesn’t work, explain how it can be fixed, and say what the future could look like if more investors joined them. Come hear about their new roadmap for investing in tech companies that defy assumptions from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, and their belief that entrepreneurs who overcome obstacles in life are a far better predictor of long-term success than the schools they attend or investment dollars raised from friends and family.
Together, the Kapors have launched close to 200 companies, invested in impactful and profitable companies whose services or products close opportunity gaps for communities of color and low-income communities, and shown that their approach can also provide strong investment returns and growth.
Join us as Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein share how they’ve "done well by doing good" and how you can, too.
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