The early stage venture fund “WOCstar”co-founded by Gayle Jennings O’Byrne and Pialy Aditya focuses on tech innovation and ventures led by inclusive teams and women of color (WOC). Focusing on media, consumption, and sustainability, the two co-founders have assembled a diverse group of very successful women who are intent on making diversity happen.
Jacki Zehner, co-founder of Women Moving Millions and former Goldman Sachs partner, is in the first group of investors to support WOCStar. Her organization focuses on achieving gender equality through a global collective of women who gift $1 million or more for the advancement of women and girls.
“I strongly believe in the power of women investing in women. One of the main things we can do is support and encourage women to become investors,” Zehner said.
The founding team and the supporters of WOCstar have solid numbers about women-founded and women-led businesses, making them attractive to investors. According to the National Association of Women Business Owners, WOC owners account for $361 billion in revenue annually in the U.S. The future is becoming brighter for them and all women entrepreneurs as 73% of women-led venture capital firms were founded within the last five years, according to the report titled, The Untapped Potential of Women-led Funds. As a result women founders will see greater support in terms of capital and partner relationships going forward.
Currently, the WOCstar Fund is onboarding investors, gaining the support of individuals, family offices and institutional investors that includes Motley Fool Ventures.
WOCstar recently announced the great news that Jon Gosier, named one of the 25 most influential African-Americans in Technology by Business Insider, joined the WOCstar Fund. He is one of a number of early investors that includes:
- Nathalie Molina Niño, President O3;
- Valerie Mosley, CEO, Valmo Ventures;
- Dalila Wilson-Scott, EVP, Chief Diversity Officer and President, Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation;
- Leanne Huebner, co-Founder and Board Co-Chair, Minds Matter National, and
- Tilcia Toledo, Managing Director, FTI Consulting.
Jill Karp, founder of the Karp Foundation, shares her thoughts on becoming an investor in the Fund and her excitement that the co-founders have created another vehicle to support women.
“It has been a joy to see Gayle build her idea at The Nantucket Project to now be investing in great companies by women of color. She is driving the change we seek at TNP and I’m just thrilled to be invested in WOCstar Fund.”
While WOC founders need timely access to capital that remains a great challenge, Jennings-O’Byrne sees the WOCstar Fund as offering more. Many of those investing have successfully taken a startup and scaled it to be sustainable and personally rewarding. That experience is valuable to any WOC venture—and when investor goals align with founder goals a chemistry for success is created.
Portfolio companies include: Hempster, Re-Nuble, POSSIP, and others.
