Trends in venture capital

The venture capital industry has gone more global as the pandemic has shone light on the fact that great innovation can happen anywhere in the world, and phenomenal companies can be built not just in Silicon Valley or the United States, but anywhere around the globe.

– Arif Janmohamed, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners

The venture capital industry has seen many changes throughout the years, but amid a global pandemic, economic recession, and social, political, and racial turmoil, it experienced an unprecedented 2020. As the industry continues to experience another record-breaking year, we’ll explore the current state of VCs, from initial public offerings (IPO) and special-purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), to an increase in global startups, as innovative companies continue to introduce new digital solutions and investors seek promising opportunities in new markets.

We found that firms with a specific diversity or inclusion strategy, or both, had a much greater percentage of women and Black investment professionals than those without. So, I would say intentionality and a purposeful focus in this area is what’s critical to change.

– Heather Gates, national Emerging Growth Company business leader at Deloitte

In this episode of the User Friendly podcast, host Hanish Patel is joined by Arif Janmohamed, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners; and Heather Gates, national Emerging Growth Company business leader at Deloitte, to discuss venture capital trends and the opportunities and challenges startups may face in the year ahead. They also discuss the importance of adopting a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy and how intentionality and a purposeful focus in this area is critical to change.

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