Nilay Patel talks with venture capitalist Arlan Hamilton. Arlan founded VC fund Backstage Capital in 2015 and focuses on investing in “underestimated founders,” many of whom are people of color, women and LGBTQ. They discuss the importance of representation in tech and business, how the VC world works, and why Arlan is hopeful about the future at Backstage.
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Yesterday
Why Elon Musk wants to sell you cell service
My guest today is Walter Piecyk, a telecom analyst at LightShed Partners, and we’re discussing SpaceX’s plan to become a major wireless carrier. Last week, the company agreed to buy a big chunk of low-band spectrum in its bid to build “the world’s most advanced mobile network.” S ... Show More
53m 53s
Oct 15
Benn Jordan thinks the surveillance problem is much bigger than Flock
Today, I’m talking with Benn Jordan, musician, YouTuber, researcher, and investigative journalist. In the last couple of years, Benn has become a high-profile face in the creator and media spaces for his work investigating Flock Safety, the maker of automatic license plate reader ... Show More
1h 2m
Oct 12
Rewind: Ronan Farrow on Sam Altman’s ‘unconstrained’ relationship with the truth
Hey everybody, it’s Nilay. We’re off today for the holiday, and we’ll be back this Thursday with new episodes. In the meantime, we wanted to revisit a conversation from earlier this year I had with investigative journalist and New Yorker contributor Ronan Farrow, all about the in ... Show More
1 h
Jun 2021
Change Maker: Arlan Hamilton, Founder, on How Being Underestimated Can be a Superpower
This week’s change maker Arlan Hamilton is a venture capitalist investor. She’s the founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, which invests in underestimated founders, including women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ folx. She talks with Nicole about hating the “Homeless to ... Show More
21m 51s
Dec 2020
ZigZag: Arlan Hamilton says capitalism is still the great equalizer
"Today we're sharing an episode from another TED podcast: ZigZag, hosted by Manoush Zomorodi. In 2018, Backstage Capital's Arlan Hamilton was on the cover of Fast Company magazine. The headline was irresistible: homeless, gay, Black woman becomes hot-shot Silicon Valley investor. ... Show More
43m 3s
Feb 2021
Responsible Innovation and Venture Capital
Hemant Taneja, a managing director at General Catalyst and the founder of the firm’s Silicon Valley operations, joins Scott to discuss the venture capital space, why he’s bullish on the healthcare sector, and why responsible innovation is more important than ever. Hemant also sha ... Show More
1h 3m
Aug 2020
Arlan Hamilton | It's About Damn Time
<p>As a kid, Arlan Hamilton loved music and eventually found her way into the world of live concerts, working as a tour manager. Along the way, she also published a magazine and wrote the popular Your Daily Lesbian Moment blog, that drew a large, devoted community, before pivotin ... Show More
54m 9s
Jan 2023
Base10’s Ade Ajao: A data-driven approach to funding more diverse founders
On today’s episode of McKinsey on Startups, we talk to Adeyemi Ajao, the cofounder and Managing Partner at Base 10 Partners. The San Francisco-based VC firm focuses on startups bringing automation technology to a variety of sectors in what it calls the Real Economy, including log ... Show More
33m 8s
<p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/ArlanWasHere">Arlan Hamilton</a> is the Founder and Managing Partner @ <a href= "https://www.backstagecapital.com/together">Backstage Capital</a>, the seed fund that has paved the way investing exclusively in startups t ... Show More
