August 2016


www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com Career and Business Opportunities


Venture Capital Field


FROM PAGE 1 Playing


Institute, which


prepares low-income students and students of color to succeed in STEM fields, has been working to change that for about 15 years. (New America Media wrote about LPFI’s Summer Math and Science Honors Academy in 2014.)


But it’s not just about having


more blacks and Latinos working at places like Apple and Twitter. Kapor Capital has four partners – Dixon (who is African American), Mitchell Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein, and Ben Jealous (the former president of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People). Of the more than 100 companies they’ve invested in to date, over half have diverse founders, and there’s a reason for that beyond diversity for its own sake.


own itch,”


“Diverse founders scratch their says Dixon. “That’s


why you do entrepreneurship – to solve problems that you see or that somebody close to you sees.”


that are going to help benefit low-income


and communities of color,” he says.


“We’re looking for companies communities


“When we’re thinking about an investment, one of the main questions we ask is, ‘Who benefits if this tool actually works?’”


One example is Thrive Market, which Kapor Capital invested in this year. Thrive Market is a membership- based service that


delivers membership to household.


According to Kapor Capital, Thrive is currently working with the USDA to try to change some of the rules around food stamps. If food stamps were redeemable online, they say, people who don’t live near grocery stores or who lack transportation access could have food delivered.


Another recent investment is


EarnUp, a company that helps people manage their loan payments so as to prioritize paying down the loans that have the highest interest rates.


“These are examples of the types of companies that we feel are helping close the gap,” says Dixon. The firm has committed to investing $40 million in such companies between 2015 and 2017.


For information on part-time and full-time career opportunities, call: 757-575-1863


healthy


food for Costco-type prices; for every paid membership, a


it also donates a


low-income


The Hampton Roads Messenger 11


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16