Michele Mattei’s Post

At the age of 34, Lolita Taub had earned a bachelor’s degree, an MBA, and amassed over a decade of experience in the tech industry. This included notable roles in venture funds committed to investing in underrepresented communities, namely women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. Her journey from adversity to achievement serves as a testament to her unwavering commitment to success against all odds. Venture Capital Journey: Lolita Taub’s venture capital journey is a testament to her passion for supporting underserved communities. With over $70 million in sales and a portfolio boasting 90+ investments, Taub’s impact extends far beyond traditional investment metrics. Her tenure as an angel investor, Scout at Lightspeed Venture Partners, and VC at Backstage Capital and The Community Fund underscores her dedication to championing diversity and inclusion in the startup landscape. Taub’s investment philosophy is grounded in the belief that community-driven companies have the power to effect positive change. By leveraging her extensive network and expertise, she seeks out early-stage startups poised to make a meaningful impact on society. From fintech to healthcare, Taub’s investment thesis is guided by a commitment to fostering innovation and social responsibility. Entrepreneurship and Community Building: Beyond her role as a venture capitalist, Lolita Taub is a staunch advocate for entrepreneurship and community building. As a co-founder of proprietary matching tools such as the Startup-Investor Matching Tool and the GP-LP Matching Tool, she has revolutionized the way founders and funders connect. #lgbtq #pride #pride2024 #venturecapitalist #speakersinc #techinnovation #hispanicspeakers

At Q1 Velocity Venture Capital, we love fighting back on underrepresentation, breaking status quo, and changing the game! What is an underrepresented founder? Most define it as an entrepreneur who belongs to a demographic group that has historically had limited access to resources, opportunities, and funding in the business and startup ecosystems. This commonly includes women founders, minority founders (e.g., Black, Latinx, Native American, or Asian entrepreneurs), LGBTQ+ founders, veteran founders, and disabled founders. While we agree with this definition, we also believe underrepresented founders are visionaries who often lack investor and public advocacy for their groundbreaking ideas. Jeff Bezos and Reed Hastings were once such individuals—Bezos was told he would never sell books online, and Hastings was told no one would watch movies online. Yet today, many people only read or watch movies online. At Q1 Velocity, we’re not just investors—we’re advocates for founders who challenge the status quo, defy expectations, and have the potential to transform industries. We’re committed to providing the resources, mentorship, and networks needed to help these visionaries bring their ideas to life and build the next wave of innovative companies. #UnderrepresentedFounders #DiversityInTech #WomenInBusiness #MinorityFounders #VeteranEntrepreneurs #LGBTQFounders #InclusiveInvesting #VisionaryFounders #Q1Velocity #VentureCapital #BreakingBarriers #Innovation #Startups #FounderSupport

🚨RESOURCE ALERT ‼️ ENTREPRENEURS SIGN UP NOW The Invest Atlanta DealRoom is a comprehensive platform that provides data on startups, scaleups, and the overall local tech ecosystem to bring transparency, analysis and insights into venture capital activities and beyond. Via this open-access platform, entrepreneurs can profile their company to industry stakeholders by adding or claiming their business to the database. Investors and venture capital firms can discover the most promising startups and scaleups before everyone else, track exceptional founders, perform market research and analysis across industries and locations. SIGN UP NOW https://lnkd.in/eaiFxDpz #businessdevelopment #governmentcontracting #smallbusinesses #businessowners #founders #nonprofits #entrepreneurs #sbe #dbe #mbe #wbe #lbe #mwbe #wosb #edwosb #veteranowned #womanowned #supplierdiversity #minorityowned #wealth #lgbtq #smallbusinessresources #smallbiz #grants #startups #disabledowned #funding

💡Apply to the Lunar StartUPs Accelerator or our Capital Readiness Accelerator by Sunday, February 2nd! Applications are open for BOTH of our accelerator programs that serve Black, Brown, LGBTQ+, women, non-binary, rural and other underserved entrepreneurs! That’s right, our 12-week Capital Readiness Accelerator and Lunar Startups Accelerator are ready to accept the next cohorts of game-changing entrepreneurs into the ConnectUP! fam, keep reading to learn more. Accelerators @ ConnectUP! aims to create an unshakeable, holistic system of support for BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ entrepreneurs resulting in a massive gravitational pull for capital, talent, and jobs toward our region. 💰Capital Readiness Accelerator: Get ready (and stay ready) to access funding for your small business with our Capital Readiness Accelerator! The number one need of entrepreneurs is capital - to start, scale, and sustain their businesses but if you aren’t ready with the right documentation and mindset, those dollars can only go so far! 🤑 🚀 Lunar StartUPs Accelerator: The Lunar Startups Accelerator offers executive coaching, workshops, expert mentorship, tech perks, and more. Graduating participants may gain a faster path to funding opportunities, with an opportunity to become eligible for our Integrated Capital Fund. 🔗 Ready to apply? Head to connectupmn.org/programs to submit! (Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis) #LunarStartups #ConnectUP #HypeSquad #CapitalReadiness #BusinessAccelerator #MNSmallBusiness #MNStartup

🗣️ Applications are now live and the deadline (January 26) is fast approaching! #Startup #Innovator #Founder #FinTech #LifeScience #EnvironmentalImpact #ESG #Startup302 #Diversity #Innovation #Funding #Tech #TechEnabled #Entrepreneur #Venture

In honor of #PrideMonth, VC Include highlights the significant issue of inadequate funding for LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs. According to Out Magazine, queer founders outperform with 36% more jobs and 114% more patents, yet they receive less than 0.5% of overall startup funding. Additionally, they face financial discrimination, earning only 84 cents on the dollar compared to their straight, cisgender counterparts. At VC Include, we champion trailblazers including alumni Patrick Driscoll, Ben Stokes, and B. Pagels-Minor in their urgent work for equity in investment practices to unleash the full potential of LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs. Together, let’s break barriers and create a more inclusive venture capital landscape. Happy Pride! #vcinclude #pride #diversityandinclusion #impactinvesting #esg #fundmanagers #venturecapital #DiversityInVC #ImpactinAction #emergingmanagers #alternateinvestments #vc #pe #dei #finance #investors #inventure #genderequality

🌟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐭: 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 🌟 We’re excited to announce Kelly Ann Winget, founder of Alternative Wealth Partners, LLC, as one of our incredible speakers at the 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 event! Kelly Ann is a trailblazer in alternative investments, having raised close to $1 billion in capital across industries such as energy, real estate, and emerging markets. Kelly Ann is the first millennial, openly LGBTQ+ woman to launch her own private equity firm, making her a true pioneer in the world of finance. She’s passionate about breaking down barriers in capital access and is the author of the must-read book "Pitch the Bitch: Grab Your Financial Future by the Bags". Kelly is one the speakers at the Investors Panel “The Path to Success: Founders’ Biggest Wins and Hardest Lessons”. Follow our social media to learn more about other speakers or read more on our site. 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨’𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫: Use the code 𝐁𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 for a free ticket! Otherwise, tickets start at $29. BONUS: First 50 signups get access 5 must-have fundraising resources: ✔️ Investor Readiness Checklist ✔️ 50 Most Frequently Asked Investor Questions ✔️ The Venture Capital Due Diligence Questionnaire ✔️ The Psychological Playbook for VCs and Startups ✔️ A Comprehensive Guide for Creating Financial Model Assumptions The event will be recorded, so even if you can’t attend all sessions, you are not going to miss on any valuable information. I𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺. 🔗 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐰 https://lnkd.in/dUrdRkyq #FemaleFounders #KellyAnnWinget #AlternativeInvestments #BreakingBarriers #Entrepreneurship #LGBTQBusiness #WomenInFinance

💰 $1M+ in Funding Opportunities for Black, LGBTQ+, Women-Owned Businesses This Week 🚀 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗲’𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 (𝗖𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝟱) 💡 Why do so many Black-owned businesses (~80%) struggle to make it past 18 months of operation? It’s usually not that founders lack vision or execution. Beyond funding, our businesses are hindered by the absence of: 💡Access to customer insights or engagement tools to build loyalty and repeat business 💡Operational infrastructure to scale efficiently 💡and mentorship to navigate pivotal growth phases. Our partners at Braze, alongside BET+, are providing 12 months of FREE access to their customer engagement platform for 𝟮𝟬 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗖, 𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗔, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮. PLUS ✅ Business mentorship ✅ Branding masterclasses ✅ Free email advertising ✅ CSM certifications, + more ⏰ Applications are open through Jan. 17, 2025 Learn more and apply now 👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/gPGrnVqz 👉🏽 The Well Work x Justworks - Just Thrive Program | Up to $6,000 to existing businesses that have at least 50% ownership by marginalized founder(s) and 2 employees, Deadline: Rolling | https://lnkd.in/gCEybcgV 👉🏽 Peerless x AlleyCorp | Peerless Pitch - $1M in capital, $45k in legal, mentorship + more for early-stage founders, Deadline: Dec. 6, 2024 | https://lnkd.in/gakPeQYC 👉🏽 She Makes We | SMW Pitch Competition - $25,000 in prizes for women founders, Deadline: Dec. 8, 2024 | https://lnkd.in/gVrerYD7 👉🏽 Verizon x Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) | Digital Ready Grants - $10,000 in grants for for-profit small businesses, Deadline: Dec. 13, 2024 | https://lnkd.in/gmTARJzc 👉🏽 FedEx x Hello Alice x GEN | FedEx Entrepreneur Fund x Boost Camp - $10,000 in grants + 12-week accelerator, Deadline: Dec. 13, 2024 | https://lnkd.in/gbiVa_xt 👉🏽 Fearless Fund x JP Morgan | Get Venture Ready Cohort - $30,000 in grants + 12-week Intensive Program for WOC, Deadline: Dec. 15, 2024 | https://lnkd.in/gCwWgZ4P -- The Well Work - is on a mission to teach Black Founders how to get funding. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/emFQU-N ✉️ Join our mailing list: https://lnkd.in/g_S9Qe_B 💡 Get 1:1 Founder + Biz Coaching: https://lnkd.in/gzFAdKNM 👩🏽🏫 Access Grants Unlocked - A Guide to Successful Grant Funding for Black Founders: https://lnkd.in/gBuV5nXH 👉🏽 Follow @thewellworkco on IG

Something we think underrepresented founders would benefit from using are fractional services. In the initial stages of your company lifecycle, you are more likely to be bootstrapping if you're an underrepresented founder. The current climate in the UK, where interest rates are high, has helped to make the probability of attracting funding more difficult for underrepresented founders. So when you're working on a tight budget, fractional services from CEOs, CFOs, CTOs, COOs, CMOs, could be an alternative way to get the support your startup needs, at a fraction of the cost without breaking the bank. It's a great way to ensure that you build your startup holistically from the ground up. This is very important, as the innovative product and service you are building needs to be supported with the correct internal systems and processes, which will help you to scale creating internal value for you and external value for the customer. At SimpleInsight, we believe that holistic planning now will save you money and pain in the long run. #Femalefounder #LGBTQ+founder #Blackfounder #Underrepresentedfounder #Fractionalsupport

The Creative Co-Operative* spotted in TechCrunch! Through our 2022 report led by Dr Sana Ashraf*, the State of the Startup Ecosystem for Bla(c)k and Women of Colour Founders in Australia, we released the continent's first intersectional datapoint around financial inequality experienced by early stage First Nations, Black and Women of Colour founders. The funding discrepancy was 0.03% (link to Executive Summary in comments below). Since then we’ve seen the ecosystem start taking steps to do something about it - its a start. We look forward to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency collecting and reporting on the intersectional pay gap. Making this start is long overdue but it’s better late than never. #intersectionalpaygap #blackwomen #womenofcolour #startups *PS The Creative Co-Operative has been referred to as a consulting services agency as I assume the journalist referenced our old website. Unfortunately it is out of date as of 2021! We only consult on very specific projects, our focus is on building Maya Cares and programs such as the Anyone Can Community Startup Program to create mental health and economic access, equity and justice for the communities we serve. ** Dr Sana and I are not related, we just happen to share the same surname 🙂