Recast Capital, a platform focused on investing in and supporting emerging managers in venture, announced the second cohort of Recast Accelerate, a catalytic program designed to drive the success of women and nonbinary-led, early stage US funds in venture capital.
Recast Accelerate had launched in early 2023 with the intent to help more diverse managers successfully raise and run institutional-quality funds. And Accelerate offers access to Recast’s established Enablement Program, including key educational content, professional development and community-building resources, complimentary executive coaching, and $100k to be leveraged in support of each fund’s backend operations.
The Fall 2024 cohort welcomes GPs from 25 funds and 100% of the funds have at least one GP who identifies as a woman or non-binary, 28% have at least one GP who is Black, 20% Asian, 4% LatinX, 12% LGBTQIA+, and 32% first generation US citizens. The participating funds are based across the US, and 68% of the participating funds are raising a Fund I.
The sectors of fund focus vary across verticals including, but not limited to, ClimateTech, Artificial Intelligence, Enterprise SaaS, FinTech, and Health and Wellness.
The second cohort of Recast Accelerate includes:
— Emily McMahan & Sherman Williams – AIN Ventures
— Leslie Harwell & Karla Mora – Alante Capital
— Jessie Lam & Toan Huynh – Alinea Ventures
— Anna Garcia – Altari Ventures
— Holly Neiweem – Apprentis Ventures
— Bonita Stewart & Jackson Georges Jr. – BAG Ventures
— Margaret Coblentz & Dawn Dobras – Capital F
— Ashley Mayer – Coalition Operators
— Molly Fowler – Dorm Room Fund
— Tatijana Janko – Fjor
— Jess Lynch & Greg Raiz – FoundersEdge
— Cvic Innocent – Frankenbuild Ventures, aka F(v)
— Virginie Raphael – FullCircle
— Alexandria Lafci – Hometeam Ventures
— Maggie Kenefake – Iron Prairie Ventures
— Molly Mielke – Moth Fund
— Allison Stern – Mother Ventures
— Helen Min – Phenomenal Ventures
— Sophie Purdom – Planeteer Capital
— Alexis Ji – Primer Ventures
— Sarah Niyogi & Somrat Niyogi – Recall Capital
— Caroline Lewis – Rogue Women’s Fund
— Sarah Smith – Sarah Smith
— Sheena Jindal & Kyle Richless – Sugar Free Capital
— Terri Burns – Type Capital
This review process was supported by a selection committee of limited partners with experience working with emerging managers in venture, including Ashlie Tyler of Bank of America, Angela Outlaw-Matheny of Crewcial Partners, Anna Mason of Ingeborg Investments, Geoff Abrahams of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Margot Kane of Spring Point Partners, and Matt Rho of Avivar Capital.
Building on the success of and learnings from the first cohort, Cohort II is comprised of a smaller number of funds to allow for additional program funding for more shared services, offering no-cost support to the emerging managers for critical needs across their firm-building experience: investor relations, operational templates, an internship program for additional support, and storytelling and sales workshops, among other things.
The early support for Accelerate comes from Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company. And the Accelerate participant experience is also supported in 2024 by partners and event sponsors Gunderson Dettmer, Strut Consulting, Antares Capital, Aumni, Banc of California, Citizens Bank, Cornerstone Fund Services, Frank, Rimerman & Co., Sydecar, and Mercury.
Recast Accelerate is a fiscally sponsored project of New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity. And Recast is looking to bring additional funders on board to broaden the program’s reach, include more managers in future cohorts and provide more funding to the managers.
KEY QUOTES:
“Today marks an exciting milestone for Recast as we begin the next chapter of Accelerate with this second cohort. Innovation thrives when different perspectives come together and we are actively working to foster that diversity within the venture capital community. By providing meaningful resources that tip the scale for underrepresented leaders, we’re not just backing new funds, we’re building the framework for a future where diversity is more than a checkbox, but a cornerstone of progress, growth and outsized returns.”
-Courtney McCrea, Co-Founder and Managing Partner
“While increasing the number of female and non-binary GPs in venture was one driver in forming Accelerate, our north star is to see those managers thrive and build highly successful funds. Just increasing the number of diverse GPs is not enough. Despite a growing number of female and diverse-led funds, the amount of capital managed by these managers has actually decreased in recent years. The managers in the Accelerate Program will be successful without Recast; our mission with this program is to accelerate that success.”
-Sara Zulkosky, Co-Founder and Managing Partner
