upfront ventures
The event kicked off Tuesday morning with a conversation with Issa Rae, the creator and star of the hit HBO series “Insecure,” who discussed her efforts to invest wealth back into her native South Los Angeles. An active angel investor, Rae has backed the likes of coffee chain Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen and skincare startup Topicals. “I definitely want to be known as someone who provided opportunities, but also created an infrastructure for others to do the same,” she said.
But it was Wednesday’s agenda that was packed with most of the event’s celebrities. First off was Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson; joined onstage by his brother, Harry, the pair plugged their brain-training startup, Limitless Minds, by talking up the importance of mental conditioning in athletic training regimens. Russell Wilson—who also co-founded the Jeff Bezos-backed mobile gaming app Tally—added that he chooses to back companies much like he would choose a team to compete alongside.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback and Limitless Minds' Russell Wilson at the Upfront Summit 2022.Courtesy of Upfront Ventures
“Who you have around you—I think that's a really critical part of allowing your mind to be at the highest, the most prestigious level it could possibly be,” Wilson said.
Next up was Oscar winner and “Big Little Lies” star Laura Dern, an active venture investor who discussed how her personal values of uplifting women and protecting the environment inform her investment strategy. Dern has backed the likes of organic baby formula startup Bobbie as well as UNest, a North Hollywood-based savings app for parents.
Dern said she’s passionate about inspiring other women to invest, since she felt excluded from conversations about money when growing up. “I was raised always talking about art, but I think as a girl, no one was talking to me about money,” Dern mused.
Actress Laura Dern speaking at the Upfront Summit 2022.Courtesy of Upfront Summit
Iconic rapper LL Cool J was also in the house to discuss his lengthy career and what he looks for when working with founders. As an angel investor, the rap mogul has backed the Black-led workflow management software Forethought through multiple rounds.
LL weaved a typically colorful analogy when discussing who he chooses to collaborate with in the venture world, as well as the VC industry’s need to diversify its ranks. “I don’t care what color the cat is—I just need a cat who can catch rats,” he said. “I just need a cat who is competent, and there are competent cats of all colors. So let’s get all the best cats and make this industry look more like the world.”
The Wednesday afternoon session saw socialite, influencer and cryptocurrency advocate Paris Hilton take the stage on a Web3-focused panel moderated by her husband, M13 co-founder Carter Reum. Hilton said she was drawn to crypto after having dinner with Ethereum’s founders in 2017; she subsequently minted her first NFT in 2019, and has since become a prolific mover in the space. The “Simple Life” star is also eyeing the metaverse after launching a virtual playground called “Paris World” in collaboration with game platform Roblox. “Paris thinks anything we're doing in real life, we'll [soon] be doing in the metaverse,” Reum quipped.
Grammy winner Alanis Morissette (left) on stage at the Upfront Summit 2022.Courtesy of Upfront Ventures
The summit was closed by seven-time Grammy winner Alanis Morissette, who discussed how she views her creative process. While short on venture investments, Morrisette described herself as a “chief empathy officer.”
“Whether we’re doing artwork, or coming up with an activism plan that will dovetail with a tour, it has to be something I’ll jump out of bed for in the morning—or else it’ll fall flat,” she said.
Amid a hectic day of panels and networking at Upfront, Morissette lauded the importance of resting and reseting one’s mental state when pursuing any endeavor. “Some of the best ideas I come up with are when I walk away from something that’s being asked,” she noted.
One A-list star who billed on the conference’s agenda yet absent on Wednesday was Natalie Portman. The Oscar-winning actress skipped the event due to illness, Upfront said.
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“There's a lot of diversity BS in venture capital—there still is,” Robinson said in a conversation with Upfront Ventures partner Kara Nortman.
Elliott Robinson at the 2022 Upfront Summit in Los Angeles.
Image courtesy of the Upfront Summit
Addressing the mostly white crowd on hand at the conference, Robinson noted that “fundraising for Black [venture capital fund] managers is half of what it is for non-Black managers. So for all the [limited partners] in the room, you really do have to just ask yourself: Why is that?”
Robinson is a board member at nonprofit group Blck VC, which is working to double the percentage of Black investors and venture capital partners by 2024. Yet Blck VC’s targets in reaching those goals are still a relatively thin slice of the overall industry: only 6% and 4%, respectively (up from 3% and 2% currently).
Robinson said that in order to have more Black startup founders—who still struggle for a disproportionately low percentage of venture capital funds—it’s critical that those founders can find support among VCs who represent their same cultural interests. Yet Black partners on VC funds remain rare, while it’s even rarer for a Black person to be a limited partner investing in a VC fund.
“A decade ago, a lot of funds decided to change everyone's title to partner so they could [say], ‘Look at all these women partners and [people of color] they have’—but there's no economics, no check-writing authority,” Robinson explained. “I think there's five Black partners that can cut a check over $10 million in the country,” he added, noting that one of them was GV partner Tyson Clark, who unexpectedly passed away last year.
Robinson said that helping to change those dynamics in his chosen profession is a key barometer of “what success means for me” as a venture capitalist.
“It's being the best investor I can—such that I can have very honest conversation with LPs in the room who I admire and respect, but can also level the playing field so that my skin color or the fact that I went to Morehouse College does not impact my ability to invest in the brightest and best founders that will define the next generation of business,” he said.
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