Eleanor Kaye, Executive Director of the Newton Venture Program. Program helping people from underestimated and overlooked backgrounds break into the venture capital industry and also advance their careers once they are in the venture capital industry.

In today’s episode, we discuss her journey in the venture capital industry and talk about some of the challenges in the industry and how the Newton Venture Program is curbing them.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:41] Eleanor's personal background & journey
[06:17] What is the Newton Venture Program?
[11:43] Who is the Newton Venture Program for?
[15:35] Root problems of the diversity challenge in the industry?
[19:02] Barriers into the VC industry blocking people from underestimated backgrounds
[23:35] Are VC roles advertised or relationship-based?
[26:55] Work experience’s impact on role growth in the VC industry
[29:42] Structural barriers within the VC industry preventing role-growth
[33:02] Advice for founders fundraising from underestimated backgrounds
[35:12] Eleanor's 10-year vision

KEY LESSONS & QUOTES

“I think there are misconceptions around venture capital. It's not a get-rich fast, side of a career.” [22:03]
“Venture capitalists need to bring in specialist partners to be able to identify good products in these new trends” [30:4]
“A massive step is understanding if you want more diverse candidates, then you're gonna have to go to the places that collect the diverse candidates, and that's very cool” [27:29]
“It's not even about finding the roles, but it's how you stand out and I think that's quite difficult if you haven't got the background as an investment banker or, potentially, any experience in venture capital.” [27:56]

Newton Venture Program - Website

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