Hola VCFamilia!

Are you ready? I hope you’re sitting down because what we are sharing in this newsletter is Forbes newsworthy (literally).

If you really wanted a quick summary- the bottom line is we are over it (estamos hartos!).

We’ve reached a turning point. We have moved beyond intentions. We’re over taking small steps to see long-term change, we want to see the impact now. We’re not aspiring to do something about it one day, we’re making it happen now.

But VCF’s mission, to close the capital gap, is broad. So what are we tackling?

Keep reading and find out…

• 🤑 The Capital Corner

• 💢 Major Updates

• 📅 Programming

• 💁‍♂️💁‍♀️ Investor Community Spotlight

• 👩🏾‍💻 10 VC Roles

• 🔊Call to action

🤑The Capital Corner

💪ALZAR: The First of its Kind💪

The date has finally arrived, and we are excited to announce the launch of the ALZAR Program, the first-of-its-kind catalytic capital program designed for Latine emerging fund managers! 

How We Got Here

The Latine community will represent a massive economic and innovation output over the next few years, and yet while the U.S. Latine economic output topped $2.8 Trillion in 2020, only 5% of Investment Partners identified as Latine. This highlights a longstanding issue in the venture industry, where exclusive networks and high entry barriers have favored established players. These challenges make it tough for talented, diverse emerging fund managers to compete and start their own funds, especially if they don't have significant personal wealth or connections to exclusive investment circles.

Over the past two years, VCF has hosted various events for emerging fund managers, where we engaged in meaningful conversations. From these interactions, we've pinpointed common barriers faced by Latine fund managers when launching their firms. This, in conjunction with our earlier insights, motivated us to explore and question ways to reduce friction and offer our community an equitable field for venture investing. Our answer: Alzar.

The Program

ALZAR was built as an equity program to lower barriers of entry for our Latine fund managers, unlocking Silicon Valley to the next generation of Latine entrepreneurs.

The program is designed to do two things:

1. Alleviate financial burden by reducing the operational costs associated with fund management; and

2. Help jumpstart Latine GPs across industries, geographies, and theses, enabling them to be assessed based on their investment talent and experience rather than their personal wealth

Thanks to the Sorenson Impact Foundation, Alzar offers $25k grants to eight Latine emerging fund managers for operational capital needed to launch a fund. The grants can be used for hiring, legal, admin, operational software, or any other operating items needed to get a fund off the ground.

If you are a fund manager, apply below!

While this capital isn't sufficient to level the playing field entirely, it's a crucial step in easing the financial challenges faced by emerging fund managers. Our community deserves the opportunity to showcase its investment prowess, deliver exceptional returns, and set an inspiring example of what fund managers can achieve. By growing the ranks of Latine fund managers, we aim to create a more equitable investment landscape for Latine founders and drive reinvestment in our community. ALZAR is not only a grant but a commitment from our community.

💢Major Updates

Alzar is not only being launched, it’s being launched under the LaFamilia Foundation…

🌟Introducing LFF🌟

Going forward, The LaFamilia Foundation will house our two established and influential organizations- VCFamilia and FounderFamilia, the largest organizations of Latin Americans in the world in the venture and startup ecosystem.

Our new logo ingeniously blends the distinctive elements of the VCFamilia logo, characterized by its triangular sun rays, and the FounderFamilia logo with its building blocks. When combined, these components give rise to our new emblem, which serves as a powerful symbol of circularity. It signifies the creation of a self-contained ecosystem that encapsulates the potent network effects enabling our collective growth. Our mission is to disrupt the prevailing cycle of overlooking Latine funders and founders, aspiring to forge a unique path – the wheel of progress we aim to set in motion.

ALZAR, which means “to rise” in Spanish, encapsulates the vision of LFF to uplift its members to level the playing field and drive inclusive economic growth. ALZAR will be spearheaded by the impact-driven team behind LFF in coordination with its Limited Partner Advisory Committee.

Our team aims to deploy its extensive network and resources to unleash the select applicants’ entrepreneurial potential, as well as dismantle barriers that hinder funders’ access to capital and opportunities while providing invaluable guidance to ensure the longevity and success of the program.

📅Programming

🎟Upcoming Events

RSVP for all of our Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 Celebraciónes below!

To view all of the events, check out our HHM’23 webpage.

📣 Spread the Word

3rd Annual Pitch Competition

Deadline: September 24th, 2023

We are bringing some of the best VCs in the industry to judge the final round of pitches of top Latino startups. We will select 8 finalists before the final round of the pitch competition on October 12th.

Requirements to enter:

• Minimum of one Latine founder

• The company’s founder stock must be >33% owned by Latine founders

• Maximum $2.5M in total capital raised to date; and

• The company must be incorporated in the U.S.

💁‍♂️💁‍♀️Investor Community Spotlight

This week, we’d like to elevate and appreciate all those who played a part in turning this dream of ours into a reality.

We’d like to give an enormous thank you to the Sorenson Impact Foundation for giving us the tools we needed to begin to make a real change.

Thank you to NOISE PR for working with us diligently to get this news to Forbes and promote this first-of-its-kind initiative.

Thank you to Alzar's LPAC Committee: Dana Cotter of ImpactAssets, Aakar Vachhani of Fairview Capital, Jasmine N. Richards, CFA of Cambridge Associates, Dr. Elida M. Bautista, Ph.D. of the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and Dustin Shay of the Sorenson Impact Foundation.

Finally, a round of applause to the VCFamilia team for working behind the scenes to get this off the ground: Af Hernandez, Cheryl Campos, Jonathan Chavez, and Andrea Zapata.

Are you in a fund that’s raising? Do you want to nominate someone? Do you want yourself to be featured? Do you have a big announcement you want to share? You’ve come to the right place. This section of the newsletter is especially for elevating and celebrating our community🎉.

Nominate someone below!

👩🏾‍💻10 VC Roles

1. VC Associate, Boost VC (CA)

2. Analyst, MS&AD Ventures (NYC)

3. Blockchain Venture Investor, CoinFund (NYC/BOS/MIA)

4. VC Associate (Tech), SoftBank Vision Fund (SF)

5. Data Analyst, Two Sigma Ventures (NYC)

6. Principal, Link Ventures (BOS)

7. Senior Investment Ops Associate, Iterative (SF)

8. Managing Director, Cane Ventures (MIA)

9. VC Investor, MIT (BOS)

10. VC Manager, Techstars (NYC)

🔊Call to Action: Follow LFF

Now that LFF is official, go ahead and follow us on our new LinkedIn page and help us propel this mission forward.

See you next week founders!