Investment
Debut Capital Launches Investor-In-Residence Program with an Inaugural Class of Women Athletes By Samantha Dorisca
Sanya Richards-Ross Lexie Brown SOME OF THE WORLD’S greatest women athletes are embarking on the investment arena. On a mission to inspire non-traditional investors, early-stage venture capital firm Debut Capital is launching its first-ever Investor-in-Residence Program for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous founders. The first cohort will include some notable names such as four-time Olympic Track & Field Gold Medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, three-time Track & Field Olympian Medalist Lauryn Williams, fourtime All-Star, and WNBA Champion Chelsea Gray, and 2021 WNBA Champion Lexie Brown. The inaugural class will partake in a six-week program to learn from individuals in venture capital. According to the press release, topic points will include generating deal flow, portfolio construction, and post-investment support. The cohort will have access to an investment total of $100,000. Debut Capital’s class of professional women athletes is “a way to begin closing the gap between them and 84
March-April 2022
Chelsea Gray
Lauryn Williams
their male athlete counterparts.” “The gender pay gap between female professional athletes and their male counterparts continues to grow,” says Pilar Johnson, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Debut Capital, in a press release. “The Debut Investor-In Residence Program hopes to reduce the gap by providing these female athletes a collaborative space to gain new learnings that can build generational wealth and inspire others.”
About Debut Capital According to the release, “Debut Capital is here to disrupt the VC world by providing capital and strategic guidance to BLI founders and ultimately building a more diverse VC ecosystem.” It also states that their current portfolio consists of but isn’t limited to Breakr, Loop, Squire, and Somewhere Good. https://afrotech.com/debut-capital-launchesresidence-program-women-athletes-venturecapital DAWN
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