2021 the Year of the Catalyst: Let’s support 25+ Diverse Emerging Fund Managers and Aspiring VCs
It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. — Whitney M. Young, Jr.
It’s that time of the year again. That’s right, it’s a new year and it’s time for one of those tried and true traditions of new year’s resolutions. You know that time where people start saying things like “New Year, New Me” and “I just got a gym membership”. It’s the time of the year where everything is possible. (Please excuse the fact this was written at the end of January and not the beginning. I’ve been a bit busy fundraising for RareBreed Ventures which if you are interested in being an LP of please visit RareBreed.vc or check out our manifesto. Our min investment size is 10K)
As I thought about what my new year’s resolution would be I saw this tweet from my friend Lolita Taub.
That’s right for me the year 2021 is about being a catalyst. Being a catalyst for change, for growth, for economic opportunity, for innovation, for knowledge, and being a catalyst for others. I am a strong believer in paying it forward because I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all those who have helped me along the way. As a Black kid from Baltimore who has been homeless at points in my life without a college degree to become a successful developer, startup founder, and now founder of a venture capitalist firm. None of that would have happened without the amazing people around me who helped me along the way. It is that mindset that led me to make this statement on the VC game show PrimeTime VC Season 1 Episode 8
My new year’s resolution is to be a catalyst and help 25 diverse emerging managers raise funds. Actually, I want to change that and say my resolution is to be a catalyst and help 25 diverse emerging fund managers and aspiring VCs.
I’m sure there is someone out there saying something like, “But Mac, your own track record isn’t that long” or “But Mac, aren’t you still raising your own fund”. You’d be correct in asking those things but we can’t let “buts” get in the way of uplifting others. I’m not perfect and I surely don’t know everything but for what I do know and the resources I do have I want to share and use them to help others.
If you are someone who wants to join me in being a catalyst to support these diverse emerging fund managers and aspiring VC, please fill out this form and look to hear from me in the coming weeks — https://airtable.com/shrrN44jo91iJHnhz.
If you are a diverse emerging fund manager raising your first fund or looking to raise your first fund or a diverse individual who is actively working to break into VC, Please fill out this form and look to hear back from me in the coming weeks — https://airtable.com/shrEi6XfUJtYjh6dQ.
Let’s make 2021 the year of our community being true catalysts for change, for growth, for economic opportunity, for innovation, for knowledge, and being a catalyst for others!