| A venture capitalist once told me candidly that whenever you see the phrase “democratization” in tech marketing material, think of it as a red flag. Democracy, generally speaking, often comes with an ironic caveat: It disproportionately benefits white and male participants. Now, you know me well enough to know that I wouldn't start off your Saturday with this dreary of an introduction normally, but I think that that reality is why a new tool, championed by tech entrepreneurs Lolita and Josh Taub, could be on to something actually innovative. The Taubs have launched a GP-LP, or general partner and limited partner, matching tool to help underrepresented fund managers get access to the capital they need to start their fund. It connects those looking to raise funds (GPs!) with check-writers (LPs!). The move comes on the heels of their founder-investor matching tool, which to date has generated over 1,000 introductions that they say have led to 27 checks totaling nearly $4 million in total capital. Yes, matching LPs to GPs is a relatively simple tech and concept. And this is a relatively simple experiment. But, it couldn't have existed five, and definitely 10, years ago. Zoom investing has changed the way that people meet and vet, and I think the GP-LP tool is a key data point in how emerging fund managers can bring optionality to their fundraising process. Speaking of fundraising: The tool's explicit focus on only helping underrepresented folks — which it defines as anyone who doesn't fit the classic Silicon Valley mold like women, LGBTQ+ folks, non-Ivy grads (or people from non-elite employers) and non-wealthy individuals — is a layer of differentiation from many other tools out there. Products like the AngelList rolling fund are great, but public, ongoing fundraising still largely benefits those who have networks to tap into in the first place — just take a quick scroll to see who has one so far. Let me put it like this: We've gotten to a point in venture where there are an ample number of tools out there that help founders and investors leverage their community into checks. What's missing, though, are the tools that help the community-less, undernetworked and underestimated access those opportunities. While there still is LP hesitancy as emerging managers raise their second and third funds, this effort is a good step in the right direction. And I'll be tracking it to see how successfully it works. It's been a big week for Black and other underrepresented founders: Moving on, the rest of this newsletter will focus on disaster tech, Airbnb and a healthcare communications S-1 filing. You can always find me on Twitter @nmasc_. | 
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