The world of venture capital strictly revolves around who makes the investment decisions, but as venture capitalists fund the people and ideas that are most like them,. Businesses founded by women and minorities are full of distinct perspectives and innovation, but still remain a source of untapped opportunity as traditional VC firms have continuously forged partnerships elsewhere.
“In growing my brand, Schmidt’s Naturals, to acquisition, I was flooded with interest from founders and entrepreneurs looking for advice on all aspects of business,” says Schmidt. Eager to provide her support, Schmidt launched Supermaker, a platform dedicated to featuring, educating and inspiring entrepreneurs and innovative brands, and began sharing this wealth of knowledge.
Citing transparency and communication as crucial to the success of their partnerships, Schmidt and Cantino hope to use their past expertise to fuel their investment decisions with Color and engage in real talk with their founders. “What’s really valuable is that we’ve been through the brand-building process ourselves, understand the market, know how to recognize and seize opportunities, and are able to see from the POV of the founder,” Schmidt states.