âđđ§ đšđźđ« đđ đđźđ§đ, đ°đ đĄđđŻđ đđšđ§đ đ„đšđđŹ đšđ đđĄđąđ§đ đŹ đđš đ„đđŻđđ„ đđĄđ đ©đ„đđČđąđ§đ đđąđđ„đ, đđš đšđ©đđ§ đđĄđ đđšđšđ« đ°đąđđđ« đđ§đ đđ«đđđđ đđ§ đđ§đŻđąđ«đšđ§đŠđđ§đ đ°đĄđđ«đ đđŻđđ«đČđšđ§đ đąđŹ đ°đđ„đđšđŠđâ. Meet Cindy Padnos, founder of Illuminate Ventures, a seed and early-stage venture capital firm based out of Oakland that invests exclusively in enterprise/B2B software companies. In this interview episode of âWiping Out the Norm,â Cindy shares her journey in Venture Capital with our founder Radhika Bajoria. Cindy started her career by working with a large corporation, then did management consulting within the tech sector and soon founded her own startup in B2B software which she eventually exited and built a VC fund to invest in B2B SaaS sector. After working in the VC world, she conducted many researches to understand what helps startups and founders to become successful. She shared many of her valuable insights in the conversation like,âđđđ„đ đđ§đ đđđŠđđ„đ đđ§đđ«đđ©đ«đđ§đđźđ«đŹ đ©đąđđđĄ đđąđđđđ«đđ§đđ„đČ. đđđ§ đđđ„đąđđŻđ đąđ§ âđđđ€đ đąđ đđąđ„đ„ đČđšđź đŠđđ€đ đąđâ đđšđ§đđđ©đ, đ°đĄđđ«đđđŹ đ°đšđŠđđ§ đđ«đ đ đđ§đđ«đđ„đ„đČ đ«đđđ„đąđŹđđąđ đđ§đ đđđđđźđđ„, đđ§đ đđš đ§đšđ đđšđŠđŠđąđ đđš đđ§đČđđĄđąđ§đ đđĄđđ đđĄđđČ đĄđđŻđđ§âđ đđđĄđąđđŻđđâ. In the conversation, Cindy revealed many other observations from her interesting research like,âđđ§ đŠđČ đ«đđŹđđđ«đđĄ đ°đĄđąđđĄ đŹđźđ«đŻđđČđđ đĄđźđ§đđ«đđđŹ đšđ đđ§đđ«đđ©đ«đđ§đđźđ«đŹ đđ§đ đđđŹ, đđđŹ đŹđĄđšđđ€đąđ§đ đ„đČ đ«đđŻđđđ„đđ đđĄđđ đđĄđđČ đđđ„đąđđŻđ đŠđđ§ đđąđŹđ©đ„đđČđđ đŠđšđ«đ đđźđŹđąđ§đđŹđŹ đđđđ«đąđđźđđđŹ đđĄđđ§ đ°đšđŠđđ§.â She highlighted the subtle but unintentional biases that women face. âVCs do not want to invest in companies where husband and wife are running the company together, but we invested in such a company, and made massive returnsâ. There are many such preconceived notions in the mind of VCs and avoid investing in companies that are different from the ânormâ. In addition to women, she found that people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, those from other nationalities, and even those with different accents were frequently impacted by prejudices and biases. In her VC fund, they have focused on inclusion, and also shared that half of the companies in their portfolio have at least one female co-founder. Along with conducting researches, she has been involved in a number of nonprofits supporting women entrepreneurship for 20 years. Watch our full conversation with Cindy as she shared with us many more learnings from her researches and experiences in the VC world. Watch the full video- https://lnkd.in/dK-kzJ2U#VentureCapital #WomenInTech #VCJourney #WipingOutTheNorm #IlluminateVentures #TechSector #B2B