39. Why We Need More Women As Investors - with Salone Sehgal

Salone Sehgal is the world's first female General Partner of a games and interactive VC fund. She co-founded Lumikai Fund, India's first early-stage interactive media and gaming VC, anchored by the world's largest games and media conglomerates. She has 15+ years of experience as a global games & new media investor, games entrepreneur, and former M&A banker. Previously, she was Principal at London Venture Partners (LVP), Europe's pioneering seed-stage gaming VC (with a track record of backing 40 companies delivering $14Bn in shareholder value).

My conversation with Salone is very insightful and debunks misconceptions about venture partners, investing, and why does venture capital still repeatedly fail female founders?

- How and why Salone decided to start her own fund, focusing on India as an underserved market, and female founders

- How Salone approaches her team building and managed to hire 40% women to join the fund

- Why there is still a barrier for women to join the venture partners world, and what we can do about it

- Why the lack of women and diversity among investors is a huge missed opportunity? Even when a female-led team makes it to the deal flow evaluation meetings of VC funds, they often don't progress. Lack of female decision-makers in VC is often cited as a cause for this. There is often no one to champion the deal or resonate with the product (particularly if it's female focused).

- Salone's lessons being both a founder and an investor, and how being a founder helps to be a better investor

- How Salone overcame the challenges of being the "only woman" or person of color in the rooms of the corporate financial world

I hope this conversation will inspire you to take a step forward in the venture world and be part of the change to have more women as investors.

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More resources about venture capital:

• #NoVenture$ForWomen: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/noventureforwomen-salone-sehgal/


• Morgan Stanley statistics: https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/trillion-dollar-blind-spot-infographic

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