Breaking VC Stereotypes: Power, Privilege, and Purpose w/ Jesse Draper, Halogen Ventures

Her great-grandfather helped birth the VC industry. Her father, Tim Draper, made game-changing bets on Tesla, Hotmail, and Skype. 

But Jesse Draper? She’s carved her own path—first as a Nickelodeon actress, then as the creator of The Valley Girl Show, and now as the founding partner of Halogen Ventures. With over 75 female-founded companies under her belt, Jesse is proving that investing in women isn't charity—it's just good business. 

From battling biases in the boardroom to rewriting what venture capital looks like through the lens of the modern family, this episode is Jesse Draper like you've never heard her before. Let’s dive in!

Timestamps / Key Takeaways

0:00 - Intro

01:52 - Jesse Draper’s early aspirations; family legacy & "Nepo Baby" pushback

05:21 - Starting a Tech talk show — The Valley Girl Show from her parents’ garage

10:16 - Pivoting to venture; early angel investments led to major returns: Laurel & Wolf with 26X return

13:17 - From Valley Girl persona to founding Halogen Ventures

21:28 - Thesis and conviction: Fund 1 raised $10.4M

27:27 - Childcare economy; Halogen doubling down on future of family

34:43 - Challenges with fundraising & biases; advice to women navigating wealth and power

47:50 - Billion Dollar Questions

About Jesse

Jesse Draper is a mother of 3 boys and founding partner of Halogen Ventures. Halogen Ventures is a Los Angeles based Venture Capital firm focused on early stage investing in consumer technology and strategic B2B software companies with a female in the founding team. Draper, the first solo female GP in Los Angeles, is also a 4th generation venture capitalist, the creator and host of Emmy nominated television series, The Valley Girl Show, and host of the MOMumental Podcast.

She is a fierce advocate for investing in women and the opportunity for using technology and innovation to solve some of the biggest issues facing women and families today. Among her 70+ portfolio companies, are theSkimm, Babylist, ThirdLove, HopSkipDrive, The Flex Company, Squad (acquired by Twitter), Eloquii (sold to Walmart) and This is L (sold to P&G).
Selected as one of the top 10 early stage female investors by Business Insider, Draper was also listed by Marie Claire magazine as one of the ‘50 Most Connected Women in America’, nominated by the NRF as a DealMakeHers, Variety’s Holly’s New Leaders, and Refinery29 30 Rising Stars.” Draper has been a contributor to Marie Claire, Forbes, and is a regular investor and tech personality showcased on Cheddar, CNBC, CNN. Following Jesse’s viral Medium piece, Investing in Women Isn’t a F*cking Charity, she’s become a leading voice of women in technology. Draper is also a Kauffman Fellow.

FOLLOW JESSE:

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https://www.instagram.com/jessecdraper/

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