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a stronger pipeline

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Hey! I’m intrigued by this upcoming Whitney Houston biopic and the overall “business of Whitney.” Primary Wave acquired 50% of the business in 2019 and has quadrupled its annual revenue. Music estates are tough businesses to run. It’s impossible to please everyone. Unfortunately, that’s part of the job, but it seems like

But I really hope this movie is good. As good as Straight Outta Compton. A lot of these music biopics feel like Hallmark movies (even the ones that win Oscars). Let’s see if I Wanna Dance With Somebody can toe that fine line of telling an honest story and breathing fresh air into her classic hits.

Today’s memo is about venture capital, and getting more Black dollars into tech. On this week’s podcast, I talked to my friend, Megan Holston-Alexander who leads the Andreessen Horowitz Cultural Leadership Fund (CLF). The fund has invested in Dapper Labs, Figma, Overtime, Roblox, and more. Let’s get started.

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finding LPs who want to engage

CLF co-invests with other funds in the Andreessen Horowitz portfolio. It’s the first VC fund that raised money exclusively from Black investors. Past and current LPs include Diddy, Shonda Rhimes, Miguel, The Weeknd, and more.

But CLF isn’t solely focused on big names when vetting LPs. The key thing Megan looks for in LPs is engagement.

The fund has presence at several events where both LPs and founders can engage, like NBA All-Star Weekend, Art Basel, NBA Summer League, Super Bowl, and its own CLF Summit.

The last thing CLF wants is celebrity investors who slap their name on products and then disappear. This isn’t a brand that hires celebrities as “creative directors.” Megan wants a strong “why” behind each LP.

The four categories of diversity efforts

The fund’s ultimate mission is to develop more Black talent in tech at early-stage companies. This is how generational wealth is built. CLF is doing its part, but there’s more that other firms and companies can do.

Megan says that each company’s efforts are in one of four categories:

1. Aren’t interested whatsoever
2. Committed, but don’t follow through
3. Committed, but have a narrow view of finding Black talent
4. Committed, and have a holistic view and plan

This dynamic persists at the recruiting level. For instance, there are 100+ HBCUs nationwide, but tech companies in category 3 tend to recruit Black talent from startup accelerators, elite universities, or from Howard, Morehouse, and Spelman. There are gems at all the other HBCUs being glossed over.

She also compares the category breakdown to the historical debates between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. Both leaders wanted Black empowerment but Washington wanted the Atlanta Compromise, pushing for Black folks to prioritize education and work as opposed to fighting discrimination. Meanwhile, Du Bois’ ideology “The Talented Tenth” took issue with Washington’s claim and wanted Black people to continue fighting for civil liberties.

builders keep building

2022 has been a rough year for venture capital, but that didn’t stop a16z from rolling out CLF III, which includes investments from athletes like Maya Moore, entertainers like Pharrell Williams, and business leaders like Erin Teague.

CLF III was announced in June, but funds were raised when asset markets were relatively healthier. Still, Megan had to instill confidence in the high-net-worth individual investors.

Listen to our full conversation here:

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money moves

• Latin America: the hottest touring market in the world​
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• If you haven’t yet, check out The Culture Report, a new report from Trapital

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