Launch With GS: Closing the Diversity Gap in Investing
By Maria Manabat
It comes as no surprise that the world of venture capital is dominated by white males. The obvious lack of diversity was met with heightened criticism after the influx of Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020. Although visible progress is slow, some firms took the ‘call-out’ as a sign to take action towards a more diverse workforce: putting more representation in seats at the table, developing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and investing more in diverse companies and investors.
One of these firms include Goldman Sachs, which developed an initiative known as Launch With GS. Focused on investing capital in companies and investment managers with diverse teams, Launch highlights the idea that diverse teams ultimately outperform – noting an over 20% higher likelihood of industry-leading profitability for companies in the top quartile for ethnic or gender diversity.
The entrepreneur cohort program is a customized six-week experience that gives participants access to Goldman Sachs's resources, including their investment banking and research teams, curriculum on topics like branded marketing and legal expertise, and Goldman Sachs' wide network in the venture ecosystem.
Led by Suzanne Gauron, the initiative has already invested $1 billion towards a varied cohort of entrepreneurs. Among these businesses is Goodr, a food waste management company that connects restaurants with food surplus to non-profit organizations that can use the food. The idea of the company was developed after learning that 72 billion pounds of food go to waste in the U.S. while 50 million people struggle with hunger. The goal of Goodr is to help; instead of wasting food, restaurants are able to give back to those with little, while helping combat hunger within their communities.
As a black woman, Jasmine Crowe – founder and CEO of Goodr – realized the challenges of finding investors for her company. Less than 3% of total venture capital funding in the U.S. goes to women-owned companies, and less than 1% of the total venture capital investment goes to women of color. In fact, it took over two hundred meetings for Crowe to earn her first million dollars. As such, Launch With GS helps companies like hers find a community of support with other like-minded and underrepresented entrepreneurs.
As a historically white firm, Goldman Sachs is truly taking a turn towards a more inclusive workforce – one that is representative of every corner of our nation. Launch With GS is a statement of change and an overdue response to decades-old callings for reform. Although there’s more to be done for equal opportunities in the world of venture capital, perhaps this initiative is a step closer to changing the preconceptions of what it looks like to be an investor or a business owner. Hopefully, a butterfly effect will overwhelm Wall Street and beyond, and we’ll soon find more women and people of color in the seats of those calling the shots.
Make sure to tune in to listen to WiB’s Speaker Series guest, Suzanne Gauron, as she discusses the progress in Launch With GS.