Maria Salamanca

SomosVC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on unlocking opportunities for Latino/a VC investors, developing a community that leaves a lasting impact on the ecosystem. Our mission is simple: to accelerate and elevate the presence of Latinos/as in venture capital. We believe that when venture investors are empowered to show up as their authentic selves, the flow of capital from limited partners to venture capitalists and ultimately to startup founders becomes more diversified, impactful, and representative of U.S. demographics.

SomosVC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on unlocking opportunities for Latino/a VC investors, developing a community that leaves a lasting impact on the ecosystem. Our mission is simple: to accelerate and elevate the presence of Latinos/as in venture capital. We believe that when venture investors are empowered to show up as their authentic selves, the flow of capital from limited partners to venture capitalists and ultimately to startup founders becomes more diversified, impactful, and representative of U.S. demographics.

Higher Ground Labs is building an ecosystem for progressive political technology. We provide capital, assistance, programming, and mentorship to talented individuals and early-stage companies that are building the next generation of progressive political technology that can help win campaigns. The current ecosystem around progressives​ campaign and persuasive tech is broken. It lacks committed capital, sustained mentorship, and a network of active supporters to make new ideas successful. Rather than build tech and data infrastructure from the bottom up, progressives have instead relied on Presidential campaigns as their innovation hubs, generating a recurring pattern of short-term thinking from hard-working but under-resourced campaign staff who tasked with innovating on products while trying to win national-scale campaigns. Our programming is designed to spark and nurture new collaborations and startups, and to strengthen the bonds of connectivity across progressive tech. It includes (1) an active accelerator for companies building scalable political technology, (2) fellowships that allow individuals to explore ideas for solutions to problems, (3) a recurring summit for political and technology experts to forge alliances and share ideas, and (4) ad hoc events like conferences and hackathons that deepen and reinforce the ecosystem.

Unshackled Ventures is the first and only early-stage venture capital fund focused on retaining foreign talent in the U.S. By investing in immigrants and helping them to secure visas, the firm has tapped into undiscovered super-talent in helping foreign-born founders turn their innovative ideas into the next great American company.

An online platform that connects users to key information on the issues that affect their social, political, and economic lives. Our mission is to give people the power to take an active role in government by staying informed on the issues they are most passionate about. We are currently building our idea and hope to launch early 2015.