Terence Craig

Founded in 2000, The Idea Village formalized in 2002 as an independent 501©(3) nonprofit dedicated to engaging our community to embrace innovation, entrepreneurship, and new thinking. The Idea Village has established itself as a globally-recognized leader in developing place-based entrepreneurial ecosystems. As a result, New Orleans is now in the top 10% of best cities to start a business in the country (WalletHub), with startup activity 64% above the national average (The Data Center). Weve been called Americas #1 Biggest Brain Magnet (Forbes) and 1 of the 20 Hottest Startup Hubs in America (The Kauffman Foundation). The Idea Village is committed to sustaining the local entrepreneurial movement by providing direct services to entrepreneurs, engaging the community, and supporting initiatives that leverage entrepreneurship to catalyze change.

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Toyota Ventures is Toyota’s first standalone venture capital firm. Through the Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund, we invest in artificial intelligence, autonomy, mobility, robotics, cloud technology, smart cities, digital health, fintech, energy, and materials. As part of Toyota’s ongoing efforts to accelerate carbon dioxide reduction, we also invest in startups that are creating scalable solutions for carbon neutrality, as part of the Toyota Ventures Climate Fund.

We get it… Fundraising is hard. With us, you don’t have to do it alone! The Capital Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to changing the narrative of who receives funding. We’re better together: You know your business - and we know fundraising. Through fundraising education, programming, community, mentorship and our network of 300+ investors we are creating a more inclusive and accessible funding ecosystem to support female and first-time founders of early stage startups. Founders! We’re here to help you OWN YOUR RAISE!

INVESTING IN HIGH-PERFORMING, WOMEN-LED COMPANIES Currently investing from Astia Fund I - a $32M Series A/B fund that is sector and geography agnostic. For twenty years, Astia has carved a unique path to source, screen and invest in the top performing companies. Astia’s proprietary Expert Sift™ deal sourcing and screening process is a robust, data-driven methodology that uses best-in-class tools and wisdom-of-the-crowd techniques to eliminate bias. To successfully address the intersectionality of race and gender, Astia established a clear focus on investing in women of color. Grounded in deep domain expertise, exceptional investment performance, a belief in the value of women as leaders and a proprietary investment process, Astia invests via a family of funds. Throughout its twenty years, Astia has paved the way for investors to align human values with investment rigor. Understanding the fundamentals of change, Astia has built an institution to last. Through a variety of investment vehicles, Astia enables investment at all stages of private company growth. With an acute understanding of the unique challenges of high-growth, Astia ensures portfolio success. We are entrepreneur-centric and hands-on. By investing with Astia, Limited Partners expand their legacy of impact. Founded by tech pioneer Catherine Muther in 1998, Astia has never wavered from its fundamental commitment to level the investment playing field. Still today, less than 10 percent of VC investments are made into companies that include even one woman leader. We believe in investment as a force for change.

The Investors of Color (IoC) is a national network of diverse accredited investors across the capital stack committed to building wealth for and by underrepresented communities through syndicated investments in early-stage companies.  The IoC is composed of investors representing the entire continuum of capital such as angel investors, venture capital, revenue-based investment firms, family offices, and other capital providers.