30 Apr Member Spotlight Series: Alicia Robb
Alicia Robb is the Founder and CEO of Next Wave and the Managing Partner at the Next Wave US Impact Fund and a Managing Partner of the Rising Tide Angel Training US Pilot Fund. She was previously a Senior Fellow with the Kauffman Foundation for more than a decade. She is the Founder and past Executive Director and Board Chair of the Foundation for Sustainable Development.
She is a prolific author on the topic of entrepreneurship. In addition to numerous journal articles and book chapters, she is the co-author of A Rising Tide: Financing Strategies for Women-Owned Businesses and The Next Wave: Financing and Investing Strategies for Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs by Stanford University Press, as well as Race and Entrepreneurial Success published by MIT Press.
Alicia is also an active angel investor, a limited partner in three early stage angel funds, a mentor to various young firms, and an advisory board member for several nonprofit groups, including the Deming Center Venture Fund, the Good Food Institute, and the Foundation for Sustainable Development.
We asked Katie a few questions…
Name a book or blog that changed your life?
Against All Hope by Armando Valladares
In 5 words or less, describe what has been most important to your success in your career?
Persistence and perseverance.
What are you working on now? OR.. What are you most proud of in your accomplishments so far.
I’m working on a few things, all related to gender equity. The first one is the Next Wave Impact Fund, which is my first fund specifically focused on investing in impact companies. We have 99 women, 25 of them women of color, as investors in the fund. We’ve made one investment so far, an edtech company from Austin, founded by a woman of color.
I’m also working on mapping the impact investor landscape to help investors find each other for syndicating deals as well as to help build relationships with funders that are funding at different life stages of the firm. This will help Next Wave ensure we have later funders for our portfolio companies when they go on to raise subsequent rounds.
And finally, I’m helping to launch womenfundersinAR.org to get more women to step up to invest and donate in women-led animal rights organizations and women-led vegan companies. Women make up 80% of the animal rights movement and about 75% of vegetarians, and yet we are a minority when it comes to leadership of AR groups and vegan companies. This needs to change!
If you could give your 20-year-old self-advice, what would it be?
Think bigger. Be Bolder. Be less risk averse. Go live abroad for a couple of years.
Every month we spotlight an amazing woman who is part of the SheSays Boulder community. Some have shared their story as a speaker at our events. All are women who’ve inspired us with their work, heart, and vision. Want to connect with an amazing community of woman making a difference in the digital world? Follow us on MeetUp, sign up on the email list or find our next event on Event Brite and join the fun.
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