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Diversity, Inclusion & Equity at Forum

Our mission is to create a space where everyone—no matter their background—can get access to funding, build their dreams, and push the world forward.

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We know that the venture capital and startup landscape is inherently flawed when it comes to diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity. As both a startup program and fund, we’re in a unique position to influence the future of the tech industry.  We’re committed to doing our part from our corner of the world by increasing diversity within our team, our funding practices, our program content, and our community at large.
“Who we choose to wire investments to can have a measurable impact on building an equitable tech ecosystem and on the broader economy.”
– Steph Jones, Head of D&I & Associate
“We have the responsibility to educate the portfolio companies that we work with day in and day out how to build and foster a diverse team and inclusive culture.”
– Jonah Midanik, Managing Director
“As venture capitalists, we have a platform to be able to create an outsized impact by reallocating capital to those that the industry has historically looked over.”
– Pranavi Cheemakurti, Associate
“It’s not enough to hire diverse talent, we need to make sure they are comfortable, empowered, and can flourish on our team.”
– Faye Almeshaan, Global Operations Manager
“We certainly don’t have all of the answers but we won’t stop learning and improving because we understand how crucial it is to make this change.”
– Rei Tran, Associate
“I truly believe that if the first 5-10 hires at a startup are from diverse backgrounds, that company will organically have a diverse workforce at scale.”
– Michael Cardamone, CEO & Managing Partner

How we will achieve our mission

Build & Develop a Diverse Team

It all starts within our doors. We are committed to creating equality of opportunity in our hiring process, providing a platform for all employees to grow and develop, and fostering a culture of inclusivity where our people can thrive.

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Educate & Empower Founders

We’re helping our portfolio companies build equity into their DNA by leading by example, offering content and programming dedicated to these practices, and engaging with community, speakers and mentors from diverse backgrounds.

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Provide Equal Access To Funding

By investing in companies founded by underrepresented groups, we can help build a more equal tech ecosystem. And a more diverse team at Forum is crucial to sourcing and evaluating companies with a more equal lens.

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Where we are today

Build and Develop
a Diverse Team

6 women, 4 men, 1 non-binary person and
3 identify as LGBTQ+

Our Latest
Cohort

56% have 1+ underrepresented founder17% have 1+ black founders33% have female founders
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Seed Fund
Investments

53% have 1+ underrepresented founder12% have 1+ black founders35% have female founders
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Here are just a few of our ambitious, diverse portfolio founders

Ariel Lopez

Ariel is the founder of Knac, a data driven talent evaluation platform that helps companies not overlook candidates. A career coach, entrepreneur, and public speaker with almost a decade of recruiting experience, Ariel has helped some of the biggest brands in the world build great teams; and has worked with thousands of marketing, advertising, and tech professionals to help them grow in their careers and find lucrative opportunities.
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Arial Lopez Profile Photo

Kathleen Chan

Kathleen is the Founder and CEO of Calico, the product development OS that powers the $1.4 trillion eCommerce production market from concept to doorstep. A serial founder, Kathleen previously started two D2C brands and grew them from zero to six figures in revenues in the first six months of operations. Prior to Calico, Kathleen was was the youngest professor at Centennial College in Toronto and ran national marketing campaigns at Microsoft Canada.
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Resources

Chinwe Onyeagoro

Chinwe is the Co-founder & CEO of PocketSuite, an all-in-one app that helps anyone start and run a business within 15 minutes. Chinwe is a third time founder, previously co-founding Fundwell and O-H Community Partners. Prior to that Chinwe spent time leading a global team as President of Great Place to Work as well as consulting with Fortune 500 Companies at McKinsey and Monitor Group.
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Chinwe Onyeagoro Profile Photo

Help us build our diverse community

Know a great underrepresented SaaS founder or rockstar? We want to grow our diverse community of founders, mentors, speakers and advisors and would appreciate the introduction.
Let us know
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