Jay-Z, Madonna, Kobe Bryant and Ellen DeGeneres are just a few big names who’ve made waves in venture capitalism. Nowadays it’s not uncommon to see Olympic athletes setting up incubation funds, baseball legends investing in video conferencing services, rappers funding seed-stage tech, and heavyweight champions backing recruitment startups. While some go it alone as angel investors, the majority of successful investors chose to be part of bigger investment funds dabbling in venture capital. With some investments coming back ten fold, it’s no wonder why celebrities want to be a part of the potentially lucrative and exciting world of startups and entrepreneurialism. But for entrepreneurs, raising money is anything but exciting—for them it can be downright excruciating. Data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor shows that more than 80% of funding for new businesses comes from personal savings and friends and family. According to the Kauffman Foundation, the average cost to launch a startup is around $30,000. The glamour of many jobs often appear greater from the outside than the inside, and being aVC is definitely no different. Here with me to discuss venture capital from the experts are David Mars of White Owl Capital and Arlan Hamilton of Backstage Capital.
Arlan Hamilton
David Mars
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