Originate, Motivate, Innovate

Introduction

You picked this book up because you are on a journey. You are contemplating your next moves. You are reconsidering what society has told you that you can be. You are exactly where I was at the end of 2015. In the familiar Disney story Cinderella, a fairy godmother appears at a moment that Cinderella is feeling hopeless. The fairy godmother doesn't give Cinderella magic. She pulls the magic out of her with a few pumpkins, a new dress, and a carriage. She lifted Cinderella's belief lid and showed her what was possible. That is why you picked up this book. Now is the time for you to level up, and the good news is you've found the right resource to do it. Are you ready to go inside the rooms with high‐powered CEOs of some of the world's most well‐known brands? I hope so because I'm ready to take you there. Which is exactly what I will do. More importantly, you'll finish with the mindset shifts, tools, and tactics you need to succeed in the world of venture capital. You'll finish this book understanding the strategies needed to access capital for your business in a white male–dominated ecosystem. I've spent the last several years disrupting the world of venture capital as a Black woman and showing others how to implement successful strategies that lead to thriving businesses.

The May 25, 2020, murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer did more than intensify the call for criminal justice reform. It ushered in a new kind of awakening in the United States ...