WorkPride Panel: Investment - Where to find funding for your business ideas?

Getting a business off the ground is a difficult task – in a lot of cases it can even be impossible. If we’re talking about a business that is either founded by or aimed at the LGBTQ+ community, this can be even more difficult thanks to the prejudice the community faces.

This panel aims to cover what funding and mentoring possibilities exist to get a business started and what kind of investment opportunities exist that might be easier for the LGBTQ+ community to navigate. We'll also talk about the world of venture capital and the progress made to ensure founders can be their authentic selves.

In Partnership With

Speakers:

Pierre Gaubert

CEO and Co-Founder
myGwork

Hello :) I am the co-founder at myGwork. Our goal is to empower the LGBTQ+ community by offering our individual users a safe space where they can network, connect with inclusive employers, find jobs, professional events, and news. Adrien (my twin and co-founder) and I both know how it feels to be excluded in the workplace; we want to make sure the next LGBT+ generation is fearless. Happy to connect and provide support at any time!

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T. Wolf Starr

Managing Partner
Pride.VC

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Lorenzo Thione

Managing Director
Gaingels

Lorenzo Thione is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for the intersection of technology, art, design, communication and social value. He’s the Managing Director of Gaingels and a co-founding chairman of StartOut, two of the leading groups dedicated to supporting and elevating LGBTQ+ leaders in the venture startup ecosystem. As the Managing Producer at Sing Out, Louise! Productions, Lorenzo is also a Tony-Award and Drama Desk winning Broadway producer (Hadestown, The Inheritance) and the co-creator and lead producer of Allegiance, the Broadway musical starring George Takei and Lea Salonga, of which he also directed and produced the 2016 film. In developing Allegiance, he spearheaded social-media viral strategies that led to astounding growth and unprecedented awareness and audience engagement for George Takei, and to the founding of The Social Edge, for which he currently serves as Chief Executive Officer. He previously co-founded startups Powerset (acquired by Microsoft in 2008) and Artify.it; he is an investor, board member, and advisor for startups such as Cerebral, Eight Sleep, Turing, Figure Eight (now Appian), Weights & Biases, Gobble, Just, and Lucid, and many more. He's an outspoken LGBT advocate and was named one of the most influential LGBT people in tech in 2014 and 2018 by Business Insider. He was born and raised in Milan, and completed my studies at the University of Texas at Austin, from which he holds a M.S. in Computer Engineering.

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Victor Meyer

Senior Legal Counsel
Invesco

I am an in-house lawyer for Invesco and lead a team of lawyers who support all aspect's of the investment process for Invesco in EMEA. I am Global Co-Chair of the Invesco Proud Network and previously participated in the LGBTQ+ networks at Morgan Stanley in London and Linklaters LLP in London and New York.

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Machtelt Groothuis

Founder, Partner
Rubio Impact Ventures

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	Date & Time	Jun 17, 2021
	Location	Online