Talent is Democratic

I went to the Upfront conference this past week in the hills of Malibu. I always enjoy the event and truly everyone in the start-up industry should be thankful that Upfront puts this event on. It is an opportunity to see people that you never see or people that you are in cap tables with, and be able to have some really interesting conversations about the latest and greatest.

I was talking with a female investor about the interesting companies being built in secondary cities. It is more affordable to live in those locations and the valuations of those companies are more in line with what they should be. It is the true long tail of how technology has propelled the next generations of businesses to move us forward. It has now seeped into every community for change. As she put it, “talent is democratic.”

Not only is talent democratic, it breaks all barriers. As I looked around the event at Upfront, it was clear to me the change in the rooms from other events 10 years ago. The room clearly has more females but it used to feel as there was this very small wall that didn’t allow that camaraderie with the men in the room seem as fluid as it is today. Supporting women, getting a female partner, investing and knowing the top women founders and female-driven start-ups is at the top of everyone’s minds. We still have a long way to go on diversity past just being men and women but a myriad of faces yet things are changing, and it is happening on all sides, and that makes me feel very good about the future.