Bank of America invests in Overlooked Ventures as the first institutional LP in their $50MM Fund I.
Emerging fund managers are often overlooked by institutional investors, although they often outperform funds managed by more experienced venture capitalists. PitchBook found in a recent report that first-time funds more frequently achieve IRRs over the 25% mark more frequently than other funds.
More and more funds, institutions, and state & government agencies are seeing these trends and are putting their dollars behind new funds. Large funds are spinning off a Fund of Funds model, where they set aside a portion of capital to invest in other venture capital funds. Institutions are also starting to take notice of new fund managers where traditionally, only 6% of investors in funds led by first-time fund managers are corporations (Carta).
Since Overlooked Ventures launched in May of 2021, we’ve been heads down, working to secure commitments from limited partners (LPs) so we can invest in historically-ignored founders. Almost a year later, we’ve raised millions of dollars and made 8 investments in tech and tech-enabled companies across 7 industries.
Today we are excited to announce that Bank of America invested in Overlooked Ventures as the first institutional LP in our $50MM Fund I.
Overlooked Ventures is honored to be a part of Bank of America’s commitment to invest $350 Million in minority-focused funds, MDIs, and CDFI banks to support minority entrepreneurs. We are thankful to BofA for believing in our fund’s mission and being the first institutional investor to join us.
When Brandon and I decided to take the leap and start Overlooked Ventures, we knew that a $50MM Fund I would be ambitious, especially as it is our first fund ever as venture capitalists. It’s been almost a year of fundraising and we’re closing Q1 at $11.5MM in commitments.
I am a former founder and executive leader who exited via an acquisition. The experiences, especially the failures, I had as a founder prepared me for my role as a venture capitalist. In 2019, leading up to my company’s acquisition, I went through a long and intricate due diligence before the deal was closed. Months of acquisition paperwork and legal docs lead me to be prepared for the rigorous diligence process with Bank of America and completely it more efficiently and quicker than expected.
We are grateful for this infusion of capital from Bank of America, which will allow us to deploy more capital to founders of color and Black, Latinx, Women, LGBTQ+ founders and provide even more support to our existing portfolio companies, including access to mental health resources and on-demand therapy through our portfolio company, The Difference.
I didn’t know I’d end up here, doing what I love: investing in underestimated founders and supporting them as they build great companies and improve how we live with technology. Below are the investments we’ve made so far.
- Lalo — Seattle, WA.
- College Cash — Dallas, TX.
- Govalo — Atlanta, GA. and Palo Alto, CA.
- Moment.ai — Washington, D.C.
- Blooming Health — New York, NY.
- The Difference — New York, NY.
- Femly — Baltimore, MD.
- CarpeDM — Washington, D.C.
Our portfolio has the following diversity breakdown: 42% Black, 16% Hispanic-Latino, and the remaining 42% Indian, Iranian, Syrian, and Ashkenazi Jew.
Overlooked Ventures is thrilled to have Bank of America on our cap table. Bank of America has and continues to make such a positive impact and advance minority groups, and we admire their devotion to underserved communities and their conviction to invest in Overlooked Ventures as our first institutional investor.
If you are a startup founder who fits within the Overlooked Ventures thesis, you may apply here. If you’re interested in investing in Overlooked Ventures alongside Bank of America, express interest using this form.
