DODI: Backing ventures with products important to women and families.

Photo courtesy Monica Dodi

A cofounder of MTV Europe, a former executive at Walt Disney/Europe, and former CEO of AOL’s Entertainment Asylum, Monica Dodi (MBA 1984) is now based in Los Angeles, where she is cofounder and managing director of the Women’s Venture Capital Fund (WVCF). The fund focuses on early-stage female entrepreneurs in digital media and eco-friendly businesses, two areas that the WVCF believes are “poised for exponential growth” because they are sectors with products and concerns of special importance to women and families. Indeed, it appears that women will shape the future. As Dodi noted, “Many recent studies confirm that gender diversity in business boosts productivity and profitability. And the female demographic is expected to grow larger than all the BRIC countries combined over the next 10 years.”

The WVCF, launched with help from Dodi’s female HBS classmates, according to Toronto’s Globe and Mail (March 30, 2012), seeks to begin to redress a pronounced shortfall: less than 5 percent of US venture capital goes to start-ups run by women, the newspaper reported. But ultimately, the fund’s bottom line is all business. Said Dodi, “As with any private equity firm or venture capital fund, it’s our fiduciary duty to look out for our investors and get a return.”

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