Courtesy Pialy Aditya

A couple of years ago, Pialy Aditya (MBA 2005) got an unexpected inquiry from a venture capital firm: Would she be interested in being a partner? Though she wasn’t looking for a new job, she was intrigued by the idea. A founder herself and the daughter of Indian immigrants, Aditya was acutely aware of the inequalities that plague the venture capital world, including the less than 3 percent of VC money that goes to all-women founding teams (a number that is even smaller for women of color) and the dearth of women and all people of color in the ranks of investors. But she realized she could do more to disrupt the traditional investment model from the outside.

At the time, Aditya was already working with Republic, an online investing platform. The company, which launched in 2016, offers investment opportunities to non-accredited investors—92 percent of the country—something that had not been legal until Title III of the JOBS Act went into effect the year. Using Republic’s website or app, anyone with $10 could invest in a highly vetted startup. Moreover, women founders and founders of color too often at a disadvantage in the VC world now had a new source of potential investment. “It’s about leveling the playing field,” Aditya says. To date, the firm has connected more than 1 million investors with some 300 companies, raising in excess of $250 million.

To further democratize investing, Aditya also cofounded her own early-stage investment fund, the WOCstar Fund. It focuses on innovative tech startups founded by women of color and inclusive teams. For Aditya, such startups are both a smart financial opportunity and an essential investment in the future. “Creating the opportunity for investors and undercapitalized entrepreneurs to come together will generate wealth, job opportunities, and healthy, thriving economies and communities,” she says.

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