Bellevue-based consulting firm Hatcher Ventures is trying to level the playing field in venture capital.
The firm, which launched in April, is on a mission to connect underrepresented founders with venture capital funding. It's a major problem for a word-of-mouth industry where those without connections are often left behind.
"There's all this opportunity out there that's just not being tapped into by anyone," said Ted Hatcher, founder and CEO of Hatcher Ventures. "There's a lot of people out there really trying to make some headway on this. I'm just one person, but I feel like if I can help a few people and do a few things to make this better or bring attention to it, then I've succeeded."
The amount of venture capital that goes toward minority founders is minuscule compared with how much flow to their white male counterparts. During the first half of 2021, for example, Black startup founders only received 1.2% of the total venture capital dollars deployed nationally, according to Crunchbase. PitchBook, meanwhile, noted that startups solely founded by women only received 2% of venture capital dollars deployed in 2021.
Hatcher Ventures, which consists solely of Hatcher for the time being, works with venture capital firms to help them find underrepresented founders, such as women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ community. Hatcher is currently busy connecting with founders and says he has spoken with over 20 founders so far.
According to Hatcher, his experience as a gay man and a Native American working in the business world helped inspire his consulting firm. He has years of experience working in insurance and financial services, and he also co-founded a startup focused on data and analytics for cannabis retailers. Hatcher said the startup is still running and mostly automated at this point.
The new firm will make money by charging fees to venture capital firms looking to find underrepresented founders through Hatcher's services. Hatcher Ventures also helps companies find more diverse board candidates.
"Where I live in downtown Bellevue, I'm really close to Medina and Redmond and all that, I'm within 2 miles of probably half a trillion dollars of wealth, easily," Hatcher said. "I feel like there's enough people in the greater Seattle area and enough wealth to be tapped into to really help focus on some of these issues."
